Spotlight
Teaching Of Indian Music
The
Conservatory System
The first, discussed at some length in the seminar, concerns
the possibility of incorporating the essential characteristics of the
gurusishya parampara in the institutionalised system of music education adopted
by music schools and colleges and in university departments. Dr. Suvarnalata
Rao, Research Scientist at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, gave
her observations of the teaching of music at the Rotterdam Conservatory,
Holland, which she visited, along with Dr. Ashok Ranade, the noted musicologist,
on a sponsored programme.
The Rotterdam Conservatory is designed and developed
exclusively for providing arts education, including music education. There are
separate departments for vocal music and instrumental music. The Conservatory
aims at preparing students for careers as professional musicians and music
teachers. The main degree course takes four to five years to complete. Its
programme includes a course in Hindustani music also.
Students are selected by a committee of experts. The intake
is limited to a small number. Each student is assigned to a specific teacher;
this ensures individual attention. Teachers are given freedom to design the
course of study, the teaching method, the system of assessment, etc.
There are classes for advanced students, though these
classes can be attended by other students as well. Great emphasis is laid on
the quality of learning, rather than the quantity. Only a limited number of
raga-s and tala-s are taught in detail, though, at the end of the course, the
student should be familiar with a large number of raga-s and tala-s.
Along with theory and
history of music, the students also acquire knowledge of ancillary aspects such
as voice modulation and the reading and writing of notation. However, weightage
is given to performing competence.
Students of Hindustani music, who are mostly non Indians, are
also given lessons in Indian history, culture and ethos. This helps them to
learn and practice Indian classical music in the appropriate ambience. While
performing, they have to wear Indian attire. They are also encouraged to visit
India and, whenever possible, the visits arc funded too.
As a means of widening their musical horizons, the students
are encouraged to have exposure to other systems of music as well.
There are special
full-time courses for talented students. Practice rooms are available where
they can experiment with innovative ideas, as well as do riyaz. They can also
benefit from allied courses such as electronics and sound engineering (as they
relate to music); they can also major in them, if they so choose.
Training in teaching methods is also imparted to the
students so that they can become good teachers.
Along with music, the
students are given a wide ranging and comprehensive liberal education so that,
at the end of the course, they become not only competent musicians and/or
teachers but informed citizens as well.
Dr. Daniel Newman,
Dean of the School of Arts and Architecture of the University of California in
Los Angeles (UCLA) in the U.S., Ken Zuckerman of the Ali Akbar College of Music
in Switzerland, said that their schools are also run more or less as
conservatories. There are separate departments to teach to play a variety of
instruments. Students are given the choice to major in the history of music,
theory, ethnomusicology, music education, etc. Needless to say, they are also
provided one-to-one learning facility.
The conservatory system of music education does not exist in
India. However, there is one institution which has adopted the conservatory
pattern, and this is the Sangeet Research Academy (SRA) of Calcutta. Vijay
Kichlu, Executive Director of SRA, explained the functioning of the Academy.
The SRA was established by the ITC Group in 1977 as a
residential school of (Hindustani) music. Only promising boys and girls arc
selected and they are put under the charge of teachers of the Academy and or
visiting guru-s and taught on an one-to-one basis.
The intake of
students is small; during the last 20 years, the SRA has admitted only 30
students. Training is spread over 10 to 15 years, and for this reason the upper
age limit at the time of admission is fixed at 25. The Academy does not
interfere with the teacher's decision on the syllabus or the method of
training. A committee of experts assesses the students every four years.
Depending upon the progress of study, the students are promoted to the next
higher grade and the amount of scholarship enhanced. Only select students are
allowed to give performances or provide services as tutors.
SRA also arranges seminars and workshops for the benefit of
the students. Because of financial constraints, SRA has confined itself to
teaching vocal music only.
Role of
Research in Music Education
The other aspect which I wish to report in some detail
concerns the role of research in music education. Dr. N. Ramanathan, Head of
the Department of Indian Music at the University of Madras, presented a paper
on the subject, focussing on Carnatic music. His presentation contained many
interesting research findings which were somewhat different from the 'obvious'
conclusions which researchers, in general, reach. According to Ramanathan:
The lakshya sampradaya of music which is passed from guru to
sishya gets altered when music is performed in a recital. This happens because
of the elements of 'entertainment', such as indulgence in virtuosity or novelty
for its own sake, and playing to the gallery. Because many performers also
happen to be teachers, such changes, subtle and not so subtle , that creep into
the recitals also influence the teaching , including the course content of
contemporary music education. Only a researcher can observe and point out such
deviation s to the artists, as no performer can be his own critic unless he has
a bent for research which is rather rare. It is for the practitioners either to
accept or not to accept the researcher's findings. However, to be effective, a
researcher (and for that matter, a musicologist or critic too) should be be
able to perform, though not necessarily as a concert performer; otherwise his
opinion would carry little weight.
[It should, however, be remembered that, firstly, theory is
not an unalterable entity and, secondly, theory itself is a codification of
practices, though quite often it is one generation behind the latter.
Fortunately, music has an admirable tradition of accomodating change].
Dr. Ramanathan also voiced the view musicians should ponder over th e question whether violin and percussion accompaniments (as also the tani) serve any aesthetic purpose in art music performances. Dr. Ramanathan then disclosed that research in his department had resulted in the dropping of many raga-s from the syllabus. His explanation:
Among the 72 mela-s
postulated by Venkatamakhi, only 19 had janya raga-S; the remaining had
no janya raga-s and, in order to mak e them functional, raga-s were
'artificially 'created by providing them with krama sampoorn a aroha and
avaroha . The raga-s so created had only swarasthana-s; they had no melody
shape and hence were not raga-s at all. Hence the department's decision to
drop a number of such raga-s from the syllabus.
The significance of this research finding would have dawned
on th e audience , particularly lovers of Carnatic music, had Dr. Ramanathan
revealed the name s of the melakarta raga-s that were removed. It is also a
great pity that no one cared to
undertake research of such importance during the period linking
Venkatamakhi and the Trinity for, if undertaken, the Trinity might not have
wasted time in composing kriti-s in such 'artificial raga-s' which, by Dr.
Ramanathan's definition , have no melodic shape.
Dr. Ramanathan then cited instances where research had
helped in the rectification of mistakes in the rendering of swarajati-s of
Syama Sastry and chitta swara-s included in some of the compositions of
Muthuswami Dikshitar; and in determining the authenticity of compositions in
regard to their pathantara .
Altogether his
presentation was educative as it highlighted how a true researcher might
contribute to the healthy growth and development of a performing art like
Carnatic music.
S. SANKARANARAYANAN