Practice

A new song in class

When you are in class, Teacher will most likely teach you something new, like a krithi or a varnam, or she will review and give corrections on a current song. When she teaches something new, she sings one line, and you repeat. That is called learning. When you go home after class with the recording of what she taught you, you should use that recording to listen and LEARN the song. Teacher normally tells you to sing the lines 10 times or more. Singing and repeating those lines is NOT practice. It is learning what you have been taught, because you do not know that song by-heart and perfectly.

What about a full song?

When Teacher has taught you a full song, given you all the corrections, and you have sung it well, you practice it. Singing at home multiple times, just to get better at it, is part of your PRACTICE. When you sing it multiple times, you must also make sure you are singing it correctly.

Quality is just as important if not more important than quantity. You must sing it as many times as needed to get it to perfection. If the practice is performed incorrectly, you will end up singing the whole song wrong meaning you will have to put extra effort double the edit to correct everything. To avoid this, you must ensure whatever you practice is the correct way and pay attention to all the gamakams and small details which is what promotes the Raga Bhavam.

What about an old song?

Let’s say Teacher taught you a song five months ago. You sang it correctly and she finished the song for everyone.

Have you stopped practicing that song?

You shouldn’t have, because reviewing the song is important. If you go to class and Teacher asks you to sing the song she taught you five months ago, you should still be able to sing it with 100% perfection. Practicing old songs is considered REVIEWING. Everyday, you should practice 2 or 3 old songs to keep up the quality of each the piece. You must also have at least 5-10 songs that you have fully prepared and can sing anywhere and anytime no matter what. This is the amount of effort you should have put in each song.

Practice Tips

• Practice Everyday
• Sing the new lesson taught as many times as needed to grasp the line with perfection
• Practice writing notation everyday to become familiar and make it easier for you
• Every bit counts.

For more advanced students

• Practice manodharmam everyday to improve.
• Each day try to come up with more and more patterns and try to increase the amount of time you are able to sing even if it is by a minute or even 30 second.