DOCUMENTATION OF ‘KHAYAAL GAAYAN’ & ASSOCIATED VOICE
CULTURE
Part of Senior Fellowship project under CCRT, New Delhi.
Name : MOUMITA MITRA
Email ID : moumitamitra@gmaill.com
INTRODUCTION
Being a performer of
Hindustani Classical Vocal and Computer Science, I thought of documenting the
process of ‘Khayaal Gaayan’ in virtual format like making videos and also
maintaining a written document as far as possible. Since Music is more a
practical oriented art form, hence videos are best options of documentation
medium.
The ‘Gaayaki’ of
‘Khayaal’ needs to be documented stepwise vividly following a general and
widely accepted format; so that, future generations of musicians could also
have an idea and/or from the video documentations.
Apart from documenting
the whole process, it is also necessary to discuss about the correct Voice
Culture in ‘Khayaal’ which could prevent unnecessary vocal damage due to wrong
techniques used in ‘Khayaal Gaayan’.
My 1st report of Senior Fellowship in the mentioned topic is on Voice Culture associated with Hindustani Vocal Music. I have tried to vividly discuss about scientific techniques of Voice Throw, discussed health related issues, voice culture and practices related to correct Voice Culture.
INDEX
Reference Video no. 1 and Title: Choosing correct Sa
Discussion about various registers
of our Voice, Chest, Throat, Palette/Head
Reference Video no. 2 and Title:
Association of body regions with octave singing
How the Lower, Middle and Upper Octave singing might get affected?
What is Natural and False voice?
Disadvantages of Wrong Voice
Practice
What should be the duration of
practice every day? What should we practice and how to practice?
Reference Video no. 4 and Title: Optimum mouth opening for Aakaar Riyaaz
Reference Video no. 5 and Title: Warm Up exercises for middle and lower octaves
Morning practice on empty stomach or
after eating?
Factors contributing to problems in
Voice and their cure
Association of Voice with Age,
Physique, Gender
Pandit Kumar Gandharva as an example:
Association of Power packed
‘Gayaaki’ and Voice Throw with ‘Khayaal’. Is it true?
Reference Video no. 7 and Title: Power packed Loud Voice Throw vs Natural Voice Throw in Khayaal
Association of typical voice throw
with Thumris
Reference Video no. 8 and Title: Typical ‘Thumri Gaayan’ with normal ‘Gaayan’
Correct Way of ‘Aakaar Taan’
Practice
Reference Video no. 9 and Title: Practicing Aakaar Taans
Aesthetics of ‘Swar’ or ‘Sargam
Gaayaki’ in ‘Khayaal’
Reference Video no. 10 and Title: Aesthetics of Sargam improvisation in Khayaal
Reference Video no. 11 and Title: Preserving Musicality of Indian Classical Music
Use of Dynamics in ‘Khayaal Gaayan’
Reference Video no. 12 and Title: Use of Dynamics in Khayaal Gaayan
Practice for Students with affected
voice
How do I carry out these
exercises?
Adding some ‘sound’ /
‘voice’ into the trill
Reference Video no. 13 and Title: Warm Up Exercises for Affected Voice
Practice
Technique for Music Practitioners with short breath
Reference Video no. 14 and Title: Practice Technique for short breath
Practice
Technique to Achieve Steadiness of Voice
Reference Video no. 15 and Title: Practice Technique to achieve Steadiness
Reference Video no. 16 and Title: Practice of higher octave swaras
Final
Video Demonstrating a Performance with discussed Voice Culture
Reference Video no. 17 and Title: Performance with voice culture application
Choosing Correct 'Sa' or Key
We often come across
the question “What is your scale?” The term “Scale” had a different meaning as
per concept of Western Music. But what we are actually asked is, “What is your
‘Sa’?”, that is; we are asked about our natural vocal range. We could also say
it’s our “Key”. It is a very important
information that all vocalists should be aware of. We humans are gifted with a
natural vocal timbre which is unique. With the correct selection and
identification of our individual vocal range, we can make utmost use of this
unique vocal timbre and texture, also preserve our natural voice and prevent
damage to our voice.
Our voice has 3
registers, lower, middle and upper identified as Chest, Throat-Palette, Head
Voices. Knowing and using this science helps every artist to sing in their
natural voice. I will discuss this in detail later.
While singing Indian
Classical Music, we ought to know which should be our middle octave ‘Sa’.
How to choose correct
Key or ‘Sa’?
Usually, it is seen
that for female vocalists, the ‘Sa’ ranges from G – B
On listening to the
texture of voice of a particular student, a teacher could ask her to start
trying from G# or A#. If the student has a heavy voice, then a teacher might
ask her to start trying from G#.
