This page contains my own compositions and some quasi-random recordings.
Instruments used: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, Keystation+synthesized midi, electric bass, percussion, wooden carnatic flute. Collaborative work can be found here.
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Cheluvayya cheluvo
Aug 17 2009
My improvisation on Cheluvayya Chelvo, which is a popular folk song in
Karnataka.
I am not sure which language the original song is in, so please let me know if you do.
Here is a version of the original folk song.
Confused Movements
Feb 7 2009
This piece starts out sober and then gets funky after a couple of minutes. I hope it sounds as enjoyable as it was to create it.
Blowing the Trumpet
Dec 7 2008
For a while, I have been wanting to use horns but never found a convincing enough midi sound. I gave up looking for realism and used Garageband's horns in this mix of latin+hip-hop.
Charukesi Moods
Nov 16 2008
I tried adultrating raga Charukesi, again paying more attention to scale than grammar. It is quite amazing, the transformation that the major scale undergoes with one modified note.
Karanjini
This track is a sacrilegeous mixture of grammars of two different
Carnatic ragas-
Karaharapriya and
Sriranjini.
The main melody is folkish and light, although some could find the tabla loop to be too repetitive.
Saranganness
This track, one of my personal favourites, explores the structure of the raga Brindavanasaranga. Hardly a classical rendition, the main melody is set to a 5 beat cycle while the percussion meanders through 5, 10, and 6 beat cycles. My feeble attempt at a bass solo bombed.
Milderness
I was excited to try out Garageband. This composition was my first using GB and is a light piece showing off the piano and classical guitar sounds of GB.
Hemavati Pianized
Since I learned Carnatic music on the keyboard as a child, I still find it hard to play the keyboard/piano as used in Western music. The concept of harmony is something that is alien to Indian classical music.
In this track I tried to render a
Carnatic raga- Hemavati- using a fingering technique that is more similar to Western styles. This is a long track, sure to bore you unless it is stacked away in a playlist for listening while working.
Roshta
Roshta is a very folkish tune that follows the grammar of Niroshta, an uncommon
Carnatic raga. I found this interesting because, the scale is split into the first 3 major notes and the last 3, thus requiring large jumps to avoid the middle notes.
Talomix
This track contains rhythmic patterns blended with chants from the
vedas . The
Shri Rudram and Chamakam
appear pieced, the blending could have been done better and the percussions sound synthetic, but I enjoyed experimenting with the percussive arrangements.
Revathi Plucked
Revathi is probably the favourite choice for amateur composers because of its deep sounding structures that provide a very typical South Indian feel. I was just playing around with my acoustic guitar and decided to record what I was playing. I even went one step further and chanted the Gayathri mantra in the intro. If I didn't enjoy it so much, I might have been more embarassed of the result.
Hiatus
After a year's gap, I put this piece together with just my laptop keyboard as a midi input device. If you liked this, send me an email- I am curious to see how long I will have to wait.
You're in My Way
My first experiments with an electric guitar and distortion pedal. The main tune is set on a modified version of Dharmavati. The first minute of the slow guitar solo might be too lethargic for some.
The Return of Hemavati
I tried several times to put together something that I liked, in this raga. So far I haven't succeeded. Although I wasn't very happy with this one, it stays on this list.
Hamsadhari
An experimental composition by mixing the arohana, or ascending grammar of hamsadhwani and avarohana of bahudhari. Sounds very strange to me.
Repetitive Madhyams
After a little variation for one minute, this track is long and repetitive. A slap bass and percussion keep looping, awaiting mix-ins from enthusiastic visitors.
Nata'ish
Classic example of how to ignore percussive or rhythmic rules and just enjoy melody. A slight variant to raga Natai is used as a base. Simple guitaring.
Hippie Hop
Slow and repetitive, this track sounds like it was played under the influence. It wasn't. I am not sure if that is a good sign. I think this is a good track to improvise over especially for vocal improv.
Console this Guitar
One of my early compositions. Lacks crispness. It's like a big gaussian blur over the result so as to keep the errors from showing. Don't be put off by the gimmicks at the beginning. There's plenty to be put off by later.