Berklee musicians get candid about their love for the Indian rhythm

Matthew Nicholl and Rick Peckham, seasoned musicians from the Berklee College of Music, talk about their love for Indian rhythm and how technology has democratised the music scene

January 22, 2018 10:30 pm | Updated January 23, 2018 05:22 pm IST

 IN HARMONY: Rick Peckham and Matthew Nicholl with Megha, Aditya and Tarun Balani, founders of Global Music Institute

IN HARMONY: Rick Peckham and Matthew Nicholl with Megha, Aditya and Tarun Balani, founders of Global Music Institute

On their first visit to India, Matthew Nicholl and Rick Peckham, musicians and visiting faculty from the Berklee College of Music say that there is much to be learnt from Indian perspective of music. While Matthew, Associate Vice President of Global Initiatives at Berklee, has been the composer of film scores for National Geographic Society, PBS and NASA and also for presidential campaigns including that of Ronald Reagan, Peckham, Guitar Professor at Berklee, has been winning critical acclaim around the world for his album, “Left End”. On the sidelines of a workshop at Global Music Institute in Greater Noida, they opened up on their understanding of Indian music, the importance of culture and how different is guru-shishya relationship from music college learning.

How do you feel about your first Indian visit?

Rick: I am happy to be here. It is amazing to see the rhythm of life here. The city in itself is musical and it is inspiring to feel the energy. I have a lot of interest in Carnatic music. If you understand rhythm from Indian perspective, you can’t go wrong anywhere in the world. It is something that I want to learn from here.

Do you listen to Indian music?

Mathew: I do listen to it. In fact, I am a big fan of Rahman’s music who also did a big concert at Berklee when I was in charge. We have artists from India, recently we had Shreya Ghoshal there.

In India, a majority of artists had someone at home teaching music from an early age. Does someone from non-musical family can learn music the same way in an academic set-up?

Mathew: Malcolm Gladwell in his Outliers proves that if one wants a skill, then he has to practice it ten thousand hours. And I believe, if one practices a lot, then he can learn it no matter if he is from a music family or not. I started playing drum at the age of five but gave up at the age of 14. Then I decided to play the piano. People used to tell me that I will not able to learn music because it’s too late . It is different from person to person. If you have music at your school at the early stage of life, it is as good as you have it at your home.

How academic learning differs from Indian guru-shishya parampara of learning music?

Mathew: I think an academic setting is quite similar to what guru-shishya relationship is. When we had gone to college in the ’80s we had a professor who became a friend. We used to stay together, travel together and there was a personal relationship with him. I think the whole time spent with him was learning in itself. You pick a certain kind of behaviour and absorb whatever happens in front of you. They are not going to tell you what is important but you have to pick it up that way.

Rick: In my view, instead of focusing on one guru, one should have a series of teachers. It should be a team to train students to help them go where they want to reach.

How can an understanding of different cultures help a musician?

Mathew: There is a melodic and rhythmic component and musical style which cannot be written down. You can hear a really nice groove in Brazilian music but you cannot write it down. You cannot sequence it. There is something below the surface which you can’t reach without appreciating the whole culture. I fell in love with Brazilian music and I ended up learning Portuguese also.

Do you think music is a commodity?

Rick: I think there are two families, family of artists those playing on the stage together, and the second one if we include the audience in that circle. If the band is only communicating with itself and there is no reflection of the world around, it is not a commodity. But we have a responsibility to realise the vision and aspirations of the audience also; which makes it a commodity.

How has technological shift in recording music changed the experience of a musician?

Mathew: I see a lot of it is very liberating because earlier only the wealthy people were able to do the recording in a studio because the equipment was very expensive and the labels did not allow everyone to record. They used to control the whole thing but now it is more egalitarian and available to everybody and it is also empowering. But it is still veryhard to make good music as technology can only help you if you have thorough knowledge of recording and mixing. Even if you have all the tools, it is still very tough.

What about digital versus analogue debate... ?

Rick: Technology is magic and there are ways to romanticise the earlier ways of recording. Neo young is very interested in digital versus analogue, they are listening to vinyl records, but I think in digital, people can enjoy in more formats which were not possible with analogue. So in my feeling, change is inevitable and we have to accept it.

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