Krsna Kirtana Songs
est. 2001 www.kksongs.org
KKSongs Articles
Welcome to the KKSongs
Articles page. While the foci of this site is dedicated to devotional songs and
the study of Indian music, there are things that is to be said that cannot fit
with the song lyrics or the music pages of this site. Therefore, original
supplemental articles have been written from time to time to make light of
certain devotional songs, spiritual topics, as well as musical concepts and
ideas.
Profile of Indian Musical
Instruments (
Even
though there is an interactive page on musical instruments available in the
Hindustani and Carnatic pages of the site, this is a
hypertext and profile on some Indian instruments.
The Thats vs. The Melas (
When
people study world music, people often study musical scales. When Indian music
receives a glance, people are amazed to see how there are a tremendous number
of scales. In North Indian music, this is called a that, while in the South
Indian music, this is called the mela. This article
will discuss on the formation of these as well as more scientific facts on
scales..
A Day in Krsna’s Life: A Musical (
In
Indian classical music, a day is separated in eight sections of three hours
each called prahars. Vaisnava
musicologists have studied these prahars and the
ragas associated with them to understand and see the day of Krsna glorified by
the ragas. The article is based on information from Rupa
Goswami and Bhaktisiddharta
Dasa.
Improving Indian
Instruments (
In
receiving instruments from
KKSongs:
A Retrospect (
On
the
Approach To Teaching Tabla (
There
are a variety of methods to teach tabla. However,
just as tabla is a vast instrument, there will be
vast reasons why one wishes to learn tabla. Some will
need it to help them play another instrument. Others want to solely focus on
the tabla. Few may want to become percussionists and
use tabla as a medium. Whichever the reason may be,
teaching styles will have to be tailored to these fields. This article will
explain about how to satisfy all facets of music without compromising the skill
and study of the tabla.
Ten Forms of Lord Krsna (
This
article looks back at a song from Jayadeva Goswami’s book, Gita Govinda. The song discussed is the Dasavatara
Stotram, or prayers glorifying the ten forms of
Krsna. It explains the philosophy behind avataras as
well as glimpses of the pastimes involving each avatara.
This article was originally written on
Searching for the Perfect
Tabla (
If
one is seriously interested in learning tabla, then
one should be very careful in purchasing one. A poor drum can be very
discouraging for an aspiring student. Sometimes, the word “professional” is
rubber stamped on tabla sets which are less than average
quality. Understanding what to look for in a tabla
set can help one avoid making a big mistake.
Singing in an Odd Meter
(
After
recording one song from Matchless Gifts which used a thirteen beat cycle, I
wanted to write an article in attempts to educate musicians on how to compose a
song or fit lyrics into a rare cycle not common to Indian musicians.
Matchless Gifts
Experience (
After
not recording full-fledged albums in a while, I recorded a set of eight bhajans which rare lyrics by some of our lesser known Vaisnava Acaryas, sung in rare ragas in rare talas.
For the spirit, I called it “Matchless Gifts.” This accounts for the memories
that took place while recording the massive project.
Approach to Teaching Khol (
This
is my opinion of a perfect method of teaching the khol
for students to benefit without having too little or too much instruction. This
article is a supplement to the tabla syllabus article
posted earlier this year.
Mridanga
Abuse
(
Mridanga
is the form of Lord Krsna’s flute in Kali-yuga. As this drum sounds so mellifluously and enchanting,
devotees made it a point to study the drum in such a way that they can please
the Lord. From controlled sweet rhythms from the past came to excessive noise
and banging in the present. Even though it can lift the “ecstasy” of kirtan, it can become cacophonic, offensive, and cause
potential threat to the life of mridanga or ears of
devotees. This article exposes improper mridanga
playing.
Glorification of Lord Ramacandra (
On
the appearance day of Lord Krsna’s incarnation of the
ideal king and ideal and most moral personality, Ramacandra,
glorifying the Lord through songs is a great way to remember the pastimes and
glories of Sri Sri Sita Rama, Sri Laksmana, and Their
devotees. The article includes links to devotional songs found on various parts
of KKSongs.org.
Myriads of Tongues; One Name (
This
article examines devotional songs through which languages they have been sung
in. This article will explore the Indian languages as well as the non-Indian
languages used to render glorification of Sri Krsna, His forms and His
devotees. This article also brings out the appreciation of Krsna Consciousness
as a worldwide movement. KKSongs links are provided
for the song references throughout the article.