So, G# becomes the
chosen Sa and the student is asked to sing the lower octave from ‘Sa’ and
downwards ‘Ni Dha Pa’ and onwards. If the student is comfortable singing till
lower octave ‘Pa’, then she is asked to sing from Upper Octave ‘Sa’ upwards ‘Re
Ga Ma’ onwards till the ‘Swar’ she is comfortable singing with her natural
voice. If it’s only till upper ‘Re’, then the teacher might suggest to choose G
as her ‘Sa’ because her natural ability is to sing low.
If the student can
sing up to upper ‘Ga Ma’ and only up to ‘Dha’ in the lower octave, then the
teacher might suggest A or A# as her ‘Sa’.
If the voice of a
student sounds shrill, then starting the process from A or A# makes more sense.
Again, there are
vocalists whose vocal range is naturally short, in that case the range could be
chosen from lower octave ‘Ni’ and upper octave ‘Re’ of the chosen Key (A, A#
etc.). Vocal Range could be increased with correct practice.
For male vocalists,
the usual Vocal Range might vary between C and E. For kids and during the
adolescence period, it’s very tricky to choose the Key and should be done
carefully under the proper guidance of a teacher. Usually male kids have
shriller voice and in adolescence period the key could go down to ‘A A#’ and
after the adolescence period the key could go higher again, so this training
period of male students need to be taken care of by their teacher, a proper guidance
regarding their key is needed.
In case of male
students, the same process as described before, may be used, just the starting
key could be between C and E. Again, there are some male voices who sound
natural in the female range, that also has to be taken into account.
Reference Video no. 1 and Title:
Choosing correct Sa
Discussion about various registers of our Voice, Chest, Throat, Palette/Head
We often use the word
Natural and Falsetto, we will discuss about them.
Is this concept of
voice register, a contribution of the Western World or Indian Traditional Music
had this originally?
If we go through
historical texts and compositional texts like traditional ‘Bandishes’(compositions),
we can find examples of such voice cultures mentioned. While going through
various compositions assimilated in ‘Kramik Pustak Malika’ by Pandit V.N
BhatkhanDe, I came across a ‘Bandish’ in ‘Raag Yaman’ which says:
Asthaayi
Aahat Anaahat Bhed
Naadke
Pratham Bhed
Shrutiyanso Howe
Anaahat Munijan
Dhyaan Dharat Jub
Antaraa
Nabhi KanTha Aur
Moordha Sthaanso
Mandra Madhya Aur
Taar Howat
Sapt Suranko Naam
Bakhaane
In the above lyric,
please mark the words in the ‘Antaraa’; it says – ‘Nabhi KanTha Aur Moordha
Sthaan” which mean the Navel, Throat and Palette (inside mouth) regions of our
body.
Then the second line
of ‘Antaraa’ says – “Mandra Madhya Aur Taar” which means the Navel, Throat and
Palette are being associated with the Lower, Middle and Upper Octaves. So, when
we sing the lower octave, we can feel the vibration around the navel region and
even our chest. While singing the middle octave, the vibration can be felt in
our throat and for Upper octave singing, the vibrations in the Palette and
Upper Part (Sinus area) of our faces can be felt. This is the most natural form
of Voice Culture. When we sing naturally, these bodily vibrations will get
associated. Try to sing a lower octave ‘Swar’ without using air pressure from
chest or navel area, it won’t be possible; or could sound nasal if you are
using the vibrations of the palette or sinus region; this happens because lower
octave will involve navel and chest area support. Try shifting your voice from
lower to middle octave, you will feel a vibration shift from Chest to throat
region and likewise during middle to upper octave shift, you will feel a
vibration around the nasal region.
Reference Video no. 2 and Title: Association of body regions with octave singing
How the Lower, Middle
and Upper Octave singing might get affected?
Back to Index
Proper vibrations of
these regions are necessary for perfect resonance of Sound in different
Octaves.
If your Lungs are
affected with phlegm, or you have abdominal issues, then the vibrations while
singing the lower octave will suffer and you will have difficulty in singing
lower octave. Medicines are suggested to cure.
Similarly, if your
Pharynx or Larynx are affected, the middle range suffers the most (however,
with affected Pharynx and Larynx, singing is not suggested at all). Medicines
are voice rest are suggested,
Again, if your nose
or sinus pockets are blocked with mucus, then upper octave singing gets
difficult and a greater pressure is required to bring out desired resonance in
upper octave. Normal steam inhalation is suggested to clear the sinus passage filled
with mucus.
These days, we come
across many videos from the Western World, demonstrating Chest and Head Voice,
however, we already had this Vocal Science associated with Indian Traditional
Music.
What is Natural and False voice?
Natural Voice
includes our Chest/Navel, Throat and Palette vibration originated voice. It is
actually difficult to express in words about the difference between natural and
falsetto singing, please refer to the video for clarity of understanding.
Usually if we sing in false voice, the face muscle vibrations can be felt
whereas when we use our natural voice, a vibration in the throat and chest
regions can also be felt.
I have tried to
demonstrate my concept and thought about natural and false voice in the
associated video. In the higher octave, sometimes it is necessary to compress
our voice which sounds slightly different from that when we sing open.
