Welcome to the Q & A page
Have you a technical or playing question about the Flute ? Please ASK !
Please ask your questions through the Guest Book OR by mailing us at sruthi@odakuzhal.com OR
odakuzhal (underscore) flute (at) yahoo.com and find your answers in this page in 24 hours . Unless you specify that you require a personal e.mail reply you will not get one and you may find both your question and answer listed in this page .
ANIRUDDHA SEHEVADE
aniruddhas@yahoo.com
Monday 26 November 2007
Q: >>>Hello I am learning to play flute, I came across your website. The site really provided me with some useful information. I was wondering if I could get the Notes of Vathapi Ganapathim. Any help is appreciated Also Is there any place in USA where I can get flute made from Nilambur bamboo?thanks for your time>>>
A:Answering the first part of your question :--Let me assure you that I can send you the notes of Vathapi Ganapathim .But have you wondered how much Hard typing I will have to put in order to send you those notes ? Have you reached the stage where you can play Vathapi Ganapathiam ? Therefore you will have to convince the Administrator of this website about your seriousness (refer to the page NOTES) please send me details of your present learning status, Guru/Teacher etc and if I am convinced then I will send you the notes during the weekend .
Answering the second part of your question :-You will find the address of a Nilambur bamboo flute
maker in Music Data Page >> Manufacturers >>>Musical Instrument Manufacturers .You may contact him
personally and ask him whether he exports flutes to the USA.
THOMAS JOSE
t.jose23@yhaoo.com
Tuesday 16 October 2007
Q: >>>I came upon this site by accident . I used to play the flute in high school . Now I am 45 and out of touch for many years. Now I am thinking of playing again but I don't have much time for practice etc . Do you think I should start again ? another thing I noticed that you should add some flute tracks to your site .That will make the site good . why don't you upload some tunes? >>>
A: The flute is a very difficult instrument to master at various levels of learning . Similarly you do not ever loose touch even after many years of abstinence . You will be surprised at how fast you can get back to your "last achieved " level of learning even if you have not touched the flute for years . The underlying principle of odakuzhal.com is to help amateur flautists achieve professional standards and we would always recommend you to start again . As far as practice is concerned you will have set aside at least one hour daily . You may have to make the time by sacrificing some of your personal leisure time or making adjustments to your routine . Have you ever spend a thought at the immense sacrifices great musicians have made in their personal life to reach where they are today ? Achievements are not made without sacrifices . SO START
As mentioned in the Home page this site is not meant to be an "entertainment website ' and its goals are well defined in the Home page . So please bear with us .
N.N.V.Pradeep
pradeepnnv@rediffmail.com
Wednesday 17 Oct 2007
Q >>>REG : MADHYAMA NOTE :--In odakuzhal.com, in note methodology page, it is stated that we have to 1) open hole 1 and close all other six holes (two left and four right) 2) close all holes (Means close all the seven holes (three left and four right).Please correct me if I am wrong. And again, I've read somewhere about a technique called cross-fingering technique. What is it?Is it some thing for people who have advanced a bit in flute or something like it?>>>>
Yes, we have mentioned two Madyama notes .( Method 1) open first finger and close the rest .( Method 2) Close all fingers
Please play Madyama note in a 8 holed carnatic flute in method 1 and then play in method 2 . In both methods your Madhyama will sound same. There will be no difference in the Notes you play .However in the carnatic system people do not generally play in Method 2.If you purchase a Chromatic tuner (refer to USING A CHROMATIC TUNER in MISCELLANEOUS page of the website ) the needle will show the same note .
However if you play the same notes in a 7 holed Hindustani flute you will find that there is a subtle difference when you play the same note in both methods . In method (1)there will be no difference compared to the carnatic flute .However in method 2 ( in the Hindustani flute) you will be able to produce a base note which is difficult or impossible to produce in a carnatic flute .Similarly as in the carnatic flute the chromatic tuner will show that both notes are the same for both the carnatic flute as well as the Hinduatani flute . The fully closed madhyama is often used in Light film songs . You can test this for yourself if you have a carnatic flute and a Hindutani flute of the Same Octave .
Cross fingering enables you to play combined notes very fast . For example Suppose you have to play the notes Ga Ma Ga Ma continuously at a very fast pace .(ga is a 1/2 note ). With a 1/2 note Ga and a method (1) madhyama you are not going to play very fast . That is for sure .Now if you play the same notes in the method explained below (cross fingering ) you will be amazed at the number of times you can play Ga Ma Ga Ma compared to the same time that took you to play Ga Ma Ga Ma in the traditional method . You can be twice or thrice faster .Please note that the note Ma should be played in method (i) . Only the note Ga is cross fingered
Producing note Ga by cross fingering :-- Play Ma in method (1) then lift the 4th finger while playing Ma (the position will now be like this-- 1st hole open , 2ns and 3rd holes closed , 4th hole open 5th and 6th hole closed for both Hindustani and carnatic flutes . In the carnatic flute the 7th hole is left open and
the Hindustani flute does not have a 7th hole ) . You will realize that by opening and closing the 4th finger you can make rapid Ga's while playing Ma . And you will be getting rapid Ma Ga's . Try playing Ga Ma using this technique and come to your own conclusion
This is only a simple example of making a note with cross fingering , in this case a Ga .There are other notes you can produce using the cross fingering technique . However that is for advanced students and at this stage you should be having difficulty in producing the cross fingered Ga . But don't worry Practice makes perfect . Does it not ?