Expectation and Satisfaction

rajumds · Post by **rajumds** » 12 Dec 2007, 22:10

The defintion of the word Quality has undergone a sea change over the last decade from what is being offered by a product / service to the degree to which it fulfills the expectation of the user.

A customer is satisfied if a product meets his requirement or expectation and is delighted if the product exceeds his expectation.

I just extended the logic to music and I could visualise the following scenarios.

1. You go to a concert with great expectations and it doesn't measure up you feel let down whereas some who attended with a much lesser expectation feels excited about the same concert.

2. By same logic if the first half of the concert is a diasater (voice ,sruthi etc) and the second half is better , you get a feeling the artist has done great job in the second half because your expectations had got toned down and anything decent looks great.

3. A presentation of rare ragas / kritis is very attarctive since you don't have a standard to base your expectation on . In case of usual ragas / kritis you start having expectations with the versions you have heard or like (SSI's Amba kamakshi etc).

4. Like wise you tend to enjoy a concert by a new or unheard artist (assuming basic standard requirements are met).

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 13 Dec 2007, 11:34

Actually, as regards point 4 above, I have a slightly different experience...my ears are conditioned to like only a few favourites. This was really a problem when I first started listening - I could only listen to artistes whose voices were conventioanlly sweet. Thus I would instantly reject a lot of artistes (including notably GNB, MMI and Sanjay) whose voices I found unappealing at that time and for me CM was limited to just 4-5 singers..It took a long time for me to get beyond that barrier.

Although I've considerably widened my listening since (no more than 2 concerts per artist this season for instance), it still takes time for me to get used to a new voice

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 13 Dec 2007, 11:38

Further for me mood and ambience matter more than expectations although it does matter...an intense feeling of pathos or joy can sometimes take an ordinary concert to great heights.

However it is true that a marked improvement after a patchy start makes one sit up and listen, leading to a change in your impressions about the concert - but this happens very rarely. OTOH after a really good rendition of a main or sub-main, the concert usually seems lack-lustre...in academy concerts this happens very often - the main emphasis is on the "RNST" piece which is usually followed by a short Pallavi - I have rarely been satisfied by the latter...

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 13 Dec 2007, 11:46

rajumds, I think your criteria is quite applicable to those who appreciates music by intelluctualizing the music, especially the built-in expectation point. There is then another set of rasikas who go there to enjoy the music as it is presented. I am sure the same rasika may belong to either set on different days ( possibly ). The latter set of rasikas definition of quality is still how well the music appealed to them on that given day which makes it highly subjective and variable from day to day. In both cases, as you pointed out, the preception of quality is determined more by the particular mental make up of the consumer. The producer, the musicians, can only hope to do his/her best.

tambura2112 · Post by **tambura2112** » 13 Dec 2007, 14:25

hi all...
Wish you happy season..I wont be in chennai ....so the wish

i wish you all should listen to this disciple of TMT and Sankara iyer.
His name is N Sridhar . he sings for the chennai fine arts on 23rd at 5 pm and at kalarasana rani seetai hall on the 2nd jan2008. You will enjoy his superb gnnam and traditionality . he will sing like voleti tmt mixed together. WOnderful ...just listen and then tell.

SATISFACTION IS GUARANTED

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 14 Dec 2007, 00:54

Satisfaction is never guaranteed!

Partly because it takes two. Even if the performer is perfect, there are still any number of things that can get in the way of the appreciation within the listener.

Sometimes we are aware those things ---- obvious stuff like the stresses of the day and a mind that it elsewhere; sometimes it is harder to realise.

Occasionally we may be truly 'fed up' (in the sense of being fully sated) with music; it can happen!

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 14 Dec 2007, 13:38

Hello
I also vouchsafe Tambura2112s views about N.Sridhar. He is Neelakantan Sridhar he has learnt from TM Thiagarajan, Susarla Sivaraman (Hyderabad) and Tanjavur Sankara Iyer. Recently i had an opportunity to record his album for a commercial release. He is truly professional in the sense that he finished the recording very quick requiring very little re-takes and punch-ins. He has immense manodharma and his swarakalpanas are of high calibre. Kindly listen to him at Chennai Fine Arts and also one at Kalarasana on 2nd January at 5.00 PM where I am accompanying.

J.Balaji

tambura2112 · Post by **tambura2112** » 16 Dec 2007, 21:08

True . Satisfaction cannot be Guaranteed . It will depend on ones state of mind. Any way . I have experienced peace while sridhar practises at home( sridhar is my husband) . Well, please listen to his concerts, as I wont be available for both his concerts . Thanks Mr J Balaji for the comments. Sridhar has told me about your cooperation during the recent recordings .

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 16 Dec 2007, 21:40

Are we all not like an Ice capped Mountain where the Ice layer dating of each one of us could reveal a different source of the intitial Volcanic eruption, an initial release and trapping of those primordial gases , and a history of a series of Snow Storm Layers , building layers of consciousness into our Musical Psyche ?

Ah ! To remember the day I walked out of a Doreswami Iyengar concert at our Local Haihareswar temple( when I was a kid) when I found that music lacking in the vibrant stroking I had come to associate with Veena.(from what little I had heard till then)

And just a couple of weeks ago when I was listening to a duet of his with Lalgudi Jayaraman with the Violin Maestro himself, there was a brilliant phase in a random track that was selected , where both were locked in the most serene of exchanges in a Bhairavi , forcing him to say- Dont stop it ! Play it on for some more time !!

A Snow Capped Mountain Peak.
At least that is the way I see myself.