For example, when I
sing the upper octave ‘Gandhar’, I use a compressed voice. If I try to sing
‘Gandhar’ open throated, chances are there I might damage my voice, some people
possessing a larger natural vocal range can sing open in higher octaves also,
but people with naturally shorter vocal range might choose to compress after a
particular ‘Swar’ in higher octave.
This compressed voice
could be termed as False Voice but is not exactly the same voice production of
Falsetto as per Western Music concept.
It’s also important
to understand when to shift to compressed voice from natural throw, and it is
important to practice the transition properly so that the transition is smooth
and doesn’t sound abrupt and the compression should not sound evident. The
character of voice should remain similar when transitioning from Natural to
compressed voice and vice versa. I have tried to demonstrate this transition in
the last part of the reference video on this; from 7:30 minutes on wards in the
reference video.
Reference Video no. 3 and
Title: Demonstrating Natural and False Voice with Transition from Middle to
Upper Octaves and back
Disadvantages of Wrong Voice Practice
Often Students are
asked to sing ‘Swaraas’ outside their Vocal Ranges. That is necessary for sure
to increase our Vocal Range, but doing it forcefully might permanently damage
our voice texture and it has happened to many artists singing Indian Classical
Music. Many female vocalists sound hoarse or manly, many have hiss noise
associated with their voices, rather than a round full voice; air is associated
with voice; which is, most of the times, a result of wrong vocal technique.
There are naturally gifted singers, who have a natural larger vocal range, but
for others, we all have limited natural vocal ranges which could be increased
with correct practice.
Many students are
asked to sing in a loud and open voice throw in the upper octave. The reason
shown is “Indian Classical Music doesn’t have the concept of Falsetto, so, even
we should sing in open throw even in the upper octave”. Yes, indeed no need of Falsetto,
but there is no harm in controlling our voices. The loud and open voice throw
practice in the upper octave have actually taken a toll on many voices and have
ruined their natural voice textures for life. Also, if a falsetto or compressed
voice, which quality wise sound like natural voice be used, no harm in it, but
we need to make sure, the transition from natural to falsetto/compressed voice
sound natural. We often forget, that the comfort of our voice is also
necessary, we just can’t keep practicing with vocal discomforts and then
eventually damage our natural voice texture.
We humans are all
gifted with a Natural and Unique Voice texture, so we should not damage the
texture with any wrong practice.
Not only in Classical
Music, in any genre of Music, singing according to one’s own vocal range is
necessary. Some of my students also singing Bollywood music complain that when
they sing with Karaoke tracks of film songs, often they feel uncomfortable and
can’t sing with the proper finesse and sometimes after a full concert of
Karaoke singing, they feel their voice suffer damage. They ask me for a
solution to this. I am really helpless in this aspect, because, singing in
natural vocal range is the most comfortable and healthy way of singing and
preserving voice texture. Karaoke tracks are mostly in the keys of the original
recordings. Supposing; I choose a song of Late Mangeshkar and try singing with
the Karaoke track of the song in the key in which Lata Mangeshkar sang, but
unfortunately if my natural key is lower than that, then, for most of the
singing I need to resort to a false voice or a compressed voice which is not
natural to me. Singing for hours in that voice could damage my voice. Hence,
the only way out it preparing the music tracks of the songs in our natural key;
that is; singing in a key which supports my natural vocal range. Occasionally,
some higher octave phrases could be sung with a false/compressed voice, that is
usually not a factor contributing to damage of voice.
What should be the duration of practice every day? What should we practice and how to practice?
Practice should be
Vocal and Mental. Practicing by singing in real depends on one’s physical and
vocal abilities, but practice of the mind could continue always.
It is also important
to know and decide what to practice.
Morning practice
should always start with warm up of voice by singing in lower octave.
Holding on to ‘Swaraas’
for long (as long as a deep breath permits and as long as my voice doesn’t
shake) in the lower octave mainly.
If initially singing
in ‘Aakaar’ feels difficult then we could try hum the ‘Swaraas’ with closed
mouth and when we feel our voice is stable, we can try singing ‘Aakaar’.
It is also important
to know how much or how big we should open our mouth to sing the ‘Aakaar’. It
should be an optimum opening, not too small not too big.
A very small opening
of mouth while practicing ‘Aakaar’ doesn’t bring out the proper chest voice.
Again some ‘Gharanas’ of ‘Khayaal’ practice a big open mouth ‘Aakar’ which
often gets associated with loud and powerful voice throw and eventually affects
a sensitive voice. Hence this big open mouth practice is also not suggested.
Reference Video no. 4 and
Title: Optimum mouth opening for Aakaar Riyaaz
Intermittent deep
breathing is necessary.
Then gradually
proceeding towards middle octave.
Some teachers also
suggest practicing with other vowels like ‘ae’ ‘eee’ ‘o’ ‘uuu’ but I suggest
these practices mostly when the voice is strained and needs to be healed and ‘Aakaar’
is to be avoided (I will cover this part regarding “practice for affected
voice’ in a later section).
