Kharaj Sadhana

During the friday's Ghazal-Shastriya combo episode, Pt Jasraj, & Jagjit singh ji were advising the contestants to do more Kharaj practice & i have heard that this is to be done early morning, so i request if anybody who has good knowledge of Hindustani classical music could throw some more light upon this aspect it would be very helpful. Those who can provide some articles, write ups about Kharaj abhyas are welcome to share them so that layman music lovers like me can enrich our classical music understanding.

Grateful for your support in contributing.

Practice of lower notes is called kharaj abhyaas. It is mainly useful for singers of dhrupad genre of classical music.

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You might find this link useful

https://www.indiamusicforum.com/seminar/riyaz/riyaz12.htm

Quoting from the link,

What is the way to do Kharaj -sadhana?

During the early morning time specified above you slowly reach the notes below the Sa. Try to work on one note for a week or more before attempting to reach a note lower. In this way you will come to the kharaj Sa (one octave below the starting Sa) in about two and half to three months. We also believe that the extent to which one can descend down will also affect in a positive way one's range in the higher octaves.

kharaj- bass octave / octave below lower octave
requires control on abdominal breathing

Traditionally, Hindustani Classical musicians, especially Dhrupad singers have certain insights into voice culture or voice engineering.

There has always been an understanding that a voice has to sound and behave in a certain manner to be able to do justice to the demands of the music. Techniques of training like 'kharaj bharna', 'mandra saptak sadhana', various kinds of 'paltas' are all voice development techniques.

Desired qualities in a voice have been identified as (bulandgi), optimum resonancetimbral attractiveness (taseer), 'roundness' (golai), tonal continuity over the range, steadiness, maximization of range, volume, ability to modulate volume, ability to articulate vowels (especially akaar) and consonants correctly without distortion, and most of all, the ability to execute techniques, especially virtuoso techniques like taans.

'Kharaj bharna' and 'mandra saptak sadhana' have been uniformly recognized as techniques for 'opening' the voice, opening up the range and volume, optimizing tonality etc. There have been and continue to be voices in Indian music which can stand the test of audience demands in any culture of the world.

https://www.carnatica.net/nvr/ananth-voice-ii.htm

Thank you Maya, Gina, Subhagya, for conributing, here is one more learned opinion about Kharaj Sadhana;

"Shri Mohanlal

What is kharaj sadhana ?

Pt. Kaikini
Actually the original word is Shadja-sadhana As Dr barangpany has pointed out in his lecture, one must reach the notes below one s Shadja keeping in mind his /her ability to do so Regular practice m this fashion will surely improve the range of one's voice in the lower octave. Similar practice should be followed for the higher octave. As such the raga grammar does not demand use of very low or high notes. However, having a voice with a good tonal range is certainly a qualification for a vocalist, Prided the voice quality is equally pleasant throughout the range."

Source:https://www.indiamusicforum.com/seminar/riyaz/riyaz15.htm

Some knowldgeable opinion regarding Kharaj Sadhana


John Wright Dec,17, 2006 10.18 pm


On another thread some useful comments have been thrown in by various
practitioners on Kharaj practice - the traditional way of practicing the low
octave notes by HCM vocalists. And I have gathered a variety of such tips
over the years from various sources.

Some of it makes sense, some doesn't. There is a lot of chaff among well
intended advice there, I suspect. There is little by way of rigorous
scientific study of which bits are good and which aren't. I have thus taken
the liberty - for my own use and practice - to come up with what Kharaj
practice should be, for me. Here it goes -

- Kharaj practice does a lot of good. Mainly because time is invested in
singing practice - several hundreds of hours. Not so much because it is done
in very low notes. Optimum benefit would result if time was spent on just
the 4-5 notes below Madhya Sa, say down up to mandra ma, nothing further
below. In normal HCM singing, going down up to mandra ma is adequate. There
is no real need to go down further in any practice session; practice just
what is needed to sing well. (Reminds me - I once asked Pt Chaurasia if he
did any special breathing exercises, meditation etc to develop his excellent
blowing. He said, yes - I play the flute.)

- Just as I get up from bed in the morning, all my muscles are stiff, legs
are a bit wobbly, the brain is not very sharp. If I must use that time to
sing, it is hard to practice creative alaap, taans, laykari - needs sharp
brain for all that, needs flexible vocal chord muscles. But Kharaj practice
can be easily done then. So "Kharaj practice must be done before sunrise" is
perhaps an unintended variation of what really should be "if you sing very
early in the morning, do nothing other than just long stable low notes at
low/moderate volume, which cause minimum strain". Kharaj practice is useful
any time of the day; but an hour of Kharaj early in the morning and an hour
of say taans at night is a better choice than taans in the morning and
Kharaj at night. It is purely a matter of optimising return on investment,
not restricting Kharaj to mornings.

