Mandolin!

[sunson]

About a year ago, I got my electric guitar made by Madras Musicals. I was so damn impressed by the amazingly smooth neck and fret board he made for me. I have tried a few other 'branded' guitars (some local brands like Tansen and some really funky brands like Schecters) but really, Thulasi rocks for all the customisability and the value for money

Comments

[rfc9000]

Just happened to read your email threads with faiz.
Man, I've been having the exact same doubts that you were talking about. Which is:

If I want to learn Carnatic on the keyboard the proper way, how do I go about it?
1) Get myself an accommodating guru who sings and I real-time-convert it to keyboards, or
2) Learn vocal (forgetting how horrible my vocal chords are), and later apply the stuff I learnt to keyboards, or
3) Forget about formal training, and just listen to say Mandolin Srinivas (or anybody else for that matter) on my player, and try to replicate it on keyboards. And of course improvize whenever I cannot replicate certain complicated sangatis :)

So how have you been learning carnatic on guitar all these days? Mode 1 or 2 or 3?

[sunson]

:)

I do a combination of Mode 1 and Mode 2. My teacher badly wants me to sing. But I invariably end up singing badly and I get allowed to play the thing on my guitar. ;)

No, but more seriously, I had a bit of difficulty convincing him to allow me to learn on the guitar while he gives the vocal lessons. After a while, he started getting frustrated because I was new to both the musical form as well as the instrument. Infact, I've decided to sorta take a break for a while, get comfortable with the instrument on my own and then go back to the classes.

[rudugudu]

Know the feeling! My teacher would explain Malkauns as SGMDNS, and I would sing SGMDNS (with all the G's becoming R's and M's becoming D's).

Being tone-deaf is a very frustrating phase for a student.

[sunson]

Yeah, I wasn't entirely tone deaf but I'm sure approximately I could be called deaf. Sometimes I could magically play what the teacher sang though I wouldn't know how I did it. Call it coincidence, probability, etc.,. ;)

btw, which hindustani male vocalist' would you recommend for hindustani newbie listeners? (I wanted to buy Bade Ghulam Ali Khan but the albums were all recorded in the 60s and I'm sure those would suck at quality... and man, Hindustani albums are so expensive. Nothing is below Rs.295!... or am I wrong?)

[arucard2]

very nice post. It sent me on a trip. :)

BTW, I have temporarily halted my violin lessons. :(

[gerani1248]

"Current mood: tripping on work
Current music: Love Fool - The Cardigans (No! Someone far away is playing i
Entry tags: guitar, madras musicals, mandolin, music
"

heyyy I love that song!

[sajith]

This is an adorable read :)

I've been living with a guitar dude for the past 7+ years (since college.) But I haven't seen this kind of enthu yet. Or he is hiding it very well.

[knutties]

Cool. The homecoming of a new instrument is pure joy. That too a custom made one. I was too young to appreciate my first "thuggu kattai" my Mridangam sir got for me :)