Guest guest Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 Sat Nam, First...you can ask as many questions as you want! Sound, mantra, music, chanting and Gurbani Kirtan are vast and rich realm! My kirtan teacher once said that, the more you know, the more you learn that there is to know. So...to answer your questions: First: In Gurbani Kirtan (and other forms of classical Indian music), there is something called 'raga' or 'raag'. Raag refers to the scale that the music is played in and also the nuance of how you play the music in that scale. For example, you may play all the notes going up but leave out some when descending the scale. You may focus on certain notes more than others and sing them in a special way. It's not 'chords' necessarily...it's more the scale. The raag is also played at a specific time of day for a specific effect. Most of the chant music in Kundalini Yoga is not played in Raag. Sat Kirin Kaur has recorded some CDs in Raag. In the Western Sikh community, some shabads ('songs' from the Sikh scriptures) are played in raag and others are not. As a musician, I find that there's nothing quite like singing or hearing a shabad played properly in raag. However, chanting any of these sacred words with proper rhythm and intent is great. Yogi Bhajan loved all expressions of music and encouraged us to create, compose and play music often. Second question: Where do you learn. It depends upon where you are and who you can find to teach you. People teach at Solstice events and Women's camp. My teacher will be here next year at about this time. Some teachers come from India and teach periodically. I think Sat Kirin Kaur from NYC teaches as well. Keep asking questions! Blessings...Dev Suroop Kaur Kundalini-Yoga , " jreneeworks " <jreneeworks wrote: > > ok, last question. so ARE there sacred chords in mantras? If so, how > do I find out what they are? > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.