He believes we need to move beyond the karaoke culture when it comes to music. Little wonder that his workshops encourage complete novices to use any instrument of their choice and not just play but compose pieces on the spot. It might be challenging, Akhil Kodamanchili agrees, but it is how one garners a better understanding of the art.
The musician, who has been collaborating with several folk and hip hop artistes, apart from jamming with his concept band Lemon Tea for the past year, conducts music workshops for not just amateurs but also for complete novices. “It is one of the most important reasons beginners should attend such workshops because it shows them the bigger picture. They need to realise that music is a vast thing otherwise they tend to develop a hobbyist mentality and end up doing it half-heartedly without realising what music can actually be. That really lowers the average down way too much. I want to move beyond the karaoke culture of music that we live in,” says Akhil.
The 23-year-old musician prefers the workshop model of teaching and has conducted several such sessions. “I prefer the workshop model of teaching because I don’t believe it is something that should be spoon-fed. A big part about music is to learn self-discipline. I will give people the information and the tool and after that it is really them taking responsibility for themselves,” says Akhil, who also produces and composes music .
After studying music in Canada Akhil played with various bands for a year and even collaborated with some folk and hip hop artistes and travelled the country with his music. “I also formed a band, a three-piece, called Lemon Tea. It is a concept band and we don’t write music. We improvise on the spot and it is really an exercise of connecting with each other and our audience. We have also recorded an album and put it out,” he says, adding that being a do-it-yourself kind of guy he believes in putting up his things online. “I wrote a small book after I finished music school as a way of documenting what I’d learnt and it’s been published online. It is also my way of connecting with industry people in a more educated manner,” says the musician who draws inspiration from anything like a sound, philosophy or a visual.
