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TRAINING IN INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC RIYAZ” Dr. Rajiv C. Sharangpani MS(General Surgery) Diplom Sports Medicine (Germany)

Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

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Page 1: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

TRAINING IN INDIAN CLASSICAL

MUSIC

“RIYAZ”

Dr. Rajiv C. SharangpaniMS(General Surgery)

Diplom Sports Medicine (Germany)

Page 2: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

WHAT IS TRAINING?

Repeated skillful movements with full awareness.

It is a stimulus which brings about desirable changes in neuronal circuits and musculoskeletal apparatus during rest.

There is no end or limit to training; i.e. Riyaz

BUT it has to be done with total awareness

Page 3: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

AWARENESS

• Awareness is

continuous,

simultaneous,

nonjudgmental and

total perception of

internal and external

environment.

Page 4: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

RIGHT ACTION

• Effortless Effort is the right action.

• Happens out of Awareness.

• Total awareness leads to absolutely

right action.

Page 5: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

BODY

MIND

SPIRIT

BREATHING

ATTITUDE

MASTER

HOLISTIC RIYAZ

Page 6: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

THREE STEPS to

HOLISTIC RIYAZ/

BECOMING A MASTER

Health

Fitness

Performance

Page 7: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

HEALTH

Health is the ability to enjoy every moment of life without any cause.

Page 8: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

FITNESS

Fitness is the enhancement of

all motor functions and mental capacities.

Page 9: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

PERFORMANCE

Performance is the ability of total integration of mind and body functions leading to a spirited spontaneity in any given task.

Page 10: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

PRINCIPLES OF RIYAZ

Individualization

Economization

Specificity

Optimization

Recovery

Doing and Happening

Not doing

Passive observation

Page 11: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

INDIVIDUALIZTION

Every individual is different. Her

requirements are different.

Adaptability to training loads is

different. Thus choice or technique

of Riyaz has to be chosen

accordingly.

Page 12: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

ECONOMIZATION

‘More is better’- This is not true in

Riyaz

Learning skill needs a pattern of

repetitions but this pattern should

be as near to exactitude as

possible.

The ‘Quality’ of Riyaz is important,

not the duration. Not one minute

extra of Riyaz is necessary.

Page 13: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

SPECIFICITY

This is the most ill understood part of

Riyaz.

Muscles respond to loads in different

ways because the muscle fibers which

respond to training load are different.

A marathon runner and a sprinter, both

run but both use different type of muscle

fibers.

Thus a singer who trains his lower

octaves uses different muscles than

when he trains his upper octaves.

Page 14: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

OPTIMIZATION

Any movement, if it is to be done

more and more skillfully, needs

mental as well as physical

repetitions.

This balance has to be correctly

reached.

Excessive mental or physical

repetitions do not help in actual

performance but lead to injury,

fatigue or both.

Page 15: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

RECOVERY

After any activity, there is a time lag in which the human body recovers its spent resources as well as restructures its neuronal circuits & musculoskeletal apparatus.

Training should not be instituted in this phase.

In fact, the body changes for the better between two training sessions if properly placed.

Riyaz is just a stimulus.

Page 16: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

DOING AND HAPPENING

When one understands the task of producing a skillful sound mentally ,one starts doing efforts to produce it at will.

Suddenly one finds that, by chance, one is able to produce that skilful action.

However, it is not possible to physically reproduce this happening by chance every time.

Here mental repetition is important because, although physical reproduction is not possible, mental reproduction is possible for few seconds.

Page 17: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

DOING AND HAPPENING 2

Gradually this happening comes into the domain of doing. The artist is able to reproduce these sounds voluntarily.

The artist is now in search of further happenings.

Thus at every stage of his or her career, an artist comes across these happenings. If she accumulates them and brings them into doing she becomes great. If she fails to do the same, she remains mediocre.

Page 18: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

NOT DOING

It is important to give complete break to Riyaz once in a while to give your body some time to recover. Surprisingly one starts performing better after the break.

Page 19: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

PASSIVE OBSERVATION

Listening to others and observing their performance is essential to inculcate new ideas in one’s own repertoire.

