Beginner Raga Guitar: First Carnatic Music Geetham on Guitar

Carnatic music is the basis of South Indian music. Film songs too base their fluency and phrases on Carnatic Raga Music even though not mentioned directly.

Playing towards the music we are familiar with or are interested in is important to learning to play an instrument or learning music in general.
Often available carnatic music on western instrument sources translate the fluent gamaka based playing poorly to just scale notes. Or, the technique is disconnected from the standard tuned guitar or its scales, that the learning can feel like reinventing the wheel.

Often your talent is questioned, while the lack of teaching frameworks that care of the underlying mechanics, body level modeling, logical step by step progression are the real reasons.

This course is for you if,

• you want to learn to play Carnatic Geetham Lambodara or Sree Gananatha, the first Geetham traditionally taught, on the standard tuned guitar. This is THE course.

• you want to learn to play Carnatic in general, on the guitar, this is a very good starting point.

  • This geetham in Raga Malahari has a representative sound of Carnatic music and is the first Geetham (small composition) taught traditionally.

  • this course teaches it step by step starting with simple note strikes to slides.

  • NO need to play the sarali varisais on the guitar before attempting the geetham, since, guitar has frets and there is no need to worry about swara sthaanam / swara position fixing. Systematically learn to use slides to make fluent connected Carnatic sound using this course

• you want to play or improvise with Indian music eventually.

  • Indian music is phrase based – random scale not combinations will not give you the raga. Therefore this course is a good starting point to understand the phrasal nature of the music, to connect the scales on the guitar to the raga in a systematic manner beyond remember and repeat.

  • You also develop the needed psychomotor skills in a graded manner from simple notes to slides and combinations.

• want to try something new on the guitar? This course will help you connect your existing scale knowledge to enter to the world of ragas.

100% FULL REFUND Guarantee Udemy will do the refund. No reason needed. Within 30 days of purchase, 1. Navigate to your Purchase history. 2. Locate the course you wish to refund. 3. Below the course title, click Request Refund.

Beyond remember and repeat

In our method, as shown in this course, we add raga rules based slides to scales and notes to make them raga and swaras. Playing techniques like slides, hammer ons and pull offs are used to connect the notes, create sustained playing, following rules of where to strike and where to slide.

Using this course you will not only learn how to play the Lambodara geetham, the first Carnatic geetham on the guitar, but also, learn the underlying theory and processes that will help you find the playing positions and style for more geethams, carnatic music and even your favorite popular songs played in Indian raga style.

Accessible step by step from note level

Starting with the simple notes variation of the Carnatic Geetham, we get familiar with mapping swaras on to the standard tuned guitar fretboard (usual tuning, no changes). Step by step:

• refresh your memory  of the C major scale

• the two notes changed to get the Mayamalavagowla scale, the parent of Raga Malahari

• play the notes varition without slides

• see the raga slides needed to change the scale to raga

• add the first version of simple slides to get the raga sound

• add more slides to get a fuller version

• Play the lyrics version – vowels absorb the slides

• Play full fledged  lyrics version Part1, Part 2, Part 3

• While learning this song, we learn how the guitar is connected to raga music and carnatic music, how to connect swara sheet to fretboard moves, so that

You will learn not just this song, but the technique and understanding to further your repertoire.

Who this course is for:

• Any level guitar player who wants to start playing carnatic music, using the first traditional geetham.