Kirtan

Bhaja hure mana in English.

It's starting to come together for Janmastami, where we will be playing.

I will work on my singing over this next week. I don't have a lot of natural talent so I have to work hard to get my voice to hit the notes. A week of practice will make it a lot better.

To get things to this point I've been putting more of my available energy into getting the band together than my own musical performance. This week the focus changes.

OK, so for the time being I'm calling my band "The Sitapati Project". After all, it's all about me,right? ;-)

Check it out on Reverb Nation or Facebook.

I've been doing some investigation into drums and drumming lately.

Param Satya plays the tabla. I've been playing mrdanga for a few years now, and recently I've taken up doumbek (aka darbuka, tarambuka, egyptian tabla and more), and djembe.

Prahlad plays mrdanga, doumbek, and djembe.

We have a kirtan retreat coming up with drumming workshops and a drumming circle, so all these drums will come in handy. There are a few more at Atma as well.

We're also investigating designs, materials, and production lines for producing mrdangas locally and globally.

The Hang Drum [wikipedia article], a melodic percussion instrument developed in Switzerland in 2000. Reminiscent of a steel drum. Check out the videos below that demonstrate its potential.

The wikipedia article above has links to two articles by the inventors, describing the physics of the drum.

Carmella Baynie doing kirtan at Atma Yoga, Brisbane, Australia.

Carmella Baynie @ Atma Yoga April 2008 from vraja dhama das on Vimeo.

Sacred Chant Volume One, our 2006 album, continues to move on Jamendo, where it is available as a free download.

A recent reviewer wrote:

I'm not a krishna devotee myself, but I enjoy their chants & music, they're great! Those enchanting rhythms & sunny sounds make me smile :) Never mind SaReGaMa's review, the music is good, more than that - it's live in its mere essence. Thanks to to Atma Bhajan Band! I liked their performance as well.

SaReGaMa was the very first reviewer of the album back in 2006, and he panned it, giving it no stars out of five ("Mediocre religious hymns - skip this one" - he said). Reviewers since then have consistently given the album 4 - 4.5 / 5.

I checked out some of SaReGaMa's music, and it's ok. He's a follower of Osho, which might explain his reaction to our album. He does multi-instrumental ambient music. It sounds like a one man show, so it's missing that dynamic interplay that arises from a group, especially live, but it's not bad as background music, say for an elevator or a shoe store - just kidding! I listen to it sometimes at work - it's quite relaxing and mellow - not at all imposing.

Anyway, if you haven't checked out Sacred Chant Vol 1 yet then grab a free download. If you like it you might also like our 2007 album "Heart of Devotion".

We're working on a new album at the moment, should be ready in a month or so.

This

plus this

equals...

Carmella is in Brisbane to do a concert and workshop. Last night she came to Atma to do kirtan.

We started out with some breathing and warming up exercises. The very first time I turned up to a kirtan there were two people - me and the Swami (Chandrasekhara Swami). I thought I was going to slip in the back and spectate. Instead it was the two of us sitting face to face on the floor and he tells me: "Ok, now we're going to sing."

Those of you who know me know that now I have no problem singing in public, but back then the only time I would sing was in the shower. Certainly not in public! So it was a little challenging...

This is a very nice way to gradually introduce people to using their voice, so that they can unleash it in praise of the Supreme Lord.

On the internet no one knows if you're a dog typing on a keyboard, and when everyone is lying on their back humming their way through their chakras you know that no-one is looking because you're singing out of tune.

After connecting with the breath and the voice and warming up, it was time to use that breathing and those voices in glorification of the Supreme.

The last kirtan developed a real gospel vibe. Can you feel the spirit of the Lord!

Everyone had a good time.

A higher than usual number of Kiwis were spotted amongst the attendees... Che bro!

Carmella is doing a Voice in Yoga workshop at Atma Yoga in Brisbane this Sunday, April 27th at 11 am. Cost is $20. I definitely recommend it!

A sifu master once said: "If you want to master something do it ten thousand times".

Of course, beyond the conception of mastery is the realization that we are subordinate to our environment and exist in order to serve.

However, the principle is valuable. I express it like this: "The difference between an experienced drummer and an inexperienced drummer is ten thousand strokes."

The other day I taught the basic strokes on the mrdanga to a student. Then I told her: "Now you know what I know. The only difference between us is ten thousand strokes."

There is no short cut, no substitute. Of course, there are lots of things that you can do to accelerate and deepen the effectiveness of your practice. Serving and associating with others who are better than you will lift your game. But still, the hard yards are there, just waiting for you to do them.

Ten thousand strokes - that's all it takes to get to the next level. How long will it take you to do them?

Prahlad and I are studying the Egyptian tabla at the moment. When I watch a video like the one below of young Yunus firing over a 12/4 rhythm, I realize that he is simply picking up from where he left off in a previous life. Born into an appropriate family, he quickly reconnects with his previous patterns. This is the fate of unsuccessful spiritualist as well - he or she gets the opportunity to take birth in a family of pious, devoted persons.

So in a sense our explanation that at the time of death everything material is lost is not strictly true, because otherwise there would be no such thing as karma. According to Bhagavad-gita 15.8: "The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas."

While material wealth cannot be taken with you, your conceptions of life remain, and you continue to evolve, or degrade in terms of your consciousness.

Materially or spiritually, you get some impetus from your previous life's effort, and you go from there. Ten thousand strokes. Whether it's playing an instrument or progressing in spiritual life, the principle is the same. Do the hard yards.

These guys have dedicated their time to something. Instead of playing video games or watching tv, they've developed this skill. They have the same number of hours per day as everyone else, but they have invested them in a focused way. They have used their time to do ten thousand strokes on one drum.

"Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched." - Bhagavad-gita 2.41

Focused effort. Enthusiasm to begin, simultaneous determination and patience to see it through.

These are the principles of success.

"Ten thousand strokes" - that's what it takes.

A video podcast lesson on playing daadra taal beats on mrdanga, as per a request on an earlier lesson posted to YouTube.com.

Here are the mantras:

Daadra taal cartal beat:
dheiya da da dheiya

Mrdanga beats:

Dhei da dhei ta kheta kheta
Thei ta thei ta kheta kheta

While I'm singing Hari haraye namah krishna, I think I also change to:

Dhei da dhei tak da dhena kheta
Thei ta thei tak ta dhena (thena) kheta

The dhena and thena in the second line of the above mantra are interchangable. Do either one or the other, not both.

Here is the breakdown beat:

That top end is used for the other beats that I demonstrate. I'll get the images for those beats to you later on.

Here's the "Babalu madness beat" :-) :

da guru gur da dhei da guru gur da dhei da guru gur da dhei ta kheta kheta
ta khur khur ta thei ta khur khur ta thei ta khur khur ta thei ta kheta kheta

For those who are listening really carefully, the last mantra that I'm playing after this in the final "Nitai Gaura Haribol" at the end is:

dhei ta tak take ta tak take ta tak ghida ghida