It's difficult, but I'll try,” says Fabrice, taking out his konnakol book. The Italian music student clears his throat and starts on a basic rhythm; he has learnt well from mridangam and konnakol master Prapancham Ravindran.
With 25 years of teaching experience, Ravindran is a faculty member for the ongoing summer intensive workshop at the Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music. According to him , "Verbal percussion is growing the world over. Fabrice is one of many who are learning the difficult art, seeking to blend it with jazz and blues. They find it tough to get the accent right since it's a tongue twisting art but they work hard at it and improve with practise." He finds that many of the students are interested in bringing fusion to the fore and Indian music features high on their list. World famous drummer Phil Maturano says that konnakol can be life changing. "India is a mecca for drummers. There are amazing students here. The Indian beats with Western music at this level is great. A mix of the Indian gurukul system and Western teaching has been a good way to achieve this. Over three years, I've created and licensed a standard syllabus so even if I'm not here, the students get proper instruction," he says.
Peggy Larson of McNally Smith University says that the standard of students here is as good as any back in the United States. "I teach harmony, music notations, hearing and reading music, as most students aren't strong in these basics. Learning this will help them improve their performance and make them better musicians," she says, adding that the calm and isolated setting of the academy helps the students to focus on their music.
With his long hair and dressed in shorts, bassist Steve Zerlin is one of the most sought-after musicians. "I love being in India because I can live close to nature. The students here are willing to learn and explore more and it makes it great for me. I've been here for a few semesters, and I'm going back to the US, but I hope to be back,” he says.
Vishnu, a drummer for Chennai-based band Trojan Horse, is one of the many students here who is already a professional performer. "Here, I am surrounded by people who can relate to me all the time; we only talk about music.
In the city, there are so many distractions. I find that I practise more here."
Singer Kavita Thomas, also from the city, says “ I’ve been performing professionally for a while now, but I never knew there was so much of theory and reasons behind it. I'm also learning better ways of singing," she says.
Vaibhav Wavikar, a drummer from Mumbai sums it up, "I was only a drummer before; I'm becoming a musician now."
