Tremolo 0

Ask anyone, what is the single most factor that differentiates Raaja's songs from the rest. The answer is bound to be "Orchestration".. Or in more simple terms the art of making a (fairly big) team of musicians working in unison to produce the desired results. Or in colorful language, Orchestration its the art of writing screenplay to the story called Melody.One such tool available to write the screenplay is employing the String Ensemble as Tremolo...

Trombone 0

My first tryst with Trombone was in the year 02. My manager then, a gentleman by the name of Ben was a trombonist at a local brass band. I accompanied him on a couple of occasions during his practice sessions and attended their orchestra's live show once as well (well.. I had free tickets..!); When I heard the timber of the instrument, the background musics of Tom & Jerry, especially of the types when Jerry is spoiling Tom's beach vacation or...

Chords For Dummies 0

Often while reading musical reviews or discussions of Ilaiyaraaja (or any genre of music that evolved in the past 50 years for that matter) a popular 'hip' word that one comes across is Chord. While a formal definition or a technical description of that word is available all over the internet, you are expected to be musically 'educated' or at least be aware of the basic anatomy of music to understand those references. Getting more confused, you would...

I met Bach in my house 1

Deutsch should have been definitely tougher for Raaja to learn. So when he wanted to communicate with a German he chose a much simpler language. Especially when the person in question is arguably the greatest Western Classical Composers of all time...Raaja composed Two Extra ordinary tracks in his album "How to Name it", probably his most popular work outside film music together with "Nothing But Wind". In that, He envisioned a meeting between Himself...

And We Had A Talk..... 0

Raaja: Vanakkam Thiru BachBach : Freut Mich Herr IlaiyaraajaRaaja: I am honored to have you here. I never imagined this meeting would take place. No words can express my joy.Bach: The pleasure is mine.. I felt very much the same way when you took particular interest to visit me in Leipzig.Raaja: Yes, your music has been a great source of inspiration to me from the early days when I started learning Western Classical Music under my Master, one Mr....

Mini Flute Sonatas 0

Currently I am listening to the the Flute Sonatas of the Bach. Only one word to describe it.. Hypnotizing... I do not understand WCM completely. But one need not know it in detail to appreciate this aesthetic arrangement of just a single Flute accompanied by a single Harpsichord. (Since Harpsichord is not widely used in today's context, Guitar is seen a worthy substitute. Almost all Western classical Duet performances now a days involving Flute,...

Paradox 0

Few times in Cinema, a same song is painted with another emotion and picturized again. Typically this happens when the Heroines who are daughters of big shots or stinking rich men fall in love with good-hearted poor heroes who live in single rooms essentially located on the upstairs of a low class residential area. Initially they’ll dance and make merry. Then the ‘father of the bride’ comes into action. Soon the lovers are separated and made to compare themselves with ‘Romeo – Julliet’ or ‘Amaravathi-Ambikapathi’ or ‘Laila – Majnu’ or with all...

9thChords 0

In this passage, lets look into the usage of 9th chords in Raaja’s music… When I think about the significance that an extra note (swara) can bring when added to a particular root chord (to make it a special chord like a 7th or 9th) is unbelievable to notice. For one who understands how to do this, Music becomes a child’s play and he / she can simply do whatever they feel like doing with swaras… Ilayaraaja is among those extremely gifted souls who can play with most weirdest combination of notes to produce a chord something like ‘ Fm 9th 7th’ which...

The Boss of Bass 0

Raaja's idea of composing bass is nothing short of an experiment. Traditionally bass is played with a pattern, which is more suiting the rhythm of the song. Sort of playing a second fiddle.. A good example of his own is 'Maasi masam alana ponnu' song. There is nothing great about the bass track of this song. Bass is just played at full timing of every bar, giving a good grand 'dharrr….' effect. But a song like this (with ordinary bass tracks) is...

Nothing But Wind 0

Nothing But Wind1. Singing Self – Music belongs not so much to musicians but to all people. While a composer may write a work for a particular cause, or to honor a specific patron, the former in the field sings for the sheer joy of it. In ‘The singing self’ Ilaiyaraaja celebrates the spirit of spontaneous music-making that exists in all of us.2. Mozart I Love You – Mozart’s music is loved world-wide, and it had a great impact on Ilaiyaraaja. in this...

இளையராஜா - ஏ ஆர் ரஹ்மான், அர்த்தமற்ற விவாதங்களும் பின் நவீனத்துவ இசையும் 1

ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட இசையும், இசையமைப்பாளரும் நம்மை கவர்வதற்கு என்ன காரணம். நம்மால் எல்லா இசையையும் ரசிக்க முடியவில்லையே, சிலருக்கு சில இசை பிடிப்பதற்கும் சிலர் வெறுப்பதற்கும் என்ன காரணம்? இப்படி சில அடிப்படை விஷயங்களை சொல்ல வேண்டும் என்ற எண்ணம் பல நாட்களாக இருந்தாலும் ஒரு சில காரணங்களால் அதை தவிர்த்திருக்கிறேன். அதில் முக்கியமானது, சில இசை மேதமைகளைப் பற்றிப் பேசும்போது அதிலும் இந்திய இசையைப் பற்றிப் பேசும் போது தவிர்க்கமுடியாமல் சில இசையமைப்பாளர்களின் மேன்மையை பேசுவதாக அர்த்தப்படும், அவரின் பால் நமக்கிருக்கும் ஈர்ப்பையும் மதிப்பையும் பிரச்சாரம் செய்வதுபோல்...