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Sapta Swaras: The 7 swaras of Carnatic Music

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www.BhardwajMusicAcademy.com Sapta Swaras of Carnatic Music Before moving into the Sapta Swaras (7 Swaras), let us see what a Swara is. A swara refers to a tone or a musical note on an Octave. Now assume this to be a building including floors. The beginning point is the Shadja known as Tonic. Measuring upto certain heights from the ground level, there are the positions of other notes The 7 fundamental notes Carnatic Music is ruled by 7 octave musical notes. These Sapta Swaras are believed to have originated from “Dumru” (Musical Instrument) of Lord Shiva. 7 musical notes (Swaras) are the following: Sa – Shadjama (Tonic) Ri – Rishabha Ga – Gandhara Ma – Madhyama Pa – Panchama (Perfect Fifth) Da - Dhaivata Ni – Nishada Full names of these notes follow sounds with which they are being sung. As per Shruti – Notes Sa (Tonic)& Pa (Perfect Fifth) stay fixed always once you have settled on the Tonic. They are known as “Prakriti Swaras”. The other 5 notes feature 2 variants each. And so th

Tunning the Guitar with your Ear

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www.BhardwajMusicAcademy The most important aspect of playing guitar is to tune the instrument properly. It's frustrating and very difficult to play anything with the untuned strings. While it is true that it takes some time to learn the techniques needed to play songs well, the real reason most beginner guitarists sound bad is because their guitar isn't in tune. Here is a guitar tuning tutorial that, with a little practice, should allow you to keep your instrument in tune. Traditional Guitar Tuning: The open strings of a guitar from the thickest to thinnest are as follows: 6) E - the thickest / upper string is the 6th string 5) A - is the 5th 4) D - is the 4th 3) G - is the 3rd 2) B - is the 2nd 1) E - the thinnest or lowest string is the 1st The most common method for tuning and the one you can use when no other instrument or guitar tuner is at hand. Step 1: The E String Tune the bottom E, as accurately as you can. Chances are it’s in tune anyways, being the thickest string i

The Importance Of Music In Life

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Music does a lot of things for a lot of people. Not only is understanding and listening to music beneficial for adults, it’s also important for children. There are many things that music can do for you. Music has been used for a long time to help people express emotions like love, hatred, confusion and joy. The lyrics in music express these things. The ways songs are sung express these things. And even the music backing up a song is expressing and conveying the emotion of the song. Music Create Emotion and Motivation Anyone that has listened to music knows that it can create emotion. Some songs may make you happy while others may make you feel sad. Some songs make you feel like dancing while other may make you feel motivated to do something new or adventurous. What you may not know is that music is healing, and has actually been scientifically proven to ease pain. Even classical music has proven to help people sleep better. If you need some workout motivation that will help increase yo

How Does Music Affect Our Lives?

There have been many studies attempting to figure out just how music affects the human mind. For example, why do different people like different kinds of music, what parts of the brain are activated and if said parts are affected more or less by different kinds of music, and others. Some of these questions have remained unanswered, and might stay that way for a while. One thing, however, is for certain: music does affect our daily lives. Just look at the simple facts. Most people listen to music. If someone doesn’t, they’re sometimes viewed in a strange way. How could you not listen to music? Music affects our emotions. When we listen to sad songs, we tend to feel a decline in mood. When we listen to happy songs, we feel happier. Upbeat songs with energetic riffs and fast-paced rhythms (such as those we hear at sporting events) tend to make us excited and pumped up. With all this in mind, I sent out a survey to the students, asking some simple questions about their music taste and how

The Powerful Effect of Music on Brain

Music has been scientifically proven to have a powerful effect on the brain. Recent research shows that music can help in many aspects of the brain, including pain reduction, stress relief, memory, and brain injuries. In the book The Power of Music, Elena Mannes says, “Scientists have found that music stimulates more parts of the brain than any other human function.” Let’s look at some of the ways music can aid in the healing and stimulation of the human brain. Pain Reduction A study found that music was helpful for patients with fibromyalgia. The study showed that listening to relaxing music of the patient’s choice “reduced pain and increased functional mobility significantly.” Researchers believe that music eases pain because listening to it triggers opioids—the body’s natural pain relievers. In a study, people given the opioid blocking drug Naltrexone experienced less pleasure while listening to their favorite song, suggesting music activates the release of pain-relieving opioids. S