
Indian style fluency can be played on acoustic or electric, steel or nylon string guitar.
Many of my students use the Yamaha C40 or similar. Check guitar for playability since each piece can be different.
We will start with notes without slides. In the later lessons we will systematically add slides. This lesson we just want to start getting the sound of the scale on our guitar. Also from the notes, we will see how to understand the new scale compared to the basic major scale.
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include link to free video explaining slides ho po
Learn to read guitar tabs for detailed Indian style playing, understanding standard tuning, string numbering, frets, slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs from the player's perspective.
See the resources section for the tabs, fretboard diagramns that will clarify the concepts for you.
Assess the C major scale connect and sustain by practicing smooth note-by-note play, up and down strokes, and translating the concept into raga guitar techniques.
See the resources section for freboard images showing the Dha of mayamalavagowla or malahari on the 2nd string.
See resources for the fretboard images showing the different octaves
learn to locate notes and map fretboard positions for beginner raga guitar, focusing on the second and third strings and maintaining a consistent tuning relationship across strings.
Learn mpdssR swaras on the fretboard for beginner raga guitar, map notes on the fretboard, practice finger exercises, and explore sustained notes for smooth playback.
Explore beginner raga guitar techniques for the first carnatic geetham, focusing on using the ring finger for notes on higher strings and playing notes without slides.
Convert the double harmonic major scale, mayamalavagowla scale to the raga using appropriate ascend and descend slides. This video explanation and the associated image in the resource section will show you how. Once you know which swara gets what slide, you can parse the swara sheet, apply the swara slides to the applicable swaras.
Staff and tab in the resource section. Use the tabs to make sure the most efficient phrasing is used.
Sree gananatha Carnatic Geetham on guitar (standard tuned), the swara version with all slides. See resource for the TAB image with detailed slide markings
Learn to convert swara to song on guitar using slides. Place notes on the first string and slide between notes to shape a Carnatic geetham.
Staff and tab in the resource section. Use the tabs to make sure the most efficient phrasing is used.
Download and use the playalong video. Use a video player like VLC media player to slow down in the beginning.
Are the notes correct?
Are the slides legible, ending with sustained sound?
Are the finger moves optimized?
Try playing a phrase 10 times, see if you get it right 2 times or 5 times... If you get it right 8 times, that is enough ... sustain the practice.
Making sure the elements are taken care of, makes sure of improved skills and correct playing in the long term. We just get more fluent with the best practices and fundamentals.
Explains swara to lyrics slide techniques in charanam 01, detailing how to adjust slide positions to fit extended vowels, connect notes across strings, and optimize fret placements for smooth hits.
Join the Sakalavidya playalong for the 2nd charanam with precount, guiding a beginner raga guitar through a Carnatic geetham with a rhythmic beat.
Staff and tab in the resource section. Use the tabs to make sure the most efficient phrasing is used.
Carnatic music is the basis of South Indian music. Film songs too base their fluency and phrases on Carnatic Raga Music even though not mentioned directly.
Playing towards the music we are familiar with or are interested in is important to learning to play an instrument or learning music in general.
Often available carnatic music on western instrument sources translate the fluent gamaka based playing poorly to just scale notes. Or, the technique is disconnected from the standard tuned guitar or its scales, that the learning can feel like reinventing the wheel.
Often your talent is questioned, while the lack of teaching frameworks that care of the underlying mechanics, body level modeling, logical step by step progression are the real reasons.
This course is for you if,
you want to learn to play Carnatic Geetham Lambodara or Sree Gananatha, the first Geetham traditionally taught, on the standard tuned guitar. This is THE course.
you want to learn to play Carnatic in general, on the guitar, this is a very good starting point.
This geetham in Raga Malahari has a representative sound of Carnatic music and is the first Geetham (small composition) taught traditionally.
this course teaches it step by step starting with simple note strikes to slides.
NO need to play the sarali varisais on the guitar before attempting the geetham, since, guitar has frets and there is no need to worry about swara sthaanam / swara position fixing. Systematically learn to use slides to make fluent connected Carnatic sound using this course
you want to play or improvise with Indian music eventually.
Indian music is phrase based - random scale not combinations will not give you the raga. Therefore this course is a good starting point to understand the phrasal nature of the music, to connect the scales on the guitar to the raga in a systematic manner beyond remember and repeat.
You also develop the needed psychomotor skills in a graded manner from simple notes to slides and combinations.
want to try something new on the guitar? This course will help you connect your existing scale knowledge to enter to the world of ragas.
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Beyond remember and repeat
In our method, as shown in this course, we add raga rules based slides to scales and notes to make them raga and swaras. Playing techniques like slides, hammer ons and pull offs are used to connect the notes, create sustained playing, following rules of where to strike and where to slide.
Using this course you will not only learn how to play the Lambodara geetham, the first Carnatic geetham on the guitar, but also, learn the underlying theory and processes that will help you find the playing positions and style for more geethams, carnatic music and even your favorite popular songs played in Indian raga style.
Accessible step by step from note level
Starting with the simple notes variation of the Carnatic Geetham, we get familiar with mapping swaras on to the standard tuned guitar fretboard (usual tuning, no changes). Step by step:
refresh your memory of the C major scale
the two notes changed to get the Mayamalavagowla scale, the parent of Raga Malahari
play the notes varition without slides
see the raga slides needed to change the scale to raga
add the first version of simple slides to get the raga sound
add more slides to get a fuller version
Play the lyrics version - vowels absorb the slides
Play full fledged lyrics version Part1, Part 2, Part 3
While learning this song, we learn how the guitar is connected to raga music and carnatic music, how to connect swara sheet to fretboard moves, so that
You will learn not just this song, but the technique and understanding to further your repertoire.