Nail-filing by Sarod players on stage

[m***@yahoo.com]

I recently attended a concert by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (and sons) where
he explained his frequent nail-filing saying that the nails on the
fingers used to stop the strings get grooved and he has to file them
smooth to get the correct sounding notes.He also demonstrated the less
resonant and dull notes that are arise if the finger tips are used for
playing. While this sounds reasonable, I have heard live performances
by other sarod players such as Budhhadev babu, Parthasarathy and
Biswajeet Roychaudhari but have never seen them resort to this practice
and nor are the notes any less resonant. Is it that their style of
fingering is different? Or do they use some kind of a protector on the
nails (something like a thimble), though one would have noticed it if
it was so obvious? Or do they use the flat top surface of the nail
like the sarangi players and hence do not have to contend with grooves
forming on the tips of their nails? Any takes on this? Would be
grateful for any enlightment.

[Praful Kelkar]

Post by m***@yahoo.com
I recently attended a concert by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (and sons) where
he explained his frequent nail-filing saying that the nails on the

....

Post by m***@yahoo.com
it was so obvious? Or do they use the flat top surface of the nail
like the sarangi players and hence do not have to contend with grooves
forming on the tips of their nails? Any takes on this? Would be
grateful for any enlightment.

All sarod players use the tip of their nails to give the crisp sound.
The nails do indeed get grooves as you play along and you need to file
them down. As you do that the nails get shorter and then the sound
starts getting less and less crisp. In the olden days sarodiyas had to
take a break from playing to let the nails grow back. These days with
plastic nails and superglue and other materials it is less of a
problem. What Us Amjad Ali Khan shows on the stage is part of
educating the audience about the instrument etc. His particular
style of playing creates the cleanest and sharpest tone not heard in
the maihar style players, hence his particular attention to the nails.
Pt BDG puts acrylic stuff on the nails in order to prevent breaking.
Sarod cannot be played with the backs of the nails like sarangi.

Hope that clarifies.

-PK

[darbari_2002]

The differences in sound between Maihar and Ud Amjad Ali's style of playing
are due to more fundamental differences rather than the nail filing
technique:

string gauge, size of plectrum (java, jaba), striking technique (dara diri),
gripping style of plectrum, pitch of the instrument, acoustics of the
instrument (type of wood, presence of resonant chamber on bridge), tuning of
strings, number of strings etc.

There are other differences like putting fingers over non-playing strings
during fast passages (eg jhala), ratio of the sound of playing strings vs
supporting strings (jod, chikari) etc.

Agree with you that Ud Amjad Ali Khan's sound is cleaner and crisper on an
average, however, this is not a monopoly of any particular playing style.

I wish some sarodiyas did not "abuse" their instrument by banging their java
hard against the strings on the pretext of playing "accurate" dara-diri,
producing an annoying wooden sound, which takes away from the sound of this
beautiful instrument.

And yes, - a bit of nail filing goes a long way - one file before the
concert usually works for the rest of the day.

Rahul

Post by Praful Kelkar

Post by m***@yahoo.com
I recently attended a concert by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (and sons) where
he explained his frequent nail-filing saying that the nails on the

....

Post by m***@yahoo.com
it was so obvious? Or do they use the flat top surface of the nail
like the sarangi players and hence do not have to contend with grooves
forming on the tips of their nails? Any takes on this? Would be
grateful for any enlightment.

All sarod players use the tip of their nails to give the crisp sound.
The nails do indeed get grooves as you play along and you need to file
them down. As you do that the nails get shorter and then the sound
starts getting less and less crisp. In the olden days sarodiyas had to
take a break from playing to let the nails grow back. These days with
plastic nails and superglue and other materials it is less of a
problem. What Us Amjad Ali Khan shows on the stage is part of
educating the audience about the instrument etc. His particular
style of playing creates the cleanest and sharpest tone not heard in
the maihar style players, hence his particular attention to the nails.
Pt BDG puts acrylic stuff on the nails in order to prevent breaking.
Sarod cannot be played with the backs of the nails like sarangi.
Hope that clarifies.
-PK

[m***@yahoo.com]

Post by darbari_2002
The differences in sound between Maihar and Ud Amjad Ali's style of playing
are due to more fundamental differences rather than the nail filing
string gauge, size of plectrum (java, jaba), striking technique (dara diri),
gripping style of plectrum, pitch of the instrument, acoustics of the
instrument (type of wood, presence of resonant chamber on bridge), tuning of
strings, number of strings etc.
There are other differences like putting fingers over non-playing strings
during fast passages (eg jhala), ratio of the sound of playing strings vs
supporting strings (jod, chikari) etc.
Agree with you that Ud Amjad Ali Khan's sound is cleaner and crisper on an
average, however, this is not a monopoly of any particular playing style.
I wish some sarodiyas did not "abuse" their instrument by banging their java
hard against the strings on the pretext of playing "accurate" dara-diri,
producing an annoying wooden sound, which takes away from the sound of this
beautiful instrument.
And yes, - a bit of nail filing goes a long way - one file before the
concert usually works for the rest of the day.
Rahul

Post by Praful Kelkar

Post by m***@yahoo.com
I recently attended a concert by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (and sons) where
he explained his frequent nail-filing saying that the nails on the

....

Post by m***@yahoo.com
it was so obvious? Or do they use the flat top surface of the nail
like the sarangi players and hence do not have to contend with grooves
forming on the tips of their nails? Any takes on this? Would be
grateful for any enlightment.