Practice of glides/ ‘Meends’
help in smoothening voice. Making simple phrases in lower and middle octaves
and singing them with glides, help in warm up practice. First, try out the
slower glides, then, when a student is confident enough of the ‘Swara
Sthaanams’, the student could move on to the next level of practising faster
movements of glides.
The Fade-In Fade-Out
techniques also help to get a good control over breathing and ‘Swar’
steadiness. Start singing a ‘Swar’, hold on to it and then try to fade out the
volume. Similarly, start singing a ‘Swar’ in a lower volume and gradually raise
the volume to normal, hold on to it and then finish on this volume (fade-in
technique). Third is to try out both fade-in and fade-out; start singing a ‘Swar’
in a lower volume, hold on for a while in normal volume then try fading out the
volume.
For advanced
students, if a fast warm up is necessary, then singing ‘Aakaar Taans’ help.
The full octave and
upper octave singing is not suggested without proper warm up.
Reference Video no. 5 and Title: Warm Up exercises for
middle and lower octaves
Morning practice on empty stomach or after eating?
If we follow the
traditional approach, then early morning ‘Riyaaz’ / practice without having
food or breakfast is the answer.
But with lifestyle
changes, we don’t have time to wake up at 4 or 5 a.m for practice, hence the
ideal time practice is a myth for most of us. I never could wake up at 5 a.m
hence my practice started late always.
Regarding food before
or after practice. I have tried both ways, but practice on empty stomach has
always been of discomfort to me. I could sustain the practice on empty stomach
for half an hour, after which my voice felt strained, also warm up took a much
longer time than when I have small portion of food or tea snacks before warm
up.
After having a light
breakfast or just tea and little amount of snack, the warm up process was
faster and my voice also felt lesser strain.
But again, this is
just my personal experience, there is no such rule on this. A practitioner
should understand his/her physique to adjust to this (warm up with or without
food).
Factors contributing to problems in Voice and their cure
a) Primary factors
include, ailments in the throat region, pharynx, larynx, tonsils.
Many practitioners
develop nodules in throat (small cysts) due to overuse of vocal muscles. All
these problems could be cured with proper medicine by consulting ENT and voice
rest and correct practice.
Problems due to
sinusitis which keep our noses blocked and eventually exert pressure on voice
during singing higher octaves and pronouncing consonants. There are alternative
medicines to help with sinusitis and inhaling plain water steam through nose
and mouth help clear out the mucus temporarily. Repeating this 3-4 times a day
might help in keeping nasal passage clear.
If someone has any
ailment of lungs, then retaining breath for long becomes difficult, hence
singing becomes difficult. Proper medicine from The Doctor is suggested.
‘Praanaayam’ and/or other breathing exercises could also help. Practice during
this ailment should be focused on singing shorter phrases and intermittent
deep breathing.
b) Another very
important factor is condition of gut. If someone has problems with bloating and
acid reflux, it takes a toll on the voice. With bloating and acid reflux, a
singer might feel gasped out on singing short phrases, singing in higher
registers becomes difficult, a discomfort is felt in voice due to burning
sensation (due to acid reflux) and the natural texture of voice suffers. With
doctor’s advice and medicine, gut related problem could be cured.
c) Another factor is
back pain or Spondylitis. It might sound funny, but it is something which I
have realised. When I have any kind of pain related to the spines especially,
the smoothness of my voice suffers. The fluidity of ‘Aakaar Taans’ suffer, to
bring out ‘Taans’ with nice clarity, a lot of pressure is needed if I am
suffering from back pain or any chest muscle pain. Pain killers are temporary
solution, but only with Doctor’s advice to relieve the pain temporarily. But if
the pain persists longer, a consulting Orthopaedic might help with a cure. But
Muscular pain and Spondylitis/Spondylosis do contribute in vocal discomfort.
d) Thyroid and Diabetes
contribute to problems related to smoothness and steadiness of voice. Voice
tends to get tired easily. Same happens when blood sugar level is high. Hence
such physiological ailments need to be managed properly.
e) Excessive talking or
talking loudly without intermittent breathing causes a vocal strain. It is
often seen that when an artist sings with a lot of talking in between, the
voice suffers more strain and voice sounds husky or hoarse at times.
f) Often the climate or
weather affects sensitive throats. Too much humidity, perspiration might cause
mucus and sinus related issues which in turn affect the voice.
Too much dryness
could also affect the voice and frequent sipping on soothing drinks might help.
g) Hormonal Issues in
women around the age 40-50, sometimes due to hormonal changes, hoarseness of
voice occurs, throat could become dry frequently.
h) Anaemia and Vitamin D
deficiency are another often overlooked factor. Anaemic people and people with
Vit. D deficiency could suffer from general lack of immunity and naturally
their vocal muscles become tender and with short duration of singing or practice
could lead to a pressure on voice. Usually, women have a tendency of falling
levels of haemoglobin and Vit. D; a regular check-up is suggested so that we
could take supplements and other measures to maintain the normal levels.
i) Age – With age, the
vocal muscle strength naturally lessens, the natural Key of singing usually
comes down by a full tone or more. Hence adjusting to proper Key with age is
necessary. In case of Classical Music, a change of ‘Gayaaki’ is also needed.
