The sound of Shiva's drum as it falls down the stairs
March 24, 2018 2:54 PM Subscribe
Konnakkol is the Southern Indian art of percussive vocal performances, much like Scatting in American Jazz. Here's some really cool videos of people transcribing pieces for western drums!
- Konnakkol duet by V Shivapriya and B R Somashekar Jois, with Amir Oosman on quads. (contains transcript if you want to try and sing along)
- Drums and Konnakkol: Mayur G S
- Westerners Cain Daniel and Yogev Gabay give it a shot, another duet this time with a piece from the Karnataka College of Percussion in Bangalore, India
Once one of these insanely amazing performers puts a back beat into their repertoire, they're going to be sampled by everyone who's anyone forever. I mean, it's like Buddy Rich, only it's a girl and a guy in a back-and-forth duet, and they're doing it with their mouths and hands instead of a huge drum kit with two dozen instruments. Neal Pert is, as we speak, trying to figure out how to mount a comfortable seat onto his kit for one of these performers to hang out on for the ultimate percussion experience.
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:27 PM on March 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:27 PM on March 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
thanks, thelonius! Here's the link to Mayur GS' video.
posted by FirstMateKate at 5:29 PM on March 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by FirstMateKate at 5:29 PM on March 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Once one of these insanely amazing performers puts a back beat into their repertoire
This knowledge can indeed be applied to other styles of music, such as metal (Mattias Eklundh probably learned about this from working with Jonas Hellborg, who learned it from John McLaughlin).
posted by thelonius at 5:40 PM on March 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
This knowledge can indeed be applied to other styles of music, such as metal (Mattias Eklundh probably learned about this from working with Jonas Hellborg, who learned it from John McLaughlin).
posted by thelonius at 5:40 PM on March 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
A couple decades ago I heard a Dick Dale interview on the radio where he explained his belief that it's important to be able to sing the drum parts, and broke into a demonstration that sounded similar to this. And so here's a short clip of the king of surf guitar dueling with his drummer at a concert.
I first heard this technique on a Sheila Chandra record, Weaving My Ancestor's Voices, where there are two short tracks, Speaking in Tongues I and II.
posted by ardgedee at 6:36 PM on March 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
I first heard this technique on a Sheila Chandra record, Weaving My Ancestor's Voices, where there are two short tracks, Speaking in Tongues I and II.
posted by ardgedee at 6:36 PM on March 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Not to derail but I am constantly amazed by what a mad genius Dick Dale is. Seriously, check out one of his shows before he’s done performing.
This post is awesome. I play drums and am married to a South Indian and had never heard of this.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:13 PM on March 24, 2018
This post is awesome. I play drums and am married to a South Indian and had never heard of this.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:13 PM on March 24, 2018
Yes I was trying to learn about konnakkol and then teach it to my students this semester!
posted by daisystomper at 7:34 PM on March 24, 2018
posted by daisystomper at 7:34 PM on March 24, 2018
And so here's a short clip of the king of surf guitar dueling with his drummer...
This is really unfair, as that's Dick Dale! The dude is a god and basically just showing off. Ask any Heavy Metal axe-maniac about Dick Dale. Those who don't know what you're talking about aren't that good.
That said, I would not be surprised if he was doing konnakkol in that vid. Because that's Dick Dale, and he's a dude with a deep curiosity.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:49 PM on March 24, 2018
This is really unfair, as that's Dick Dale! The dude is a god and basically just showing off. Ask any Heavy Metal axe-maniac about Dick Dale. Those who don't know what you're talking about aren't that good.
That said, I would not be surprised if he was doing konnakkol in that vid. Because that's Dick Dale, and he's a dude with a deep curiosity.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:49 PM on March 24, 2018
Here's a video of the same woman from the first link, she kinda explains what her hands are doing. This is a piece she's composed herself.
