Bhajans

[Guest guest]

We recently sent this out to the active participants in our bhajan sessions.

I¹m posting it in case any of you might find it useful for your group.

 

Some of the participants in the weekly Satsang met Tuesday night and came up

with some suggestions. The purpose of these suggestions is to help make the

weekly satsang and bhajans as inspiring and uplifting as possible for all,

regardless of their degree of participation. Also we thought it would be

nice to have more people involved in the organization of the Satsang and

therefore we are forming a team of people to help out in different areas.

Here are the points we came up with:

 

Quality of Bhajans:

 

> 1. Singer: Songs well rehearsed and appropriate for voice.

> 2. Backup singers: Trained to sing, well blended

> 3. Instruments (Harmonium, Casio, Tabla, Percussion Team): Well Rehearsed

> 4. Mics: Balanced to create rich sound in the Hall

>

 

 

 

> Musical Supplies Needed:

> * 4 good quality speakers (2 for front of hall, 2 for back) - approx.

> * 2 more mics to be used for backup singers - approx. $300

> * 1 Scale Changer Harmonium - approx. $750

> * 1 very good quality Casio - approx. $300

>

>> Fundraiser needed to purchase necessary musical supplies

>>

> Mics

>> placed and labeled accordingly:

>> * 1 Tabla Mic

>> * 2 Lead Singer Mics (both in front row)

>> * 3 Backup singer mics (in second row)

>>

>

>

>

>> Hall organized as follows:

>> * 1st row, left to right: Harmonium, Tabla (2 lead mics, 1 tabla mic)

>> * 2nd row, left to right: Three backup singers, in a straight row (3 mics) *

>>

>> Mics labeled (Lead 1, Lead 2, Tabla, Backup 1, Backup 2, and Backup 3 to

>> avoid confusion)

>>

>> Mics won¹t be moved around. They will stay where they are set up and singers

>> will move around to get to the mics. Mics will be arranged to avoid

>> unnecessary commotion between songs

>>

Bhajan Practice:

* Tuesday 7:00 SHARP to 8:30 SHARP

* Practice opens with prayer to purify atmosphere

* Practice organized for focused work and courteous interchanges

* Lead Singers choose their backup singers and instruments for their song

* Lead Singers: Fluid in melody and pronunciation before practice, choice of

song according to vocal ability, and rehearsed with harmonium player.

* Know your bhajan before you come to practice and know how to play it on a

keyboard or coordinate with Sree Lakshmi or another keyboard player

beforehand so that they know it.

* Tambourines and percussion instruments practiced with each song

* Each song not to exceed 5 minutes

* 15 minute maximum practice time for each song

* Backup Singers: Practice blending together to sound like one voice

* Songs are pre-agreed by the group if ready or not for Sunday performance

* If all Sunday slots are not full Bhajan leader will e-mail group to fill

open mic slots

* Singers print MINIMUM 30 copies of their songs for Sunday

* Cleanup and exit quickly at 8:30 sharp (this is a school night)

* Song order made the Tuesday prior to Sunday and posted on harmonium.

 

Sunday Night Satsang :

* begins 7:00 sharp and ends 9:00 sharp

* Singers and musicians to arrive and set up 5 min. early

* NO TALKING between songs. Amma¹s established this rule. Talking destroys

the atmosphere of devotion, wastes energy that could be focused on God

* Songs sung in the order made on Tuesday; list posted on the harmonium

* Order of Bhajans:

> * Opens with 15 minutes of simple songs, 30 minutes of difficult songs, closes

> with 15 minutes of fast, simple songs (this is a general but not rigid format

> we will try to stick to in order to have a balanced program that will account

> for different tastes in music)

> * Leave a 5 minute slot for ³Open mike² so an inspired devotee can sing at an

> established time each Sunday

> * Invitation is extended to new people to do Arati with an experienced person.

> Experienced person will sign up on the sign up sheet on Sundays and a new

> person will be invited to participate with them.

*

* Singers to put printed copies of their songs on the song sheet desk BEFORE

Satsang starts Regular attendants bring your own pillow and take it home,

pillows will only be provided for new people Clean up requires every one to

help put stuff back

* IT IS UP TO US TO ESTABLISH SILENCE AFTER PROGRAM AND TO EXIT QUICKLY

* Program Schedule:

> * 7:00 - 7:15: Chanting:

>> * Chant 3 Om together

>> * Chant Dhyayamo Sloka together

>> * Chant 108 name of Devi together

> *

> * 7:15 ­ 8:30: Bhajans

>> * 15 minutes simple bhajans

>> * 30 minutes difficult bhajans

>> * 15 minutes fast, simple bhajans

> *

> * 8:30 ­ 8:35: Amma¹s Quote Reading

*

>> * Everyone is welcome to participate in the reading. Pick a 3-5 minute

>> passage from Amma and sign up to read at the satsang where a sign up sheet

>> will be posted. If you find that the sign up is always full and you never get

>> a chance to read, let one of the schedule coordinators know this is happening

>> and we will remedy it.

> * 8:35 ­ 8:45: 10 minute Meditation

> * 8:45 ­ 9:00: Closing

>> * Arathi sung by whole group and led by those who have practiced leading it

>> on Tuesday.