Usually at a younger age, our strength and physique support a ‘Taan’ based ‘Gayaaki’,
with growing age many musicians struggle to cope up with speedy ‘Taans’
performed at their younger ages; hence a slower tempo and more cerebral ‘Gayaaki’
could suit them at a later age.
Association of Voice with Age, Physique, Gender
With age, it’s a
natural process and tendency that our singing Key comes down. So, if at an age
of 20, a Male vocalist sings in D# or E, at the age of 50, his Key might come
down to C or C# naturally. Similar is the case with women vocalists, with age,
their Key also come down by a full tone or more. So, if a woman used to sing in
C at an age of 20, she would sing in A# around an age of 40-45. However, all
these parameters vary with person to person, depending on human physique,
built, etc...
Many women face
hormonal issues from an age of 40 and above and the Voice get affected in
various ways. There could be hoarseness, breathing issues and others.
Human physique
contributes a lot in Vocal Range and Power. Usually, strong physique allows a
bigger natural vocal range and a powerful voice throw. There are some people
with a weaker physique whose natural voice range is smaller and has a weaker
voice production naturally. This physique has association with genes; hence we
can observe that Classical Musicians of certain regions following a powerful ‘Gayaaki’,
again musicians of certain regions follow a less powerful voice throw. Hence,
teachers should be aware of the physique and natural ability and natural voice
texture-range of a student and teach accordingly. All kinds of ‘Gayaaki’
doesn’t suit everyone. If an open throated ‘Gayaaki’ is imposed on a student
with weak physique, or weak vocal muscles, there are immense possibilities that
the natural voice texture might get damaged and voice could get hoarse or
breathy.
Hence it is very
important for a teacher to understand the natural ability or tendency of voice
of a student.
Pandit Kumar Gandharva as an example:
Pandit Kumar
Gandharva’s Voice Throw is an example of how Lung capacity is related to Voice
throw and texture.
As mentioned earlier,
if we have lung problems or congestion, it would be difficult to sing in Lower
Octave and if we suffer from sinusitis, our voice won’t resonate perfectly in
higher octave.
Pandit Kumar
Gandharva suffered from severe pneumonia, due to which he had to stop singing
for several years and after that he changed his natural pitch of singing to F#
which was quite high. It had been a very judicious decision as he knew his
lungs won’t support him in lower notes/ ‘Swaraas’, hence he raised his natural
Key higher, so that he need not sing too low. Also, he changed his singing
style. He sang quite high (in F or F#) and sang shorter phrases and made these
his style, singing shorter phrases wouldn’t require long breath support and
hence with his limited lung capacity he adjusted his singing style and made it
his signature.
Reference Video no. 6 and Title: Raag Bhoopali Kumar
Gandharva Music Today (Pandit Kumar Gandharva’s video
sample from Youtube)
Association of Power packed ‘Gayaaki’ and Voice Throw with ‘Khayaal’. Is it true?
There was a time when
Artists had to sing full throated without any amplification and be audible to a
big room audience. Hence, the natural practice which they had to follow was an
open full throated voice throw. And depending on the physical conditions, many
vocalists actually lost their natural voice texture. Most female vocalists
sounded masculine and/or nasal due to excess constant pressure on their vocal
muscles (as evident from available recordings), They became loud enough to be
audible to a large room of audience, but lost their natural feminine voice
texture. We also come across recordings of Male vocalists, whose voice sound
breathy, that also may be due to this kind of powerful practice which perhaps
was not suited to their physique and voice. In this Era, we have amplification
systems so that we could sing with our natural voice throw and not too loud and
use the modern technology to amplify.
Some ‘Gharanas’
emphasize on open throated loud and open mouth kind of ‘Gaayaki’, again some
‘Gharanas’ use a lot of ‘Gamaks’ and thrust based ‘Gaayaki’. All are quite
unique and distinct styles. However, to sing the particular styles, sometime
unknowingly a student could exert pressure on the vocal muscles and damage
them. How well a ‘Gaayaki’ suits an artist, is decided by many factors, among
which, physique is an important factor. Some students could have weak vocal
muscles which may not withstand the powerful ‘Gamak’ based or full throated
open mouthed ‘Gaayaki’. Hence, it is on the teacher and the student to
understand the ability and decide upon the suitability of a ‘Gaayaki’. Even if
a particular ‘Gharana’ has a particular powerful style of singing, it could be
mellowed down to some extent to suit the ability of a particular student, else
there could be a chance that the student trying to imitate the powerful voice
throw could permanently damage his/her natural voice and sound
hoarse/nasal/breathy.
