Dasanjali Lesson 3

Practice what you learn in class at home, preferably for 15 to 30 minutes every day. First, review what you learnt in lessons 1 and 2. Then, proceed with this lesson. In this lesson, we will first practice a few alankars (SRGMs... and corresponding aakaars) that we already learnt before learning a new one

Practice the following Aaroha and Avaroha tunes, first by singing the notes and then using aakaar. Remember the foundational notes, S, P and S'. Feel free to use them to prepare your voice for the proper "shruthi" before you sing any song or tune. The other trick to preparing to sing is to simply hum the initial note, S, instead of actually singing it.

Learn and practice the two simple songs in lesson 2. Finally, practise singing only the sloka, Shuklaam Bharadharam at the beginning of the song "Gaja Vadana Beduve" in Raag Bhoopaali. Note that Bhoopaali has only 5 notes (not counting the upper S' as a separate note) in its Aaroha (SRGPDS') and Avaroha (S'DPGRS). If you listen and try to play the following sloka on your keyboard, you will find that it is played only with these 5 notes + the upper S'. By the way, Raag Bhoopaali is also known as Raag Mohanam in Carnatic music.

I have given below pictures of the Western and Hindusthani keyboards for your reference. You may either use your own keyboard or an online keyboard during your practice.

Remember to sit straight and sing from your navel up, not just from your throat. Take deep breaths whenever you get the opportunity. Last but not the least, remember that attending the class regularly is very important. A lot more techniques may be taught in the "live" class that may not be all mentioned here on the web. Enjoy singing!