Saturday 10 July 2010

Exchange of Western and Hindi music


It is so truly amazing to work with so many choirs and so many children with different abilities!

I find myself learning so much when we work at the Happy Home and School for the Blind: the two pianists just impress me so much. They learn so fast by ear (because they obviously have to), always know where they are in the piece, don't panick when they miss a beat or few notes. I am trying to listen like them and remember much faster. Only just now do I realize how I take for granted the fact that I have the music in front of me. I should be learning to listen and concentrate doubly when learning a new musical line, a chord or a new harmony.



Interestingly, very many children consider the musical time of the day with us their game time. Even the older children. As in any country, their attention during the sessions show up their education at home and I realize how much it is up to us to motivate them and most importantly, GUIDE them in their attitudes and principles during this time when they actually come to relax at first. We have to be able to mix relaxation and musical teaching for the children who give up quikly; we have to use up to the maximum of their ability to make them aim for the best instead of thinking of music as purely just a hobby. If we can instil how much satisfaction they can get from this training in music, it will be a great base to their learning process.

At the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation, there are classes of Music Discovery for children aged 2 onwards! I find this so early but they also have classes for children and parent at that age and it is very interesting to mix both and see how effective musical training is from early on. Western classical music is already very installed in Mumbai, more than in New Dehli. So many concerts, festivals and masterclasses are taking place and it is so enriching to see how they have developed this in about 15 years in this Foundation, with such classes and motivation.
Children learn so fast if they have been convinced by the teaching and it is a constant readjustment for me with each child to find how to adapt to his/her personality. It is interesting to discover how they hear notes and pitches differently. What is hard for me is to know if they are actually listening or only letting their voice sing without controling it. When they don't pitch, they don't seem to realize so; and when we work with them they might get to pitch the note for a moment and many times I'm not sure they hear the difference. This is really important for harmonies recognition. It is a long process of playing and listening and understanding the musical changes happening and I wish I had started that training earlier on.

It is raining a lot these days. It is strong rain and I have seen it in Mauritius Island: hard on and starting fast -very typical of Summer rains-. The horns don't stop on the streets. Last Monday was day off for all Mumbai because of the strikes. Mumbai was then a completely different city on the road! We had a stroll in the afternoon in a Park in the area of Malabar Hill and the citizens often do the same and also take pictures with friends in the park. Not many bins around which can explain the pollution around the city.

We went past a woman on the pavement today, selling fresh fish that she had collected from the famous market Colaba. A dozen cats around her, looking like they were going to jump on her fish, but they stay calm and wait for the heads and tails.

Invited by a couple living in Mumbai, dinner at the Taj Mahal hotel was delicious and the view from the restaurant "Souk" on the docks of Mumbai is great. We have now seen a couple of flats with views on Mumbai marine drive and a stop at the Intercontinental Hotel top floor for a drink and a view of the sunset just makes you want to live by the sea (although the sunset was covered by clouds that day!). And if you want to have few games with children you don't know from Mumbai, go by the sea on the beach covered by pebbles and slate and look as if you are looking for interestingly coloured rocks: they'll come help you and start wanting to play with you!




Had a session of yoga last night. We figured we had to do it in the country of yoga! I love the meditation and exercice side of this "sport". We visited two temples so far and the art is so colourful and complex. Another thing special about India are the smells you'll get everywhere! It's impressive... We visited the hall of the Russian Centre yesterday to check if we could have a rehearsal there: apparently they had just put new carpets and seats. By the smell of it, I don't think you would have known. You go out and the vegetation is pouring out. You go in and you're stunned by the difference with the looks of the building from outside. Mumbai is great! I'm loving it! The shy children and the overexcited ones with such great indian accent in english and the great culture of Hindi music that we are discovering with them.


We had a session of Classical Hindi music singing and playing their instruments (I was on the harmonium). It's highly meditative music and actually throws you in another world fairly quickly without you realizing! Same purpose of Western Classical music, yet so different!






Juliette (Saturday 10th July 2010)

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