Page 20: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS

Paradoxically Riyaz is all about repeated analysis.

This analysis should lead to various forms of synthesis. Like building a house and dismantling it. Using the same bricks and building a new house till one is satisfied in all its aspects.

Performance is all about presenting a spontaneous synthesis.

Page 21: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

SPONTANEITY

Paradoxically spontaneity has to be trained.

It is controlled abandon.

The tools have to be polished and sharp; their use has to be with controlled abandon.

Page 22: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

WHAT ARE WE TRAINING?

• Body: Strength, Speed, Flexibility, Skill

and endurance

• Breathing

• Mind: Concentration, contemplation,

Koan

• Attitude:

• Spirit: Meditation

Page 23: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

Exercises

• Physical.

• Breathing

• Mental

• Attitudinal

• Spiritual

• Doing

• Happening

Page 24: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

PHYSICAL TRAINING

• Static strength endurance training for

good posture.

• General strength training for good health

especially for females.

• Balanced training for instrument players

to offset disadvantage of excessive use

of one muscle group.

Page 25: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

BREATHING

• Abdominal breathing leads to minimum

internal dialogue. This in turn effects in

increased spontaneity.

Page 26: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

MENTAL TRAINING

• Concentration to be able to appreciate

the place of the note.

• Contemplation to comprehend the

intangible in Music.

• Koan to just stop the mind.

Page 27: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

ETERNAL TRUTHS FOR CORRECT ATTITUDE

• Everything changes. Change is the only

thing that is permanent.

• Time to make decisions not for regrets

• This moment is the culmination of the life

lived so far.

• It is always ‘Here and Now’.

• Work is its own reward

Page 28: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

SPIRITUAL TRAINING

• Who am I?

• What is happening around me?

• The awareness of the answers of these

questions is important.

• It has to be there 24 hours a day.

• Awareness before, during and after the

Riyaz is absolutely necessary.

Page 29: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

COMPONENTS OF RIYAZ

Time: Rhythms of the Body, time and duration of performance.

Space

Posture

Breathing

Duration

Dreaming

Page 30: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

COMPONENTS OF VOCAL RIYAZ

All notes In natural octaves In a, aa, e, ee, u, ae,o and with mouth closed. In all volumesHave to be trained for

Ability to move and stop at will Ability to express permutations and

combinations of all notes. Good pronunciation of the words of a

composition Training the “a” and “h” component

Page 31: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

PHYSIOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

All individuals strikes a different “Sa”

Even the same individual has slightly different “Sa” every day.

Lowest note on a day should be taken as “Pa” and the rest of the notes should be adjusted accordingly.

This leads to effortless singing.

Training a false voice is strenuous.

Page 32: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

Damage to Physical Health

Hypokinesia

Bad Posture

Addictions

Wrong breathing: Breathing through the

chest as opposed to the stomach.

Page 33: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

Damage to Mental health

Desire

Anger

Conceit

Temptation

Avarice

Jealousy

Fear

S

T

R

E

S

S

Page 34: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

DAMAGE TO SPIRITUAL

HEALTH

Unawareness

Inability to search for the answers to the

question - “Who am I?”

Page 35: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

PREPARATION BEFORE PERFORMANCE:

Starts on the day of the programme

Managing internal and external environment.

Internal: Nature of presentation

External: Coping up with the accompanying artists, stage, hall, cultural background of the place.

Page 36: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

ON THE DAY OF PERFORMANCE

Correct breathing: Through the Stomach

Correct eating

Inspecting the stage, mike, volume etc.

No discussions with anybody, especially no laughing.

Getting into the zone of the performance.

Page 37: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

QUALITIES OF A TEACHER

Always a student.

Without ulterior motives

Minimum attachment

Knowing the two aspects of training : skill and general training of Individual

Able to adjust and adapt his training according to every individual student’s needs.

Egoless.

Page 38: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

QUALITIES OF A STUDENT

Ability to completely trust and doubt a teacher at the same time.

Aware of his own shortcomings and strong points.

