Madhuradhwani Sangeetha Sabha Trust seems like any other venue for a Carnatic music concert; only, the stage is set differently. Children sit with keyboards in front of them, and soothing ragas reach your ears.
These are students of Guinness World Record holder M.S. Martin’s Mellifluous Melodies. Martin, who hails from a family of musicians, is trying to break the barriers that divide music, by introducing his students to various genres. Martin received a Guinness award for the largest electronic keyboard ensemble in Chennai on November 28, 2011. It saw 109 participants performing a Ragamrutham for 16 minutes and seven seconds.
He also holds a national record from the Limca Book of Records for organising the largest Carnatic keyboard orchestra, with 75 children on stage. A gold medallist in B.A. Music from Annamalai University, Martin wondered why the keyboard was not being used to play Carnatic ragas, when it was used extensively in film music.
Working purely on instinct, he set about fusing two musical cultures. “I wanted to replicate what I learnt on the harmonium through the keyboard,” he says. The process was cumbersome — he started off with the most primitive of keyboards 20 years ago, and it was difficult for him to reproduce the authentic strains of the ragas. But, with time, keyboards came with modifications in favour of Carnatic music.
“After our ‘Guinness’ performance in 2011, Yamaha asked how we’d like the keyboard to be tuned. I requested them to include an adjustable pitch blender; an additional button on the keyboard that would help produce Carnatic music in its purest form. It can be turned off while playing Western tunes, so that there will be no Carnatic undertone to it.”
Martin believes in identifying talent early on. That’s why he got an all-children’s ensemble to perform at the inauguration of the Madhuradhwani Sangeetha Sabha Trust. As for his disciples, he believes a child’s growth happens on the stage.
“Also, when children find it difficult to verbally communicate, their fingers play out their minds,” he says.