“Unreleased Works” and
“Unsung Songs” of Prabhupada (
Today
is the Vyasa Puja or the
appearance day of Srila Prabhupada,
founder and acarya of ISKCON. This article is a
special offering to Srila Prabhupada
on his one hundred tenth Vyasa Puja
from KKSongs. Srila Prabhupada has written so many books of Vedic literature
and Krsna Conscious philosophy, given so many lectures, and led a lifetime of
perfect example. Despite all this, his devotional songs haven’t been remembered
too well. This article focuses in on the songs written by Srila
Prabhupada, as well as songs devotees have written
about Srila Prabhupada.
Music with Higher Taste
(
“Prasadam” or the remnants of food offered to Lord Krsna is
a celebrated aspect of devotional life in Krsna Consciousness. This article
looks at songs that talks about prasadam and its
glories.
Ataraxis
and Sandhya Sadhana (
The
two KKSongs recordings of 2006 were Ataraxis and Sandhya Sadhana. The former, which had the entire soundtrack
completed in one day, was completed on May 8, 2006. Ataraxis
was a meditative recording treating each instrument as a character that spoke,
sang, or chanted. The esraj was the main performer,
along with the guitar-vina, mayuri
vina, and santoor. They
were accompanied by the tabla, khol,
and pakhawaj. The tunes featured on this track were
based on tunes of bhajans and regional chants. Sandhya Sadhana was a collection
of rare bhajans and instrumentals recorded to fit the
evening mood.
KKSongs
Guitar Project: The Fusion Between Guitar and Sitar
(
Many
attempts have been made to make Western instruments resemble or even mimic
Indian instruments. One such instrument was the guitar in attempts to produce
Indian ornamentation, as well as the electric sitar to get a minimal attempt to
resemble the sitar buzz. This article focuses on the KKSongs
Guitar Project in order to make a guitar sound like a sitar.
Glorifying Lord Sri Nrsimhadeva (
Of
all incarnations of Sri Krsna, the man-lion incarnation known as Lord Nrsimha is one of the fiercest incarnations. While sinners
and non-devotees fear His terrific form, His pure devotees have nothing but
love that is not due to fear, but due to devotion. This article encompasses His
pastimes from the Seventh Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam and looks at various songs written by devotees
which are found on KKSongs.org.
Why Sing Devotional Songs?
(June 4, 2007)
KKSongs.org
is based on Krsna Conscious devotional songs. In such a grand website, a
discussion on the devotional song would be the ultimate supplement and the
underlying purport for all of the songs found here. This article, inspired by a
web viewer’s inquiry, discusses on the importance of a devotional song and the
various types of devotional songs.
Appreciating the Pastimes of
Sri Krsna (
This
is the time frame where the auspicious month of Bhadra
begins. The month of Bhadra starts off with Balarama Jayanti (appearance day
of Krsna’s elder brother and expansion, Balarama). A week later, Krsnastami
(better known as Janmastami, the appearance day of
Lord Krsna on earth), Nandotsava (celebration of
receiving Krsna by Nanda Maharaja, foster father of
Krsna), and Srila Prabhupada
Vyasa Puja (appearance day
of Srila Prabhupada). To
give a good background to Balarama Jayanti, Krsnastami, and Nandotsava, a brief description on the advent of the lila is given here in this article.
Glories of the Greatest Vaisnava (
On
Appreciating Srila Prabhupada (
Songs Personal at Heart:
Examining the Works of Adi Sanakaracarya
(
By
Lord Caitanya’s mercy, He brought many impersonalists back to the Vedas by following the yuga-dharma or harinama sankirtana (congregational chanting of Hare Krsna). But
before this occurred, many unauthorized animal sacrifices took place in the
name of the Vedas. Lord Buddha came to bring people away from the Vedas to
prevent such activities from occurring. To begin to bring people back to the
Vedas, Lord Krsna ordered Lord Siva to come on earth to preach impersonalism, despite being a true personalist.
Some of Adi Sankaracarya’s
writings show his devotion to Lord Krsna and His forms. This article examines a
few of them featured on KKSongs.org.
UPDATED: April 2, 2009