- What does Kharaj practice actually do to the vocal chords, in physical
terms? Strengthens the muscles, firstly. When muscles become strong, they
don't become strong just for that pitch being practiced - that possibly
explains why it also opens up taar saptak, for taar saptak singing certainly
needs strength. Secondly, the long stable notes teach the muscles to reduce
wavering, very useful for HCM. Hence, no need to do all mandra notes - just
one or two will do, the intention is not to perfect the shruti of those
notes but to strengthen muscles and reduce wavering . But doing all mandra
notes is not banned - and is recommended if it breaks the monotony of the
practice and stops one from reducing/dropping such practice due to the
monotony.

- No restriction needed on use of any liquid (water/tea/coffee) during
Kharaj practice, or any sleep/rest soon afterwards. Anything that helps
minimise strain - physically and mentally - is good.

- The usefulness hence is not limited only to males.

Regards - JW

Source:

Great topic. I was planning to start this topic myself. Most of the contestants are WEAK in the low notes while they are good in the higher notes.

In fact, it has become a test of showmanship about how high you can go! The higher the notes you reach, the more the audience claps and more the shabaashi.

However, no one is attempting to practise the lower notes. I don't know what the mentors doing with the contestants in this regard.

Originally posted by: punjini

However, no one is attempting to practise the lower notes. I don't know what the mentors doing with the contestants in this regard.

I was wondering about the same.

Vishal-Shekhar no doubt are the most friendly mentors but other than pointing out Raja faltering in low notes, they have not done much to help him improve. If we watch earliest episodes of the show then we can find the same criticism back then too. If Raja doesn't correct it now then he will gasp for air and gulp few words here and there.

HR seems to be extremely busy so I don't think he has done any mentoring to Aneek. HR himself doesn't take any criticism in the right way so it doesn't leave any scope for him to ask Aneek to improve.

ID seems to be the only mentor who took his job seriously. His two contestants Amanat and Poonam improved the most in the show and it is evident.

Now coming back to the main topic I think along with 'Kharaj sadhna' mentors should help contestants to do various voice development techniques and breathing excercises. These 3 are very good so expectations are high.

truly informative post. heartfelt thanks to all the contributors.

An old but beautiful article from the Times of India



THE SPEAKING TREE

Divine Music Springs From the Soul
9 Mar 2004, 0000 hrs IST,Pandit Amarnath

The word riyaz has its origins in riyazat , which implies ibadat, bandagi, bhakti or devotion. If riyaz is performed with a spirit of devotion, the exercise becomes ibadat . But while riyaz is rather mechanically equated with practice or exercise, the all-important difference is one of spirit. Riyaz is to achieve that which has not been achieved so far. For that, the student has to struggle with faith.

In the initial stages one might be less than sure whether one is correct in what one is doing. But that is the struggle! In the absence of faith, one's riyaz will be filled with doubt. Faith is of great importance in riyaz . Practice with a doubt-ridden mind will achieve little.

The first step in riyaz is to concentrate on the supremely soothing notes of the tanpura that connote sruti . This is followed by kharaj sadhana or practice of Sa with a deep breath. Gradually, one moves to the exercises or scales suggested by the guru -- sargam (each note named and sung), aakar, eekar and ookar (aa-wise, ee-wise and oo-wise). From here one moves to intracries such as gamak , or swara applications producing the heavy effect. All this should be done with laya or tempo in mind and, if possible, with tabla accompaniment.

Riyaz is an everyday activity, a daily prayer to the God of Music. When one arrives at the stage of raga and gayaki , one becomes aware of what is weak in one's music and attends to it. At times, the raga might not seem satisfactory, or the bandish may not lend itself to easy rendition in laya . At times, one's riyaz could focus on one aspect and neglect another. But a stage would arrive when one can judge what should be practised at a particular time.

The Guru, the beacon, provides direction. It is important to be able to feel a sense of improvement during practice. That means one's riyaz and its method is basically correct. Or else, one should seek the help of the Guru, our music doctor!

I have often observed students 'performing' like strutting peacocks during riyaz . In his excitement, the student is prone not to listen to his guru. Before his guru completes his sentence, the over-eager student interrupts with his own views, without giving his guru a chance. Is this not a sign of restlessness or overambitiousness? Every second student displays such signs.

Another commonly experienced problem in the initial stage is that of feeling dull with one's music. Here one has to practise for mood. One should not sit down mechanically for riyaz . In such times one should ideally listen to good music to recharge oneself.

Mental riyaz is exceedingly important. Music is deeply understood when one thinks and reflects about it. The music that then emerges is close to the soul. Once one immerses oneself in sadhana for a very long time, one's swaras will begin to leave a deep impression.

One should always be regular in riyaz -- whether vigorous or not. If one discontinues riyaz in old age, the muscles
become dull, hard and inactive. The mood for riyaz should never go away. Even a wrinkled face can produce music of great emotion! In fact, every action in one's music becomes more meaningful. The vigour of youth might be less in evidence, but to make up for its lack there is maturity and richness of texture. Whether a small or big phrase, each is charged with the power of the whole music, because the grammar of phrases and sentences is not its sole element anymore.

It is now all a matter of soul. One's music is now the true picture of one's soul.

(Excerpted from the book Conversations with Pandit Amarnath by Bindu Chawla, to be released today, on the occasion of the eighth barsi of Pandit Amarnath.)

Source:https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/547104.cms