Egoless

Page 39: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

LEARNING

Making new neuromuscular connections and musculoskeletal adjustments.

Younger the age quick is the learning process as there are no established patterns of movement.

Unlearning is extremely difficult as the set patterns refuse to break.

Simple to complex but not necessarily.

One can learn from almost everything around us

Page 40: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

TEACHING

Nobody can teach.

Everybody can learn.

Teacher just produces a conducive environment for learning.

Page 41: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

UNLEARNING

Unlearning is the breaking of pre-established neuromuscular connections.

It is rather difficult to break these connections.

Thus, it needs great awareness to unlearn.

In a sense, unlearning can be a great training in Awareness.

Page 42: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

VIOLIN PLAYERS ADJUSTMENTS

Sit higher than the ground level. Press violin between chest and stand.

Lumbar lordosis. Right hand pronated with pressure on second phalanx of index finger. Left hand supinated,palmar flexion and ulnar deviation without holding the violin tight. Left hand correct position and light pressure, right hand variable pressure.

General adjustments of shoulder, knee etc.

Page 43: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

Mistakes of a Teacher

Pretending to know something when ignorant about it.

Egoistic.

Ceases to be a student

Unaware

Attached to his art and students

Rigid in his outlook

Excessively methodical.

Suppressing spontaneity of his students

Excessive and continuous criticism or out of place praise of himself and his students.

Page 44: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

Mistakes of a student

Inability to doubt and trust a teacher at the same time.

Gullible

Prone to excessive effort or little effort

Has ulterior motives

Gets disheartened quickly

Compares his or her progress with others

Page 45: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

CAUSES OF MEDIOCRITY

Wrong person in wrong type of discipline

Wrong training as far as intensity and extent is concerned

Lack or suppression of spontaneity during training

False ideas regarding individual talent

Affected by six enemies and fear

Page 46: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

CAUSES OF POOR PERFORMANCE

Poor or no preparation.

Poor appreciation of space and time

Poor choice of presentation

Technically incorrect presentation

Technically correct but non-spontaneous presentation.

All attention to result and not process.

Analyzing the performance instead of synthesizing it.

Page 47: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

STATE OF PERFORMANCE

Excellent posture, peripheral vision

Still mind with no “internal dialogue” and an effortlessly moving body.

Pleasure in the body of the performance and joy in the mind leads to a blissful experience to all concerned.

Allowing the spirit to perform with no hindrance from either the mind or the body.

Page 48: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

PERFORMANCE

Today's performance is audiovisual. Thus, the performer must have a pleasant expression on his face.

He or she must be well-dressed

Performer must observe time schedule assiduously.

Practice should be done keeping in mind, that a mike is present during performance though it is not there during Riyaz.

Page 49: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

QUALITIES OF GOOD PERFORMANCE

Technically and theoretically correct presentation

Spontaneous happening

Correct selection vis-à-vis the audience

Correct duration of each presentation

Controlled abandon

Page 50: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

EFFECTS OF WRONG RIYAZ

Pain in various body parts especially backache, neck pains and knee pains and specific pains like wrist pains for tabla players.

Increased blood pressure found in vocalists who are doing wrong breathing,

Menstrual disorders in female singers due to wrong breathing.

Sleep disorders. Anxiety and mood disorders Disinterest, fatigue, irritability Loss of spontaneity in performance. Performance is

technically correct but their is no fun or joy. This is the most serious effect of a wrongly done riyaz.

Page 51: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

WRONG POSITION LEADING TO BACKACHE AFTER MANY HOURS OF PRACTICE

Page 52: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

CORRECT POSITION

Page 53: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

WRONG POSITION

Page 54: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

CORRECT POSITION

Page 55: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

WRONG POSITION FOR SINGING

Page 56: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

CORRECT POSITION FOR SINGING

Page 57: Training in Indian Classical Music: "Riyaz"

All our endeavours are in the known.

We do riyaz to bring something of the unknown in our repertoire but very few even venture to comprehend the unknowable.

We can perceive the world through our five senses.

There is lot more to this world beyond these five senses andthis is the unknowable.

A master gets in this realm through his riyaz.