Reference Video no. 7 and Title: Power packed Loud Voice
Throw vs Natural Voice Throw in Khayaal
Association of typical voice throw with Thumris
Not only in ‘Khayaal’,
even in ‘Thumri’, a particular ‘Gayaaki’ was being followed, which we can
understand is quite typically associated with ‘Thumri Gaayan’. But is that
necessary even in this era?
I have personally
experienced watching an exponent and renowned female Thumri Vocalist teaching
and compelling her young student to literally shout and sing the upper ‘Ga’
with an open throat. And I could understand that the student who kept on trying
to reach the higher notes with uncompressed, with full throat, had already lost
her natural sweet voice texture which she had few years back when I knew her.
At an age of 25 she sounded like 60 with a masculine and breathy voice texture.
However, I have been hearing from several senior musicians that to sing Thumri,
we need to actually sound nasal, hoarse and breathy. So, the damaged voice due
to wrong vocal exercises now got associated with a particular ‘Gayaaki’. People
would argue, Classical musicians need not care about their voice texture, nice
and sweet voice are only requirements for light or commercial music. But why?
Music, be it in any form, should first sound appealing. Even when we listen to
Classical Instrumental Music like Sitar, Sarod, tone does matter. Then why not
the same approach towards Classical Vocal Music. And when in this era, our
technology is of immense help to preserve our natural voice, why not?
Reference Video no. 8 and Title: Typical ‘Thumri Gaayan’
with normal ‘Gaayan’
Correct Way of ‘Aakaar Taan’ Practice
While practicing
improvisation and ‘Taan’ with ‘aa’ vowel, we should be careful about few
factors. One of them is how much to open our mouth, next is how much air thrust
to be used, whether to use ‘Gamaks’ or not, how loud should it be. All details
have been explained in the related video. During practice, if at any point we
feel any pressure or pain in voice, we should not continue to practice.
Instead, take deep breath and try in a softer voice throw. It is always
suggested to use a natural voice throw and even for ‘Taans’, a volume in which
we speak is suggested with an optimum mouth opening. For dynamics sake, ‘Gamaks’
could be used, air thrust or volume could be varied.
Reference Video no. 9 and Title: Practicing
Aakaar Taans
Aesthetics of ‘Swar’ or ‘Sargam Gaayaki’ in ‘Khayaal’
Some artists choose
not to improvise with ‘Swaraas’ (using the ‘Swara’ names’), again some artists
choose to do so. It is said that in ‘Kirana (Kairana) Gharana’, initially there
was no improvisation with ‘Swaraas’. Ustad Amir Khan is said to have
incorporated it under the influence of Carnatic Classical Music where ‘Sargam’
singing is used.
Coming to the
aesthetics part of ‘sargam’ singing, the ‘sargam’ or ‘Swara’ improvisation
could sound better if we take care of the pronunciation, thrust, way of binding
the ‘Swaraas’ with each other.
Often, we see when
children are made to practice ‘Paltas’ (combinations of ‘Swaraas’), they sing
it as staccato, especially when the doublets and triplets occur, like ‘GG MM
PP’ or ‘RRR GGG’. If these are sung as staccatos, they would sound too basic
and childish. If we pronounce the ‘Swaraas’ lightly or softly, join the ‘Swaraas’
with short glides (‘Meends’) or use light weight ‘Gamaks’ when singing the ‘Swaraas’,
the ‘Sargam’ improvisation part of ‘Khayaal’ could become quite aesthetic and
pleasant to listen. I have tried to explain these factors in the reference
video.
Reference Video no. 10 and Title: Aesthetics of Sargam improvisation
in Khayaal
‘Khayaal’ is Music
above all; hence, aesthetics is the most important aspect of it.
We can run after
skills, jugglery, gymnastics, but the temperament of a Raag, the melodiousness,
pleasantness, all are important factors to be kept in mind. There are videos
going viral these days, portraying the lightening ‘Taans’ and ‘Sargams’ in most
un-aesthetic ways and people are made to believe that this is Classical Music. In
concerts I hear young artists singing with a very heavy voice and especially
when it comes to ‘Taans Sargams’, they use heavy ‘Gamaks’ which sound too harsh,
un-aesthetic and the melodiousness of music and ‘Raag’ is affected.
