New upload on the Charles Neuzil Video Channel: https://youtu.be/CCYfAx7GXVw
For some time now I have had an interest in Carnatic music, the classical music of Southern India. Carnatic music is vocal music, and most pieces are meant to be sung. When played on an instrument one must play in a singing style, which the trombone lends itself to doing. I hope I have done some justice to the music here. It has been an interesting journey which I shall continue.
This piece is “Sri Gananatha,” by Purandaradasa (1485-1560). It is in praise of Ganesh. This is a Malahari Raga in Tala Rupaka, which is a 6/4 time, counted 1-2-1- -2-3-4.
I created a patch on the Korg Monologue for the drone, using both oscillators. The first oscillator is tuned to D, and the second to A. I then mix them together, and have added a small amount of resonance on the second oscillator to create a “wave-like” feel. I also added some hall reverb, running the Monologue through the Boss RV6 Digital Reverb, and then added some additional reverb to it in the mix.
The percussion is on the Arturia Drumbrute Impact. Counting in 6/4 required some planning, but it worked. I also added an accent on beat “1” of each set, both the 1-2 and the 1-2-3-4. I’m using the low tom with color added, and the FM drum as well. I ran it all through a TC Electronic Dark Matter Distortion pedal to get the sound you are hearing.
The trombone I am using is my King 3b+. It is a cool horn, and has a gold brass bell which gives it a nice sound. I am running the trombone through the Boss RV6 Digital Reverb as well as the TC Electronic Dark Matter Distortion.
In this video I play Sri Gananatha followed by improvisation staying with the Malahari Raga. Listen closely and you will hear the difference in the notes ascending as opposed to the notes descending. I then finish once more playing Sri Gananatha.
I have recorded the video and audio separately and then mixed them together. The drone, the percussion, and the trombone are all on separate tracks. All audio is recorded through my 10 Channel Yamaha mixer and Scarlett audio interface into the computer. I now have a Canon SL3 DSLR and will be using it soon to record video. The video here was still recorded with my i-Phone X.
Hope you enjoy this. I really enjoyed putting this one together, and have learned a lot about Carnatic music in the process. And thanks so much for watching, I appreciate your support.
Recorded November 18, 2020.
To learn more about Carnatic music and the music of Southern India, see the Wikipedia article at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnatic_music#Origins,_sources_and_history
Photo Credit: Photo by Artem Beliaikin from Pexels (Ganesh)