Swarathma Return to the UK
After the success of the Soundpad Tour of 2009, Swarathma return to the UK to play a series of music festivals and one industry showcase this month. Soundpad was a British Council project bringing together Indian bands and British producers to create an album that represented the Indian independent music scene. The compilation was launched in May 2009 and featured four bands including Swarathma. They traveled to the UK to support the album with a series of shows that showcased the Indian scene to British music lovers.
Close on the heels of their debut music video for the song Pyaasi, Swarathma turn the level up a notch this time in the UK playing at three major music festivals this time around - Larmer Tree Festival, Lovebox Festival and the Bedford River festival all of which will see predominantly white audiences. This will be preceded by an industry showcase at the Gibson Guitar Studios, made available to bands that endorse Gibson guitars. Contrary to popular perception, Indian music does not have to appeal only to Indians and while there is a sizeable Indian expatriate population in the UK, Swarathma is not looking at appealing only to them. In fact, the universality of the message in Swarathma's songs and the vibe of the band has seen appreciation pouring in from countries as far and wide as Hong Kong, Singapore and Morocco on their tours.
With an electric stage act featuring faux-folk horses, Bihari accents, Nehru topis and loads of energy, Swarathma is looking at creating a niche for themselves in the UK, and this tour is a stepping stone to that end. You can follow the tour updates at www.facebook.com/swarathma where there will be pictures, videos, blogs and all of the general madness that Swarathma is all about.
Rahul Menon, on the bass and NSM
Before I go into the statutory testimonial side of things, I'd like to say a huge thank you to Jason and Prakash for one of the most amazing musical learning experiences I've had since I picked up the instrument.
I've been playing the bass guitar on and off for about 5 years now, and for the past 2 years I had been stuck at an ABSOLUTE musical plateau - my theory had stagnated, my ear for music wasn't getting any better and my 'practice' sessions were restricted to a few finger exercises and some bass licks. Worst of all, I could feel my pasion for the instrument dying.
When I heard of NSM and the 10 week program, it was an opportunity not to be passed off. I signed up, thinking I'd atleast play my instrument a bit more by the end of the course.
This is where Prakash came in - in my very first session, fundamental mistakes were corrected. By the end of the course, I had learnt more theory than I had in 5 years! Be it scales, chord formations, arppegios, tapping, slapping, soloing, ghost notes and some fabulous right hand techniques to name a few. In just ten weeks, I felt an improvement in my playing that I hadnt been able to achieve over years. I am now more confident as a bass player and musician, and very importantly as a bassist, feel sure I can hold down a groove fairly well!
As if it wasnt enough for me to feel the change myself, other musicians have been complimenting on my playing and say they've noticed a radical improvement in all aspects of my playing - whether speed, sense of rhythm and groove, ability to play to different genres, locking in with a drummer and general musical awareness. For those of you who still arent convinced, I've been asked to play with a couple of bands and have been put in touch with many musicians to jam and get something going!
I'd recommend NSM hands down to a beginner on any instrument as well as to someone who has playing experience but wants to push themselves to a different level.
Cheers and thanks to Jason Zacharaiah and Prakash KN.
Introducing the Master Class
Already proficient with your instrument?
If you've been playing for a while, but would really like to sit down with someone and get down to the nitty gritties, the Master Class is for you. 3 people to a class, and specific, student centric content brought up by you will mean an environment of intense learning tailor-made by you, for you!
Music Mechanics - Saturday, Feb 20th
How much music can you handle in one day?
If you're anything like us, you've got music in your home, office,
car, headphones, and the rest of your time, in your head. So we decided to take a day out, an entire day, and fill it with everything music: giving you that jumpstart to learning music you always wanted.
Meet the likes of Bruce Lee Mani, Jason Zachariah, Gaurav Vaz, Ryan Colaco and Naveen Thomas. Hear them play, talk, teach you techniques, confess their motivations and tell you why and, more importantly, how they do what they do.
We'll cover instrumental training, vocals, plus songwriting, the business and stage presence. Here's a list:
Speed King: A session on shred guitars
Exercise to Improvise: Improvisation concepts and exercises
Blaze in Keys: Performance keyboard techniques
Music.biz: All about the business of music
Vox: Techniques to improve your vocal skills
The Showman: Learn to present yourself with confidence and poise on stage
Digital Music School: Music technology and production in a nutshell
Beat-Roots: Rudiments of drumming
Song Writing: Get a peek into the mind of the composers
Get started by filling in this form.
Rs.600 for full day.
For more information contact
+91 99869 94707 | +91 98806 30535 | +91 98454 65411
music@nathanielschool.com | www.nathanielschool.com
New Batches start Jan 5th!
On January 5th, 1940, FM Radio was demonstrated to the FCC for the first time. Now, that has nothing to do with anything, but I figured I'd share some trivia.
Exciting things have been happening (see below… and I really hope you made it for Music Mechanics!) and Season 2 of Music Method is getting prepped. We start Jan 5th, so sign up, dust off your fingers/vocal chords/friend's borrowed instrument, and start singing in the shower again (if you ever stopped) and we'll start the new year with some musical goodness.
Music Mechanics
Nathaniel School of Music brings to you “Music Mechanics”, a first of its kind comprehensive music workshop in Bangalore. The workshop covers various aspects of music, right from the intricacies of playing different instruments to making a successful career in the music industry. Sessions on the importance of music in cinemas for the movie buffs and the art of presenting oneself on stage with confidence are all covered. These sessions are unique, special and are conducted by the best in the Industry! 13 sessions on offer from which the participant can chose to attend 7 of their choice.