Reference
Video no. 11 and Title: Preserving Musicality of Indian Classical Music
Use of Dynamics in ‘Khayaal Gaayan’
Dynamics play a very
important role in Music. If we talk about dynamics in Western terminology, then
Attack, Decay, all define dynamics. When we talk about dynamics in ‘Khayaal’; dynamics
is essential in building up a drama or expression. Instead of singing ‘Khayaal’
with a same voice throw and same loudness and air thrust all over, if we vary
the voice throw, loudness and air pressure used, this helps in building up
dynamics. An aesthetic use of ‘Meends’ (glides), Staccatos, ‘Murkis’, ‘Gamaks’,
to create variety elements could also be considered part of dynamics. Dynamics
could be applied to slow ‘Vistaar’, holding ‘Swaraas’, in slow improvisation as
well as in ‘Taans’ and ‘Sargam’ improvisations. Varying volumes in long holding
‘Swaraas’, use of ‘Kampan’ or vibrato to add to expression, all are parts of
dynamics. Similarly, in ‘Sargam’ improvisation, the use of dynamics is with
varying thrust, use of ‘Gamaks’, varying volumes. In ‘Taans’, power of voice
production is usually varied to create dynamics. Sudden halting on ‘Swaraas’,
use of faster ‘Meends’ in ‘Aakaar’ along with powerful ‘Taans’ side by side
also help creating dynamics. I have discussed in detail and demonstrated the
way dynamics could be used in ‘Khayaal’.
Reference Video no. 12 and Title: Use of Dynamics in Khayaal Gaayan
Practice for Students with affected voice
It’s very common for
an artist to suffer from voice problems, I lost my voice thrice. Common cold,
flu, allergy, excessive use, all could be good reasons for damage of vocal
cords. Every time I lost my voice, I got stressed and panicked as in 10-15 days
I had concerts to perform for 2 hours. I visited the ENT doctors and they gave
mild steroids and prescribed complete rest for 7-10 days. After that I was
suggested to start light warm ups which included singing with hum, ‘ii’ vowel
and intermittent deep breathing.
So, here’s step wise,
what I practice for warming up my voice after recovery from a voice loss. All
practices are suggested mostly in lower octave which may extend up to ‘Pancham’
of middle octave.
1. Holding long ‘Swaraas’
with hum.
2. ‘Meends’ or glides
with hum
3. Holding long ‘Swaraas’
with ‘ii’ vowel. ‘Meends’ with the same.
4. Holding long ‘Swaraas’
with ‘O’ vowel. ‘Meends’ with the same.
5. Finally, the Lip
Trilling exercises. Hold on to ‘Swaraas’ with lip trill and try ‘Meends’ with
the same.
The Lip trilling
exercise is more of a Western Music concept but it has been my experience that
it truly helps soothing vocal muscles. Often, we feel strain on our voice after
a period of practice, this lip trill exercise helps soothe the muscles and get
rid of vocal tiredness.
Note on Lip Trill exercises
The following
detail, between third brackets and quotes has been used from
https://www.cuh.nhs.uk/patient-information/lip-trills-exercises/
[“These exercises are for patients with voice problems. It explains why
these exercises are needed and how to carry them out. Lip trilling helps to
achieve smooth voicing by encouraging the mouth and throat to be relaxed.
How do I carry out these
exercises?
Before you
begin, ensure that you sit in a comfortable position and avoid slouching. If
you prefer, you can stand up with your feet slightly apart with your weight
evenly balanced. Remain relaxed and use the breathing technique you have been
taught.
- Begin by breathing in through your nose
and out through your mouth silently. Do this until you feel that a smooth
rhythm has been established.
- Breathe in through your nose and when you
breathe out vibrate your lips together as if you were blowing bubbles
underwater. At this point your lips should be making a noise but you
should not be using your vocal folds (voicing).
- Do not try
to lip trill with pursed lips. Your lips should be relaxed and vibrating
freely. If you are unable to do this, place one finger from each hand on
your face either side of your lips. Gently push your cheeks so that your
lips make a slight pout.
- Produce a gentle lip trill, holding it
for as long as it feels relaxed and comfortable. Stop before you run out
of breath and stop if you feel any discomfort or tension. Repeat the lip
trill 10 times.
Once you
have practised the gentle ‘voiceless’ trills on their own and feel comfortable
with them, try:
Adding some ‘sound’ / ‘voice’
into the trill
Breathe in
through your nose and when you breathe out vibrate your lips together with some
sound, like a telephone ringing. Choose a pitch which is comfortable for you.
Keep the pitch monotonous and do not vary it by going higher or lower.
Make the sound 'brrrrrrrr' by
vibrating the lips, like a telephone ringing. Do not make the pitch vary by
going higher or lower.
Repeat this
10 times and stop if you run out of breath or if you feel any discomfort or
tension.”]
Now, we
could vary the pitch in lip trills and try ‘Meends’ with lip trills, in lower
and middle octaves.
Some people
face problem in naturally bringing out the Lip Trill sound, they may use a
technique: Press with fingers on cheek lightly and then try the Lip Trill.
All these
warm up exercises have been elaborated in the following reference video:
Reference Video no. 13 and Title:
Warm Up Exercises for Affected Voice
Practice Technique for Music Practitioners with short breath
I am sharing this from my
personal experience of teaching a student who has short breath due to some lung
problems. So, any practice I would give her using ‘Aakaar’ and long ‘Meends’
/Glides, she is unable to execute.
Instead, I suggested her
some different practices like singing short phrases and with different vowels.
