SITARS, RAGAS AND INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC: nikhil banerjee

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Bits and Bobs (downloads)

Sorry for not posting for a while, I've been a bit busy with organising a house move and some other stuff that seems to be unbelievably time consuming.

I recently came across a few blogs that I would like to mention. They both feature rare recordings which are pretty hard to find anywhere else.

The first one is Oriental-Traditional-Music. There are some real gems available on this site from all across the Middle East and Asia. However, the posts that I found the most interesting are the following:

http://oriental-traditional-music.blogspot.com/2011/06/ustad-abdul-halim-jaffer-khan-sitar.html
This guy is a really innovative player, definitely recommended.

http://oriental-traditional-music.blogspot.com/2011/06/nikhil-banerjee-raga-musik-aus.html
The Bhairavi on this recording is mind blowing.

http://oriental-traditional-music.blogspot.com/2011/06/ustad-mohammed-shareef-khan-poonchhwala.html
I've mentioned this a few times in my last posts. This is one of the best recordings of
sitar that I've ever heard, not in terms of quality but the playing is amazing. Check out
the raga kirwani.

http://oriental-traditional-music.blogspot.com/2011/06/ustad-abdul-halim-jaffer-khan.html
More from Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan. A lovely raga Multani.

The other blog I would like to mention is La Logique Interne. I don't speak French at all but most of the text makes sense through google translate.

http://lalogiqueinterne.blogspot.com/2011/06/dautres-maitres-du-sitar.html
More from Mohammed Sharif Khan Poonchwala.

http://lalogiqueinterne.blogspot.com/2010/10/nikhil-banerjee-au-musee-guimet-1974.html
Over a gigabyte of Nikhil Banerjee recordings. They vary in quality but are all
amazing in terms of playing. Definitely worth the downloads.

Lastly, here's a video of a song that I can't stop listening to. It is probably my favourite thing that Ravi Shankar has done (apart from Passages with Philip Glass).

Sore Fingers

Not mine, Ravi Shankar's
impressive grooves

Just a short post today. I've been practising a lot over the last couple of days and now my fingertips are feeling a tender. I had been neglecting my practice routine a little bit previously but the grooves in my fingertips are coming back nicely.

I'm still playing in Bhimpalasi, I just love the sound of it. It's funny how different your playing can be by switching ragas. For some reason this one feels a bit more natural to me than Yaman and I'm finding it a lot easier to explore. That komal Ga is just lovely.

I've been working on meends a lot and I'm making some progress with them. They're becoming more accurate and I'm starting to play with making them more expressive rather than just sliding from one note to another. This is going to take a lot more practice but the meends are already sounding better with a little vibrato here and there. I'm practising little runs up the neck and ending with a meend up to a higher note, and although it's proving difficult (more difficult than just doing a normal meend), I am getting there. It's very satisfying to see progress!

I'm also finding the meends easier in Bhimpalasi for some reason, I know they they shouldn't really. I still have the muscle memory of going Dha, Pa, tivra Ma from Yaman and it's a tough habit to break, I need to practice going down to the natural Ma, I'm sure I'll get it eventually.

I'm also love modulating the komal Dha, it just sounds so good, either in a meend or just a plain fretted note.

As I previously wrote, discovering Nikhil Banerjee's version of Bhimpalasi was the sole reason for me wanting to learn this raga but now I have discovered a recording of Sindhi Bhairavi that has simply blown me away. I was never a huge fan of NK until very recently but these two recordings are making him one of my favourite players.

I think I have a slightly different version but it's still amazing.

Raag Sindhi Bhairavi -by Pandit Nikhil Banerjee from Syed Wajid on Vimeo.

Tunings For Ragas

I've recently been taking a break from raga yaman and have been tinkering with raga bhimpalasi. I will post a video at the end of the post to give you an idea what this raga sounds like.

However, first I want to list some tunings for various ragas. Tunings for ragas can vary quite a lot depending on which school/style that you follow so the following tunings are just guidelines and changes can certainly be made. I will start with the main playing string (Ma) and work down towards the high pitched strings. You may need to adapt them for your sitar, I use a Gandhar Pancham so it may be different to yours.

(these ragamala paintings don't all correspond to the raga listed)

Raga Yaman

Main Strings
ma, Sa, Ga, Pa, Sa, Sa

Taraf Strings (low to high)
Ni, Sa, Sa, Re, Ga, Ga, Ma, Pa, Pa, Dha, Ni, Sa', Re'

Raga Bhimpalasi

Main Strings
ma, Sa, ma, Pa, Sa, Sa

Taraf Strings (low to high)
ni, Dha, Sa, Sa, Re, ga, ma, Pa, Pa, Dha, ni, Sa', Re'

Raga Bageshri

Main Strings
ma, Sa, ma, Dha, Sa Sa

Taraf Strings (low to high)
ni, Dha, Sa, Sa, Re, ga, ma, ma, Pa, Dha, ni, Sa', Re'

Raga Bhairavi

Main Strings
ma, Sa, ma, Pa, Sa, Sa

Taraf Strings (low to high)
ni, dha, Sa, Sa, re, ga, Ma, Pa, Pa, dha, ni, Sa', re'

Now, here is a wonderful version of raga bhimpalasi by Nikhil Banerjee. This alap is mesmerizing, truly magical.

SITARS, RAGAS AND INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC

Bits and Bobs (downloads)

More Wallpapers (Part 3)

Sore Fingers

More Videos

Tunings For Ragas

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