Abstract

Manodharma (improvisational) sangitam (music) is an essential part of concert performance of Karnatic classical music. It has five aspects - namely, ragalapana, kalpanasvara, neravu, tanam and pallavi. Although improvisation is considered to be a creation of one’s own, a student requires some initial training in all the aspects. In the process of creating something new, the most important issue is to understand the characteristics of a raga (ragalakshanam). The form of svara, its gamaka, anusvara, the raga phrases and their kalapramana may be imbibed by learning various compositions in which the basic structures of raga and tala are embedded. Different compositions may be used in different ways to guide students in their initial stages of learning the various aspects of manodharma sangita namely ragalapana, svarakalpana, neraval and tanam. The present paper titled “Importance of Compositions in Pedagogy of Improvisation in Karnatic Classical Music” explores how a student may be guided to sing alapana, svarakalpana, tanam and neraval using compositions.