The vowels like ‘Re Nom Ri
He Nu’ were suggested instead of ‘Aakaar’. Short phrases comprising of 3-4 ‘Swaraas’
using the Vowels mentioned were suggested as practice. And intermittent deep
breathing through mouth/nose was suggested. Usually these vowels are used in ‘Dhrupad
Aalaap’. In the related video, I have tried to demonstrate the described
practice. This practice helped my student to at least keep on practicing even
with a short breath. However, the remedy to shortness of breath could be proper
treatment of lungs to increase lung capacity and ‘Yoga Praanaayams’. But until
the breath is increased, this practice could help a music practitioner continue
with Music Practice.
Reference Video no. 14 and Title:
Practice Technique for short breath
Practice Technique to Achieve Steadiness of Voice
Often, my students ask me
about the reason and any practice which could help them get their voices steady
at the beginning of a concert or performance. Many musicians have this problem
of unsteady, shaky voice at the start of a performance, after a while of warm
up, their voices get steady.
The reason of this
unsteadiness is not only related to the Voice, underlying phycological issues
are also responsible to some extent. We often get nervous when we start our
performance, that actually makes our voice shaky. Some senior musicians also
faced the same problem and the first 10 minutes of their concerts were always
with an unsteady voice. By this I mean, it’s nothing unnatural.
In order to overcome this,
the green room warm up helps. Also, the more consciously we try to keep our
voice steady, the worse it becomes. So, it’s better not to focus on this issue
and better not attempt straight long ‘Swaraas’ with ‘Aakaar’ initially. The ‘Re
Nom He Na Ri Nu’ vowel based ‘Aalaap’ could help, and singing some fast-paced
phrases, either on stage or off stage.
Sing fast phrases with
other vowels than ‘Aa’, hold on to the last ‘Swar’, gradually increase the
length of the resting ‘Swar’. This actually helps in many ways, a faster way to
warm up, helps to get over the nervousness to some extent.
I have tried to demonstrate
this practice in the related video.
This suggestion is also
from my practical experience of teaching a student who had a similar problem
and helped him to minimize his unsteadiness of voice.
Reference Video no. 15 and Title:
Practice Technique to achieve Steadiness
Practice of Higher Octave ‘Swaraas’
I have already described
the use of compressed voice in the higher octave in the natural and false voice
description.
Some students ask me about
how to practice the higher octave ‘Swaraas’ when we can’t actually sing them
naturally. My suggestion is, just hit/touch the higher Octave ‘Swar’ lightly
for a short while and come back to the mid octave. Once, you are confident of
the ‘Swar Sthaan’ of the higher octave ‘Swar’, try increasing the duration of
the ‘Swar’; that is, try holding the higher octave ‘Swar’ longer. Then keep
practicing the transition from mid to upper octave and back. You could adjust
the voice pressure as per your comfort level, also keeping in mind that the two
octaves shouldn’t sound too different in tonality, even when you are
compressing.
Another nice technique I
had been advised by my teacher was, opening up my mouth slightly more when I
was singing the higher octave ‘Swaraas’, this helped bringing out the clarity
of the sound produced in the higher octave.
The above-mentioned
techniques have been described practically in the related video.
Reference Video no. 16 and Title: Practice of higher octave swaras
Final Video Demonstrating a Performance with discussed Voice Culture
In this final video (for
this semester), I have performed ‘Raag Shuddh Saarang’, a ‘Teentaal Madhyalay
Bandish’, where, I have tried to sing with voice throw about which I have
discussed above. The use of Dynamics in ‘Sargam Taan’ improvisations,
aesthetics of ‘Khayaal’; all have been demonstrated.
Reference Video no. 17 and Title:
Performance with voice culture application
*********************************************************************************
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
1.
My Music Teachers Late Pandit A.T Kannan, Sri Anjan
Majumdar and Sri Subhashish Mukherjee
2.
Kramik Pustak Malika by Pandit V.N Bhatkhande
3.
https://www.cuh.nhs.uk/patient-information/lip-trills-exercises/
4.
www.youtube.com
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CONCLUSION
In this 6 monthly report, I
have tried to cover as much I could learn, perceive and experience myself
relating to Voice Culture. As a student, performing musician and teacher, I
learnt, experienced several nuances of Voice Culture. I have tried to document
them in written and video format. My report is more practical based; hence
several videos have been incorporated, in which I have demonstrated the nuances
of Voice Culture in utmost detail. It’s a kind suggestion to anyone trying to
understand the Voice Culture from this report, is to read and then watch the
videos for detailed and better understanding. Music is a practicing art; hence,
only theoretical and written documents are never sufficient to provide a clear
understanding. I am hopeful that this guidance regarding Voice Culture in
‘Khayaal’ could help many students and musicians save their voice texture and
help preserve the uniqueness of their voice and above all contribute to
“Aesthetic Beauty of ‘Khayaal Gaayan’”.
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