Comments on: Pedagogical techniques in Carnatic Music

By: Foreign Desi

Foreign Desi — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:48:54 +0000

Of course you can start learning in your late 20′s! I teach bharathanatyam to people who have just started learning with their 10 year old kids. You’re never too old to learn something new. I can’t believe someone turned you down?

I learnt the standard way, starting with sarali varsai. Before a child learns how to write a word, a child needs to practice writing letters. The word is something they understand, but not something they can write. Similarly, a child must learn the basics of swara’s & talam’s before learning how to put it together to form a song. It’s to help your voice understand the small nuances. The song may be a song you know and enjoy, but without knowing the order of swara’s you might not be able to put the song together and give it justice.

That’s just my two cents about your confusions. I also believe that for people who start at an older age, they can alternate with learning sarali varsai’s and songs, because they can pick things up faster.

By: praseena

praseena — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 23:05:27 +0000

HI.i am old enough to have been refused from many a classical teacher’s institution but i still have this intense desire to learn.what do u think.can a person start learning music in their late twenties…i really want to and am keen.is their some problem with the vocals after a certain age? am curious as to why i am being refused.yes,i have asthma…at the mention of that most of them say no anyways.

By: Nivedita

Nivedita — Thu, 31 May 2007 12:53:52 +0000

Hey, I’ve made a post in my blog on this topic.

By: Nivedita

Nivedita — Wed, 16 May 2007 03:51:39 +0000

Hi, my guru for one starts with small krithis like ‘shakti sahita gaNapatim’, ‘gurumUrtE’, etc. before he does the varisais. After a few classes, he starts with voice culture exercises (from personal experience, these are very interesting). The varisais follow later.

This is a topic I’d love to discuss in detail, but I’m hard-pressed for time at the moment – will post my views in a few days either here or in rasikas.org.