New Junior Keyboard Batch starting on 9-Jan-2012

Registrations are on-going. Only a few seats remain. If you have already been called to come and register, kindly  do so at the earliest to avoid missing your seat.

Conclusion of Junior Keyboard Batch-3

Another wonderful batch came to a close last Sunday. Though the turn-out for the get-together was less than expected, those who came, gave some wonderful performances! There was also an inspiring performance from Arun (elder brother of one of the students), who has learnt to play the keyboard on his own! Just goes to show what dedication and passion can do to achieve results!

Registrations are open now for batches starting on 9-Jan-2011. Please visit RaGa School for registration / enquiries.

Enjoy a few moments from Jinto's Fur Elise ....

Stephen Devassy

Stephen is amongst the best piano/keyboard players. Had the opportunity to meet him and Shivamani the great drummer in Mumbai last year. Take a look at the video and get inspired!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AF8mEaGa48

Wonderful 'jugalbandi' by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Shri Mysore Manjunath

Attended a wonderful concert at Gayanasamaj on 23rd October - Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (Mohana Veena), Mysore Manjunath (Violin), Kulur Uliya Jayachandra Rao (Mridangam) and Pandit Ram Kumar Mishra (Tabla). The closest I got to touch a Grammy Award - shook hands with Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt :)

None of the musicians had rehearsed. In fact, at the end of piece, they decided what to do next. Such spontaneous performances are not possible unless each musician is highly capable to adapt and is also a master of his own instrument. Three hours of fusion of Hindustani and Carnatic styles. Did not realise how quickly time had flown!

For those who are not familiar - Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt is the inventor of the Mohana Veena, which actually is a modified guitar. It has 19 strings and one has to use a metal slide on the left hand to run over the strings. Want to know more ? Look up: http://www.vishwamohanbhatt.com/veena.htm

Resuming Guitar Classes

Well, the last 14 days' seems like a dream. Wish it was. Have to get back to reality. So glad that work involves music and meeting lots of people wanting to learn new things. Makes a big difference in dealing with change ...
Ravi 

RaGa School Of Music loses a well-wisher

One of the primary sources of inspiration behind RaGa School was my mother, a great supporter of music. Though not 'formally' trained, she was always in demand to sing during family functions and casual get-togethers. Being from the South and having lived for many years in the north of India, she was versatile in singing songs across multiple languages. This helped me, my brother and sister appreciate music without bias towards a particular language or genre.

Unfortunately, she left us all on the evening of the 14th. But not without a battle of over a year with an ailment that could not be controlled. She remained a positive person through out and I'm sure, her influence in our thinking will continue. We feel even more responsible to make her proud by setting greater goals for RaGa School of Music.

My wife Gayathri, and I will be able to resume our respective classes (Veena and Guitar) only after completion of all ceremonies. Means that we will resume classes on Wednesday the 28th. 

Keyboard, Bhavageethe, Tabla classes and Veena classes handled by Smt Meena will continue as usual.

Would also like to thank a number of you who have sent us messages. Really appreciate your comforting words.

Ravi & Gayathri (Parvathy)

   

Launch of Tabla & Junior Keyboard Classes

We've recently launched Tabla classes. Happens every Sunday afternoon. Wonderful to have Shri Srinivas R Kakhandaki, a professional Tabla player hailing from a family of musicians, join our team!

Also, happy to share that our 2nd Junior Keyboard Course (for 6 to 8 yr olds) is getting over this week. The 3rd   and final course/batch for this year commences on 12-September. Registrations are now open.

Good to be back!

Back in action this week! One month away from six strings can be quite bad ... fingers not moving :)

Ravi

How are the ex-students doing ?

Some of you, I get to meet/hear from. Some of you, it's been a while. Just curious to know whether the passion for music is still going strong or has diminished. If you've put up any material (not looking for the ultimate performance!) on youtube or any other shared forum, please let me know. Would love to see/hear you and see the progress you've made.

Cheers - Ravi

Know more about Sus chords

Pretty neat explanation of Sus chords. Useful to subscribe to Acoustic Guitar. From time to time I've come across nice articles ranging from how to play, to how to maintain your instruments. Hope this is useful ...

http://www.acousticguitar.com/article/default.aspx?articleid=26653

First junior keyboard batch completes it's course!

Another satisfying moment ... the first ever set of kids (age group of 6 to 8) completed its keyboard course. Meant to be a primer/introduction to playing the keyboard, the focus was on getting these enthusiastic kids to channelize their energy into playing some music. Tough ask, considering that they are not used to sitting in one place for more than a few minutes!

So on this eventful day, the participants got an opportunity to perform in front of their parents. While little fingers belted out Twinkle Twinkle, Humpty Dumpty, London Bridge, Waving Flag, Kal Ho Na Ho ... one was left reflecting on the potential in today's children. Wonder how many future A R Rahmans and Stephen Devasys we got to see today :)

Big thanks to my friend and important member of RaGa School, Jinto, who showed a lot of patience in guiding these kids to this stage.

View those moments at https://picasaweb.google.com/109746475327461737214/RaGaJamJrI#

Until the next batch which kicks off in June ....

RaGaJam III on 20-Feb

All - Thanks for your presence, participation, and encouragement. 49 performances covering Bharatanatyam (students of Smt. Ramaa Venugopalan, Lakshmi Kalaalayam), Veena, Bhavageethe, Keyboards and Guitars, WOW!!! To completely close the loop as part of the learning process, requesting all students (those who performed as well as those who came to listen and observe) to talk to their respective teachers during their next class. A small discussion will help exchange notes and get a better understanding of areas that worked well and areas of improvement.

Would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers without whose help an event of this magnitude could never have been put together. Highly grateful to our friendly neighbourhood AXIS BANK, RBI Layout (as Mr Jayanth rightly put it when he addressed the gathering during the break!) for co-sponsoring this event with Music Gear.

A special thanks to all those who stayed on (even after their performances) to cheer and support the others. For all those who have upcoming examinations, wishing you all the Very Best. Show the same passion for preparing for your exams as you did for for this event. This would be our way of acknowleding Prof. Vinod Kumar's (www.motivocean.org) views on how to work on being the best in whatever we set out to do. Thanks Prof, for your time and enthusiastic presence till we all packed up!

Hope to post some links to videos & pics as we receive them ...

Thanks - RaGa Team

Re-surfacing (Yet again!)

Yeah, hate to say it, but I guess it all boils to down to effective time management. No excuses. But for those who thought this blog was dead and gone ... give it another chance!
Plenty happened these past few months. Moved the store (Music Gear) twice and now it is co-located along with the School in the ground floor of the same building as before. Arjun has been a great help part-time (not to forget the support from my wife and kids) and hope to add a permanent staff member from Feb.
Guitar, Keyboard, Veena and Bhavageethe classes have seen a lot of action and in a few weeks' time I look forward to seeing Bharatanatyam enthusiasts setting off new vibrations in the environment!
Looking forward to RaGaJam-II on 20-Feb ....