The Hindu Business Line : Now, online carnatic music course

Amsterdam-based Ludwig Pesch, a musicologist, is offering an online course in Carnatic music at the Web site www.carnaticstudent.org. ``This course is for anybody who loves Indian music and feels that passive appreciation and knowledge acquired from books are not sufficient,'' says Pesch in response to Business Line's queries.

The course was under preparation and tested in a trial run for nearly one year before officially launching it this summer.

This course, according to Pesch, is a virtual seminar. It combines documents, exercises and music examples (audio and video) delivered locally, by way of a CD-ROM, with instructions that are co-ordinated online, via the Internet (e-learning).

``Students can discuss their lessons and ideas in a virtual classroom and get support from the instructor and author of the course,'' says Pesch. The course is divided into modules which go into the panoramic overview of Carnatic music, its origins, scope and cultural context, traditional methods of music education and training; types and genres as celebrated in concerts, dance recitals, and temple music; devotional music, its lyrics and expression; understanding the concept of `raga' with reference to other music systems; musical forms presented in today's Carnatic music and the classical dance repertoire based on it; Tala; musical instruments used by Carnatic musicians, their origins, innovation, and musical context; facets of raga-based music, past and present; rhythmic diversification in Carnatic music and exploring the world of syllables and percussion.

The course is also being offered in German apart from English, therefore, does not have any geographical limits as to who is to join for it. Some of the participants include a scientist at IIT Mumbai, a percussion lecturer at the conservatory in Salerno (Italy), a lecturer in a Swiss music college who has been to South India, a Lufthansa pilot-cum-musician (recently retired) who got drawn to Carnatic music whenever off-duty in Chennai and of course several people either involved or just interested in Indology, Indian culture and spirituality, says Pesch.

The level of the course is academic and demanding, says Pesch. ``We encourage participants to also get some personal guidance as and where it is available. We guide participants to reputed musicians, teachers or institutions who already offer suitable programmes on their own, either in India or any other country where the participants live themselves,'' he said.

According to him, Carnatic music is poorly represented in comparison to Hindustani, African and Cuban music.

Pesch came upon Carnatic music while listening to a French radio programme. ``By chance, France Musique played some music totally unfamiliar to me one night. It was vocal music which touched me very profoundly. I later learnt that this was `Carnatic' music,'' he says.

``I was so enchanted by it that I went to the university's music department's library to find out more about Carnatic music,'' he said. Soon thereafter he left for India for a couple of semester but ended up staying in India for several years learning music from Ramachandra Shastry (disciple of Palladam Sanjeeva Rao) at Kalakshetra.

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