3 ms·

No classical music teacher (especially Karnataka classical) uses harmonium though, which is the point of this article I guess.

shrikant 4y ago
I'm puzzled by this though -- my music teacher definitely used a harmonium when I was learning Carnatic classic vocals and it didn't seem particularly incongruous to my (admittedly naïve) ears.
- uwagar 4y ago
  well you got a bad teacher mate, probably in ur neighbourhood whose side hustle is teaching music.
  - shrikant 4y ago
    I was confused by your response and all the comments here, so I checked with my parents and I've just plain misremembered a shruti box! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shruti_box https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shruti_box Shows how much my disinterested self-involved 7-year-old self gave a shit about learning music :-D
qart 4y ago
Not true at all. My next-door neighbour is a Carnatic teacher. I am subjected to the harmonium at odd hours. Just look on youtube for "carnatic harmonium" and you will find plenty of examples. The other European instruments that are common in Carnatic are violin and mandolin.
- nsenifty 4y ago
  Violin and mandolin are indeed popular (and so is saxophone), but harmonium isn't. The top few hits on Youtube are either some sort of Hindustani/Carnatic fusion or solos by a hobbyist. I did find a few real performances though, but never seen it in real life. Caveat: I am not a trained musician myself, but quite a few family members are. The instruments I am used to seeing are mostly tamboori, veena, ghatam, mridangam, flute and violin and never harmonium. However I stand corrected for having said "never".
  - qart 4y ago
    You're a Kannadiga, right? Have you ever seen a harikathe performance that was not accompanied with a harmonium? While harikathe is not classical music of any kind, the instrument is solidly established as an accompanist instrument in villages too. It might also the second most popular instrument for janapada geeta, the first being tabla of some sort.
    - nsenifty 4y ago
      Not contesting harmonium being popular. It IS very popular, I was just trying to interpret what the article is trying to say that the Indian classical music purists have a thing against it.
tacomonstrous 4y ago
It used to be more common a few decades ago, even in Carnatic, to use the harmonium to accompany basic lessons (sarali, Janta, geerhas): the notes are easier to distinguish. Once the music moves beyond this to actual raga-based compositions, however, it's more of a hindrance than a help

shrikant 4y ago

I'm puzzled by this though -- my music teacher definitely used a harmonium when I was learning Carnatic classic vocals and it didn't seem particularly incongruous to my (admittedly naïve) ears.

uwagar 4y ago
well you got a bad teacher mate, probably in ur neighbourhood whose side hustle is teaching music.
- shrikant 4y ago
  I was confused by your response and all the comments here, so I checked with my parents and I've just plain misremembered a shruti box! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shruti_box https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shruti_box Shows how much my disinterested self-involved 7-year-old self gave a shit about learning music :-D

qart 4y ago

Not true at all. My next-door neighbour is a Carnatic teacher. I am subjected to the harmonium at odd hours. Just look on youtube for "carnatic harmonium" and you will find plenty of examples. The other European instruments that are common in Carnatic are violin and mandolin.

nsenifty 4y ago
Violin and mandolin are indeed popular (and so is saxophone), but harmonium isn't. The top few hits on Youtube are either some sort of Hindustani/Carnatic fusion or solos by a hobbyist. I did find a few real performances though, but never seen it in real life. Caveat: I am not a trained musician myself, but quite a few family members are. The instruments I am used to seeing are mostly tamboori, veena, ghatam, mridangam, flute and violin and never harmonium. However I stand corrected for having said "never".
- qart 4y ago
  You're a Kannadiga, right? Have you ever seen a harikathe performance that was not accompanied with a harmonium? While harikathe is not classical music of any kind, the instrument is solidly established as an accompanist instrument in villages too. It might also the second most popular instrument for janapada geeta, the first being tabla of some sort.
  - nsenifty 4y ago
    Not contesting harmonium being popular. It IS very popular, I was just trying to interpret what the article is trying to say that the Indian classical music purists have a thing against it.

tacomonstrous 4y ago

It used to be more common a few decades ago, even in Carnatic, to use the harmonium to accompany basic lessons (sarali, Janta, geerhas): the notes are easier to distinguish. Once the music moves beyond this to actual raga-based compositions, however, it's more of a hindrance than a help