Mridangam - High Speed Phrases - Part 1

There are a lot of traditional and modern Mridangam phrases to be played at high speed. They are called Farans and their number is still growing because of the almost infinite possibilities to combine the many different strokes of the Mridangam. Some of them I put together to kind of a daily practice.

Written in Solkattu, the first few phrases look like this:

Tha, Thom, kitathaka thakathari kitathaka
Tharikita tharikita tharikita tharikita

Thomthomkina kitathaka thakathari kitathaka
Tham, Tham, kitathaka naka Dhin, kitathaka

Tham, kitathaka tharikita thaka Thalan, gu
Kitathaka Than, kita thakathari kitathaka

Tham, kita thakathari kitathaka
Tham, kita Tha, Thom, kitathaka thakathari kitathaka

Dhi, Tham, kita thakathari kitathaka
Thaka Thom, Tham, kita thakathari kitathaka

Dhi, Tham, kita thakathari kitathaka thakathari kitathaka thakathari kitathaka ...

Prequel

Since I was a child, I wanted to dive into the secrets of Indian Music. The band „Shakti“ had infected me with this enjoyable virus. But when I set out to become a professional drummer, percussionist, producer and composer at the age of 17, there were many other things that needed and still need to be done. Have a look here if you like:

https://www.estroer.de

In 2012, I came across a series of educational DVDs by Dr. Umayalpuram Sivaraman, one of the great old masters of the South Indian Mridangam. I instantly ordered a Mridangam directly from  India and began to practice. In 2013, I luckily got to know Rohan Krishnamurthy, one of the great young masters of South Indian drumming. His playing is outstanding and a steady inspiration. Together, we did two workshop tours in Germany and Austria before Corona came up. All I had learned so far, I put into my book „The Drumming of the Gods“.

„The Drumming of the Gods“ is not about playing Mridangam, it’s about what you learn in India before you start to play your instrument - Solkattu, the Indian drum language. So far, the book is only available in print format and in german language. An english version, maybe as .pdf, could be possible in the future.

https://www.stroerbrosmedia.de/dog.html

I never had the ambition to turn into „kind of“ an Indian musician - far too big is my respect for the huge and wonderful cosmos of Indian music and Indian musicians. I simply try to combine everything I had learned so far on my own experience with the instruments and possibilities of South Indian Music - an enormous cultural treasure and a great gift to the world, going back to the gods.

„The Drumming of the Gods“ is also a musical project. It offers a garden for musical flowers of all kinds, linked by the fusion of Western and Indian flavors. Watch out on all streaming services. Enjoy!