>> * Everyone is welcome to participate in performing the arati. You must sign

>> up at the satsang where a sign up sheet will be posted. There will be two

>> slots for Arathi sign up each time. One will be for an experienced person and

>> the other for a first time person. If you find that the sign up is always

>> full and you never get a chance to perform Arati please let one of the

>> schedule coordinators know this is happening and we will remedy it.

>> * Mangalam chanted by whole group

>> * Prayer for Peace chanted by whole group

>> * Prasad is given out

> *

> * 9:00 ­ 9:15: All Cleanup quickly in silence and exit, this will help

> maintain the beauty of the experience we all came for. Amma reminded us of the

> importance of this.

*

 

TEAM HELP NEEDED

* August 31st deadline for Ann Arbor Bhajan planning. Come to practices by

no later than Sept beginning if you want to be involved.

* Fundraiser - for musical instruments (Suggestions and help needed)

* Book Team -Sunanda, Kartika, Hari, update Bhajan books (more book

volunteers needed!) 3-ring binders needed.

* Greeter - volunteers needed

* Bhajan Announcer - Sree Lakshmi, Irene for backup

* Mic Technicians - Doug, Hari, Rick . 2 good quality mics needed.

* Bhajan Coordinators: Vaju - assisted by Susan, Irene. Duty list and

schedule

* Trained Harmonium Players - Sree Lakshmi, Sumana, Vaju, and Kartika

(easier songs). More Trained players needed!

* Rick, Doug - meet next week with Jon Huff on the sound system.

* Sati - finds out the status of the mikes from Radio Shack this weekend,

calls Vaju and finds out if she can bring a scale changer harmonium from

India, and prices Casio in China

* Sree Lakshmi and Sai Ganesh - label and position mics.

* Pronunciation tape made of opening and closing prayers, including 108

names.

* Closing announcements: Rick Archer, Bob Jepson

 

If you would like to help in any way we really welcome the help, please

contact Francesca ­ 472-9069.

 

Namah Shivaya,

 

Ammachi Fairfield Satsang

866-JAI-AMMA

http://ammachi-fairfield.org

info

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Ammachi, Rick Archer <rick@s...> wrote:

> We recently sent this out to the active participants in our bhajan

sessions.

> I¹m posting it in case any of you might find it useful for your

group.

 

While we're on the topic, I thought I might add

some suggestions from my own experience singing

at Sai Baba and Ammachi satsang meetings:

 

1-Lead singers really should have their song

memorized, so they can concentrate on the singing

and not reading the page, while it does help

to have the words in front of you in case you

forget a line. Practice on your own time,

not the group's.

 

2-Regular practice sessions should include

some long-notes and simple scales as warm-ups

and to help give new singers a bit of confidence

by hearing their own voice more. This could

be done with vowels or Om's. Basic rhythm

excercises couldn't hurt, to help sync the group.

 

3-If you're going to lead songs alot, pay attention

to your singing range and the key of the song, so that

you don't have to change octaves/ranges in the middle

of a song because you started in the wrong key. For

example, I know my best/comfortable range doesn't agree

with most, so I learn the song in the middle ground.

 

4-If you can't clap in rhythm with the music or

play an instrument in rhythm, it's better to tap

your hand on your leg to keep time to avoid messing

up everyone else's meter. This actually was a huge

problem, because once people get excited, they feel

more confident with the tamborine, etc. and end up

messing up the whole song for the lead singer.

 

5.Miking the harmonium/drums. Buy a 2ft "gooseneck"

for the mike stand, rather than using the adjustable

ones that stand up high. Getting microphones with

an on/off switch helps if you decide to pass the mike

rather than switching the seating of the singers.

 

6-Don't lead a bhajan if you're going to be late or

leaving early because it'll create a distraction for

others (when singers are placed at the front of the

group).

 

7-Lead singer should hold out the note/line until the

chorus joins in for their repeat (most songs),

otherwise it leaves an unnatural gap.

 

8-Drinking warm water helps to loosen your throat.

 

9-When practicing at home, tape record yourself to

find mistakes.

 

10-Instruments and clapping should never overpower

the leader singer!!!

 

11-Pay attention to the starting speed of the song

so that it doesn't go into warp the second time

around.

 

12-If you lead a song and get off-key for whatever

reason, and you can't tell that you are off-key...

They you shouldn't be singing, because the musicians

accompanying you will not have enough time to find

your new key before the song ends.

 

 

For blemished, but discounted harmoniums:

http://www.mid-east.com Click on their Specials/Seconds.

I picked up a decent one a couple years ago for $150.

 

For singing exercises, there's a brief tape of a

class available from the Satya Sai Book Center.

I've noticed it's not on their website, so

I'm not sure if they still offer it. It's

"Bhajan Learning Scales and Exercises" C-033

Class by Lakshmi Shankar. If anyone wants

a copy, email me and I'll dub you a copy of

mine.

 

For microphones, I remember from my rock-n-roll

days that the Shure SM58 is an industry standard

for vocal and their SM57 for instruments. They

go for about $100 each I think. The "BETA" versions

are supposed to be more professional and are even

higher priced/quality, but their originals are still

the standard. I think getting the ones with a switch

are about $120 each.

 

tom