Music lessons in India

w1314

Hello, I was not sure where to place this thread so please move it if it needs to be.

I will be traveling in India next year with a fairly open itinerary. I imagine I will be focused mainly in Northern India and one of the few things I would really like to do is spend several months studying music (I feel particularly drawn towards esraj and sarod). First, is this feasible? Second, if it is, what are likely places I would be able to do this? Any other related comments are appreciated.

love and light,
Willy

Freereedsqueezer

Hi,
I've played sitar for over 20 years, your idea is feasible and you should have some good luck if you have a bit of talent and choose a good teacher.
Calcutta and Benares would be the places to go to. I can recommend a few teachers that are honest if you like. Send me a PM and I'll help you out, do be careful though. If you are completely new to the instrument you choose remember a lot of time needs to be spent on basic exercises to get familiar with it. Get a few lessons and then spend some time on your own before trying to learn ragas otherwise you may be wasting money.......

LJ

conora

greetings friends

its been a long time since ive been back here as a member! However i am seeking advice on a music school, myself and my girlfriend along with some other accomplices will be in India from November 08 til end of January, and my girlfriend a musician is hoping to find a music school to study at for a while. She is a singer-song writer and plays guitar and piano, she is interested in learning traditional indian music mainly singing, however she is also interested in the gypsie culture and the music that has born out of their wanderings. . does anyone have any advice??
cheers
conor & grace

Ann

In India you will find many schools, tutors to teach you music. But before that you need to say where will you be staying. Then only we will be able to help you to find a good music school.

__________________
Love traveling & Indian Food.

conora

hey there Anne

well we are flying into Bombay, so either there, or Rajasthan anywhere in the state, or HP, ideally in the dharamsala area, , varanassi, delhi, agra, calcutta or even Nepal

hope that helps

w1314

any other advise?

frstimebackpaccer

Hello everyone! I am going to be in India in late Sep till mid December. I was just wondering if anyone knew if there were any good music shops where I could get some sitar lessons from an expierienced player. I have played piano and guitar since I was about 9 as well as various other stringed instruments. Would really love to try it and possibly buy one there. Your responses will be much appreciated!
Jeff

Nick-H

Check out the very bottom of the page, where the system lists threads it thinks might be similar....

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

kristinm

My son had lessons in Udaipur from a guy called Suresh who was wonderful... he is on the Hunaman ghat in a little shop - you have to ask around.

He has played guitar for 5 years (he's 13) and found it extremely difficult.. the strings are like razors and your posture and finger positions are very exact, also of course the notes are different and the language different - but he enjoyed it. I think for an older person it would be easier!

I (and he) felt that to really get a grip on even beginning to learn sitar you would need to hang out somewhere for a couple of months and have daily lessons..... its very much a guru type relationship with music teachers in India from what I can make out - although Nick H would know more about that than I.

There is a teacher that the LP recommends in Udaipur (Krishna I think)& lots of tourists were in there.... but we found him incredibly pushy.. we called in at his shop to just ask about lessons, and then later Suresh was recommended to us.. when the other guy found out we had booked lessons with Suresh he bailed my son up in the middle of the street and berated him for not having lessons from him!

So beware politics between music teachers - apparently its a bit of a cutthroat market!

frstimebackpaccer

Thanks for the advice. I have written your info down and added it to my list of things to do! 2 months and I am getting giddy already!

Nick-H

Music student, lapsed --- I'm afraid.

The traditional relationship with an Indian music teacher is rather like one of joining the family. In fact, it can even be more like joining the domestic staff and working one's way up to being family! My teacher tells me that he spent years running around, doing errands, generally being a dog's-body, before he got to learn any music!)

Darmabum

Nick's right, the traditional guru-shishya arrangement was more than music, though those relationships lasted years. In a few months I doubt you'll be asked to do laundry

I believe it was Ravi Shankar who wrote that he practiced at least 16 hours a day and used to tie his long hair to a rope hanging from the ceiling to wake him up should he fall asleep.

In Varanasi, I'm not quite sure where you're going, I know one great teacher named Tarak Nath Mishra. He can probably be contacted through The Music Melody House, a music store that provides teachers and teaching space - as well as instruments (beautiful sitars, by the way). The shop is near the south end of town, near Asi Ghat.

Google info on "a Cricket in the Court of Akbar." True story/film of an American man who won a very presitgious Rajasthani sitar competition.

I chose to study bansuri while in Varanasi. Chose bansuri because, as my guru told me - "it takes only two lifetimes to master" . . . sitar takes three . . . have a great trip.

__________________
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure - Marianne Williamson

Americanragas

Hello my friends:

I am planning on going to India during January for a grant to study classical indian music, in particular sitar, in order to further explore and expand the American Raga themes developed by Robbie Basho and carried on by Steffen Basho-Junghans. So, if anyone knows someone in India who either can teach me the basics of sitar or any other classical india instrument I would love to have their contact info. In addition if you know anyone that just knows a lot about indian classical music I would love to speak with them when I am there. And I cannot study classical indian music through any programs or established courses because one of the conditions of the grant is that it is done independently. Cheers.

puchoo

__________________
Cheers!
Sidharth

Indiamike Mod team............the new kid on the block!

puchoo.wordpress.com

nayan

Look at the last post in the below thread

Musical Instruments and Musical Tuition questions