One of the recent songs I like very much is the "Minnalgal Koothaadum" song from Pollathavan. This is a very simple song with simple tune, simple beat and simple accompaniments but I never get bored of this song, even though I hear it on radio almost dailly. This song is picturized on a hill station and the song conveys the appropriate mood. I observed that when we listened to this song on the bus during a trip to Coorg. I was impressed with the fact that even a simple song can be made into a big hit with the right ingredients. Bombay Jayashree's voice in this song is another big plus. Manjal Veyyil song from Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu (Harris Jayaraj) is yet another example of a simple song with the right ingredients making it a super hit.
There is some freshness in G V Prakash's song. I especially like his "Idhu Enna Mayam" from Oram Po and the "Vizhiyil" song from Kireedam.
One more recent song that I like is the "Yaarukku Yaarendru" song from Ajantha composed by none other than Ilaiyaraaja.
And this is my last post in the year 2007. I had published the maximum number of posts in this year when compared to the earlier years. Hope I continue to keep my blog active during 2008.
Wish you all a very Happy New Year !
Sennheiser Headphones
I recently purchased a Sennheiser HD 202 headphones. Earlier to that, my colleague had purchased the same model in India and I listened to it and was bowled by its audio quality and clarity. He had bought in a Sennheiser showroom in Chennai for around Rs. 3000/-. He told that it doesn't cause any headache or irritation in the ear, sits comfortably and is better than the models from Sony for the same price. He also suggested to buy in the US, since it would cost only about $25 which is roughly Rs. 1000/-. So I ordered it online and got it delivered to my cousin, who brought it down here when he came to India last month.I have been using it for the past few weeks. The quality is good. External noises are cancelled. Bass depth is very good. I was told that it is a studio-ware. The website says it is ideal for DJs.
Here are some links for you to learn more about this model:
One thing I found uncomfortable was that it changes the angle of my specs when I wear it and hence my eyes get tired. May be I need to tighten my glasses. If you are wearing glasses, make sure you try it out before purchasing.
BGM piece from Alaigal Oyvathillai
Here is a BGM piece from Alaigal Oyvathillai with music by Ilaiyaraaja. This piece comes when Karthik runs behind Radha on the beach and holds her hand. The piece was so good when watched along with the visuals. This is in Raag Hindolam, conveying the same mood as in "Dharisanam kidaikaadha" song which appears earlier in the film. Towards the end of the piece you will notice a mood change with an emotional male humming. Now listen to the piece and then read further.
As I said earlier, this piece is in Hindolam. But when the male humming starts, it changes to Srothaswani raga (Ni3 counterpart of Sudhdha dhanyasi) in a different shruthi. The madhyamam of hindolam becomes the shadjamam of srothaswani. And that is why the female humming ends at Sa ma ga ma, Sa ma ga ma, Sa ma ga ma, Sa ma ga ma, and the shruthi changes and the male humming starts at the upper Sa which is equivalent to the ma of hindolam. This technique of changing the shruthi is being called as shruthibedam. Lets look at the notes of the scales and see how the transformation was done and why it didn't sound odd when both the ragam and shruthi changes.
So as you can see above, even though the scale changes, almost all the notes which will be played / sung are the same. It is only with the relative base shruthi that you identify with the swaras and the ragas.
Some of my earlier posts on Shruthibedam in film songs - Kavithai Kelungal and Raa Raa. Infact Raa Raa is also based on Srothaswani.
As I said earlier, this piece is in Hindolam. But when the male humming starts, it changes to Srothaswani raga (Ni3 counterpart of Sudhdha dhanyasi) in a different shruthi. The madhyamam of hindolam becomes the shadjamam of srothaswani. And that is why the female humming ends at Sa ma ga ma, Sa ma ga ma, Sa ma ga ma, Sa ma ga ma, and the shruthi changes and the male humming starts at the upper Sa which is equivalent to the ma of hindolam. This technique of changing the shruthi is being called as shruthibedam. Lets look at the notes of the scales and see how the transformation was done and why it didn't sound odd when both the ragam and shruthi changes.
| Hindolam (in 1/2 kattai) | Sa | Ga | Ma | Dha | Ni | Sa | ||||||||
| Srothaswani (in 4 1/2 kattai) | Pa | Ni | Sa | Ga | Ma | Pa | ||||||||
| Western Notes | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# |
So as you can see above, even though the scale changes, almost all the notes which will be played / sung are the same. It is only with the relative base shruthi that you identify with the swaras and the ragas.
Some of my earlier posts on Shruthibedam in film songs - Kavithai Kelungal and Raa Raa. Infact Raa Raa is also based on Srothaswani.
Swara Harmonies
I was listening to some of the BGMs of Ilaiyaraaja. Here is a short BGM bit from the film Sindhubhairavi. Listen to the harmonies and overlaps in the Shanmugapriya raga. The audio quality is poor, kindly bear with it.
And here is a similar piece in Mayamalavagowlai raga from the film "Alaigal Oyvathillai"
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And here is a similar piece in Mayamalavagowlai raga from the film "Alaigal Oyvathillai"
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