- Groovy Kids – Fun music workshop for kids under 5 - 12 years
- Speed King – A session on shred guitars with Naveen
- Leave no Tone Untu(r)ned! – Bruce Lee Mani on getting the guitar to sound right
- Exercise to Improvise – Improvisation concepts and exercises by Bruce
- Blaze in Keys – Jason Zac on performance keyboard techniques
- Music.biz – All about the business of music by Gaurav Vaz
- The DnB Coalition – Prakash and Rajeev demonstrate how to lock and groove
- Vox – Techniques to improve your vocal skills with Lillian Zac
- In the movies – Explore the role of music in movies with Nazarius Manoharan
- The Showman – Learn to present yourself with confidence and poise on stage
- Digital Music School – Music technology and production in a nutshell with Jason Zac
- Beat – Roots – Rudiments of drumming with Ryan Colaco
- Song Writing – the acoustic way – Get a peek into the mind of the composers.
Date: 12/12/09
Time: 9.00 am to 7 pm
Venue: Cathedral High School, 63 Richmond Road, Bangalore - 560025
Price: Rs.600 for full day. Kids with ID cards get a 50% discount
Appendix- Who’s Who?
Naveen Thomas- Guitarist – Galeej GurusBruce Lee Mani- Guitar player/Vocalist/Songwriter- Thermal and A Quarter
Jason Zachariah- Keyboardist- Thermal and a Quarter/ Certified Pro Tools Instructor & Trainer
Gaurav Vaz – Radio Verve/ Bassist Raghu Dixit Project
Prakash K N – Bassist L Subramanium and Karma 6
Rajeev Rajagopalan – Drummer – Thermal and a Quarter
Lillian Zachariah – Choir Director, Cathedral School and Organist, All Saints Church
Nazarius Manoharan – Creative Head, M&M Connect Advertising & Promotions
Anmol Vellani – Emminent Director and Theater Personality
Ryan Colaco – Drummer – Kryptos
Joey – Guitarist – Allegro Fudge
Timothy Thomas - Singer – Mood Logic/ Audio Engineer
Contact Information: +91 98448 85836 | +91 93419 61169 | +91 97417 63549 | +91 98806 30535
music@nathanielschool.com
Strawberry Fields
Strawberry Fields has come around again, and it's quite exciting cause Nathaniel has gotten upto a lot of different things. So for those coming down, we look forward to seeing you there; and for those who aren't, you really should!
Prize Sponsors
We are sponsoring Strawberry Fields this year, so the winning band gets to MIX and MASTER a three song demo with the school.Judge Jason
Mr Director, Jason Zachariah, takes on judging responsiblities for the finals on Sunday.Quiver in fear, or practice hard.
We have a stall
So come down, say hello, and we'll answer questions. Bring friends, family, bosses, clients - bring everyone you know...Bruce Lee Mani
We don't have much formal music training in our regular schools, so a regular music school is a good school! Without exception, everybody likes music. And I would go so far as to say that studying music helps improve not just your appreciation of it, but also your math ability, your self-expression, your world-view, and even your spirituality! And when a bunch of dedicated, experienced folk (like the folks at Nathaniel) are trying to put together a school for music, they deserve every encouragement.
I never had much formal training myself; what little I had came from a man called Bhaskar Maben, a little-known but dedicated music teacher that life dealt several unkind cards to. He taught me how to read music, and he taught me to be systematic, to organize my thoughts and studies. That's all I got for him before he left, but it was a good start. The rest I have picked up from all the wonderful musicians I have had the privilege of working with - in styles as diverse as Heavy Metal and Progressive Rock to Jazz, Hindustani and Carnatic. Picked up the hard way, making many many mistakes (and still making them, of course) along the way. With the guidance of a good teacher(s), I feel that I would have progressed much faster. The big-name schools in the West - Berklee, GIT - were always too far out of reach financially, even with a scholarship. So having a school like this one, close at hand, can only be a good thing.
It is very very important to get started off on your musical journey with the right first steps, and if possible with a teacher that inspires. For example, ear training - in our 'Google' era, so many people just learn songs by Googling them and reading the chords off a web page. Theory - many musicians find they need theory when they hit a 'plateau' and can't seem to get ahead. Sight reading - a useful skil, but not everything; it can become easy to focus so much on this that self-expression and improvisation are all but forgotten. Ergo, a school that understands these things well is the one I would go with.
Jason is one of the young guns who has consistently delivered the goods on stage with TAAQ. For those that know us, perhaps we can say that it is no mean feat. I wish him and his family every success with the Nathaniel School of Music!
Rajeev Rajagopal
NSM's new package course sounds really exciting and is very well structured. Playing for 10 weeks and being able to get on stage and perform is a tough ask if you are starting from scratch, but as the cliche goes 'nothing comes easy' and if you have the will to do it, there's nothing to stop you.
I think the first song we made as TAAQ in 1996 was a track in 7/4 timing (or something equally absurd, for a beginner at least!). The song 'might' not have been to everybody's liking :) but hey we did it and till today we enjoy all the wonderful things to be learnt in the great world of music. Today we have almost 100 songs composed and who knows if we had a school like NSM back then maybe we would be at 200 or more.
Going out there and doing it is the only way to actually learn anything. Getting thrown in the deep end of things always brought out the best in me, Whether it was playing music or mainstream academics, or corporate work life or anything in general.
I played my first show within a few months of learning to play the drums and since then its been non stop for the past 15 years now.
I think everyone should give music a genuine try and with a great school like NSM around its definitely going to be a rewarding experience.
Go for it!
"Mindblowing Show!! Thanks Lillian & Jason for making my boys Rock On!! Will keep in touch."