Friday, January 18, 2008

Kart learns to Rock - My first date with Violin.

Ever since my sister started learning carnatic music (that was a decade ago), I wanted to learn a musical instrument - initially it was not because of my overwhelming interest in music but purely because I always wanted to set the parities straight with my sister, who was teasing me for my musical ignorance. Over the years that wish grew stronger and stronger and by the end of last year it was strong enough to seriously think about joining a music class.

Why not Vocal? That wouldn't have been a question in the first place, if you had got a chance to hear my voice before. I am a below average bathroom signer. By saying this I am not trying to be modest. :-)

Now came the tougher question - which instrument to learn - Veena, Keyboard, guitar, violin or drums?

Why not Veena? I am skeptical about learning Veena, as the world 'Veena' sounds feminine to me - may be because I started growing watching 'I-eat-curd-rice' girls playing Veena in Doordharshan or may be because my bed room had a photo of Goddess Saraswathi playing Veena.

Why not Keyboard? Keyboard is an easy instrument to learn. Even if you are a bad musician, the sound from keyboard won't make you look awfully bad. But it can generate only discrete frequencies unlike string instruments which can generate continuous frequencies. It might also be monotonous - especially after spending hours in office typing my computer keyboard.

Why not drums? I recently moved to an apartment and I wanted to stay there for some more time - so don't wanna risk being tagged as nuisance by my neighbors - learning drums can be pleasant feeling to you but not to those around you :-).

Now the real tussle was between learning Violin and guitar. Guitar always sounded a cool thing and I usually envisage it with rock stars. But, Violin is also an equally cool instrument. Then, I asked my friend, who though not a prodigy in the world of music has a profound interest in music, batted for Violin and suggested me to take it up. The icing on the cake was when my school mate gifted his violin to me, definitely not an euphemism for saying that I grabbed it from him. :-), which obviated the need for further analysis on choosing the instrument.

After zeroing in on the instrument, and after a month long search for a good music teacher, I joined kalanjali to learn carnatic violin by Jan first week.

My first day was cool and it lasted only for 30 minutes. I did pooja to Goddess Saraswathi's image @ Kalanjali- not because I am a theist but only because my master is... After completing the rituals, I struggled to play even...Sa...ri...ga...ma.. in my violin for the next 15 minutes. But not any more, after a week long practice and now my apartment mates have also started enjoying my experiments with violin, though they occasionally tease me for the odd sound it generates in between. :-)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's a good start. Hope you started to enjoy playing violin.

Ramkumar said...

"it can generate only discrete frequencies unlike string instruments which can generate continuous frequencies."
u very well know that i am not knowledgeable in music either. But this statement looks wrong to me. U press continously u wud get the same effect in keyboard too.
violin is good choice. it has to be violin or guitar since they are easily portable.
if u feel veena is feminine (it is) i think u shud try rudra veena :)

kart said...

@Ramkumar: May be you are rite about the generation of continuous frequencies in keyboard. I am a novice as far as music is concerned. :-)
Rudra Veena could be a good option but one bad thing about Veena is that u have to sit (as if u r eating a full meals in a traditional marriage dining hall) and then play it.
Guitar, flute or violin... u can walk along the beach and play it at ur will.

shobana said...

All the best for your new endaevour.
I am sure you would keep the interest and enjoy your learning...:)

kart said...

Thanks Shobi...It's good fun to learn violin.