I think maybe comparing it to scatting was a mistake on my end. konnakkol isn't improvised, they're polyrhythms. From what I understand, which isn't a lot, the left hand repeats a rhythm (which is in one time signature), the right hand has another rhythm (in another time signature), and the vocals are the results of them overlapping, with variance of syllables in each bar. Each rhythm is called a thama, and they have names. It's insanely technical and structural and mathematical. I haven't encountered something that made me this in-awe since my first brush with large numbers (and I understand them both equally well, which is to say not a lot)
posted by FirstMateKate at 8:36 PM on March 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
I think maybe comparing it to scatting was a mistake on my end. konnakkol isn't improvised, they're polyrhythms. From what I understand, which isn't a lot, the left hand repeats a rhythm (which is in one time signature), the right hand has another rhythm (in another time signature), and the vocals are the results of them overlapping, with variance of syllables in each bar. Each rhythm is called a thama, and they have names. It's insanely technical and structural and mathematical. I haven't encountered something that made me this in-awe since my first brush with large numbers (and I understand them both equally well, which is to say not a lot)
posted by FirstMateKate at 8:36 PM on March 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Thelonius mentioned John McLaughlin, who has actually recorded a whole instructional vid about Konokol. I think that Daniel Goyone, who played a few years ago with trilok Gurtu, has incorporated the use of Konokol in his instructional books about rhythm mastery.
posted by nicolin at 3:29 AM on March 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by nicolin at 3:29 AM on March 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
trilok Gurtu
In fact the first encounter I had with Konokol was the McLaughlin trio that Trilok Gurtu played in, during the 90s - they did an all-vocal rhythm piece that was like nothing I had heard before! I didn't know that it was an ancient musical tradition.
posted by thelonius at 3:52 AM on March 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
In fact the first encounter I had with Konokol was the McLaughlin trio that Trilok Gurtu played in, during the 90s - they did an all-vocal rhythm piece that was like nothing I had heard before! I didn't know that it was an ancient musical tradition.
posted by thelonius at 3:52 AM on March 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
I recently came across the percuss.io channel on youtube with a few transcribed/animated konnakol videos like this one (using a tech called soundslice).
posted by yoHighness at 5:47 AM on March 25, 2018
posted by yoHighness at 5:47 AM on March 25, 2018
Another one I like from that channel, SCV drumline's "Flammus" but it's vocal percussion
posted by yoHighness at 6:11 AM on March 25, 2018
posted by yoHighness at 6:11 AM on March 25, 2018
yoHighness, yeah, that's V Shivapriya. That's the first video in this post. I've been watching more of her, and from what I understand she's young and still a student! If you search by her name, there are more videos of her performing.
posted by FirstMateKate at 10:37 AM on March 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by FirstMateKate at 10:37 AM on March 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
The first duet starts in 7/4, and you can hear 7 in some other parts, but I have no idea if it stays in 7. It's like the sense of meter is just cut adrift. Amazing stuff.
posted by kurumi at 11:24 AM on March 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by kurumi at 11:24 AM on March 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
For those unfamiliar with McLaughlin's work in this space, check out the opening track from the 1976 album "Handful of Beauty' with his ensemble Shakti, La Danse du Bonheur [slyt] McLaughlin plays a custom built guitar which sports a scalloped fretboard, allowing him to play semi-tone scales, similar to a sitar. There are also drone strings fitted over the sound hole.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 11:40 AM on March 25, 2018
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 11:40 AM on March 25, 2018
The first duet starts in 7/4, and you can hear 7 in some other parts, but I have no idea if it stays in 7. It's like the sense of meter is just cut adrift. Amazing stuff.
I don't even know if carnatic music has a concept of time signatures like Western music, or if they just think of a grid of accents
posted by thelonius at 12:15 PM on March 25, 2018
I don't even know if carnatic music has a concept of time signatures like Western music, or if they just think of a grid of accents
posted by thelonius at 12:15 PM on March 25, 2018
thelonius, Carnatic music does have time signatures, we call them taalam in tamil or tala.
posted by ssri at 4:23 PM on March 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by ssri at 4:23 PM on March 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
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I think there is trouble with the "Drums and Konnakkol: Mayur G S" link
posted by thelonius at 5:20 PM on March 24, 2018 [1 favorite]