All sarod players use the tip of their nails to give the crisp sound.
The nails do indeed get grooves as you play along and you need to file
them down. As you do that the nails get shorter and then the sound
starts getting less and less crisp. In the olden days sarodiyas had to
take a break from playing to let the nails grow back. These days with
plastic nails and superglue and other materials it is less of a
problem. What Us Amjad Ali Khan shows on the stage is part of
educating the audience about the instrument etc. His particular
style of playing creates the cleanest and sharpest tone not heard in
the maihar style players, hence his particular attention to the nails.
Pt BDG puts acrylic stuff on the nails in order to prevent breaking.
Sarod cannot be played with the backs of the nails like sarangi.
Hope that clarifies.
-PK

[m***@yahoo.com]

Post by darbari_2002
The differences in sound between Maihar and Ud Amjad Ali's style of playing
are due to more fundamental differences rather than the nail filing
string gauge, size of plectrum (java, jaba), striking technique (dara diri),
gripping style of plectrum, pitch of the instrument, acoustics of the
instrument (type of wood, presence of resonant chamber on bridge), tuning of
strings, number of strings etc.
There are other differences like putting fingers over non-playing strings
during fast passages (eg jhala), ratio of the sound of playing strings vs
supporting strings (jod, chikari) etc.
Agree with you that Ud Amjad Ali Khan's sound is cleaner and crisper on an
average, however, this is not a monopoly of any particular playing style.
I wish some sarodiyas did not "abuse" their instrument by banging their java
hard against the strings on the pretext of playing "accurate" dara-diri,
producing an annoying wooden sound, which takes away from the sound of this
beautiful instrument.
And yes, - a bit of nail filing goes a long way - one file before the
concert usually works for the rest of the day.
Rahul

Post by Praful Kelkar

Post by m***@yahoo.com
I recently attended a concert by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (and sons) where
he explained his frequent nail-filing saying that the nails on the

....

Post by m***@yahoo.com
it was so obvious? Or do they use the flat top surface of the nail
like the sarangi players and hence do not have to contend with grooves
forming on the tips of their nails? Any takes on this? Would be
grateful for any enlightment.

All sarod players use the tip of their nails to give the crisp sound.
The nails do indeed get grooves as you play along and you need to file
them down. As you do that the nails get shorter and then the sound
starts getting less and less crisp. In the olden days sarodiyas had to
take a break from playing to let the nails grow back. These days with
plastic nails and superglue and other materials it is less of a
problem. What Us Amjad Ali Khan shows on the stage is part of
educating the audience about the instrument etc. His particular
style of playing creates the cleanest and sharpest tone not heard in
the maihar style players, hence his particular attention to the nails.
Pt BDG puts acrylic stuff on the nails in order to prevent breaking.
Sarod cannot be played with the backs of the nails like sarangi.
Hope that clarifies.
-PK

Thank you both for the info.So there are ways around the problem,
thanks to modern materials. It's just that this act is so noticeable in
Amjad's case ( along with his jamavars).Perhaps, the jamavars are also
a "part of educating the audience"?

Incidentally, talking of annoying sounds, I agree with Rahul about
using the jawa to strike the strings very hard. The same thing applies
to fast stroking just to show speed and virtuosity and playing to the
gallery without worrying about the aesthetic effect. Unfortunately,
there are too many people among the audiences who clap at this sort of
showmanship encouraging the musicians, especially the younger ones to
behave as if they were lead guitarists for a rock band! While texture
and contrast is important in music, it has to be balanced with the
melodic element in any performance.

I thought the gayaki ang with its ekhada tans etc. is supposed to do
precisely that and bring the melodic element to the fore front and show
skill and virtuosity in execution of the strokes combined with the
stopping techniques of the left hand in emulating the voice. But Kaunsi
Kanada gat presentation by the two sons, was ruined by
indiscriminatingly resorting to jhala and mechanically executed tihais
just to appeal to the gallery.( Incidentally, among the gats they
played a 11 matra one- what tal would that be?). Again, as I understand
it, the artiste shows his skill by subtle variations in the gat to move
away from the structured pattern and returns to it. While one may
intersperse sections of stroking the chikari for contrast, the
fast-stroking jhala is the finale. Could Praful, as an afficianado, be
able to explain, for my benefit, the performance format adopted by
the Senia Bangash Sarod gharana?

[d***@uiuc.edu]

Post by m***@yahoo.com
fast-stroking jhala is the finale. Could Praful, as an afficianado, be
able to explain, for my benefit, the performance format adopted by
the Senia Bangash Sarod gharana?

I'm no Praful, but if the format at the 2005 Dover Lane Music Blabathon was
anything to go by, this format is eminently suitable for the trasherrati: bank
and business bigwigs who go sleep on the sofas and leave the moment Ali Akbar
Khan saab's non-performance is over.

In sum, this music is for audiences with more money than taste to be "fast
stroked" :( to god knows what dimension of bliss. I personally would NOT pay
2c to hear this type of presentation, and it was barfatrocious to an `old'
Calcuttan to see the Dover Lane crowd put up with mostly this sort of trash
four nights in a row. Bangash chappie playing should have been booted off
stage, for my money's worth: IIRC it was Ayan operating, with Bageshri the
unfortunate operand, the entire procedure resembling a grimacing/grinning
plastic surgeon happily bimbo-izing a perfectly respectable classical face,
someone with better memory, please correct. Waste of time. Revealingly bad
taste.

I have notes I managed to puke out on a sheet of paper somewhere while
watching the performance. If I have the stomach and I can beat some
deadlines, might post it. But don't hold your breath. Overall though, the
"samajhdar Cal audience" claim sucks if Dover Lane was anything to go by.
Five or six good performances in all that crap.

At a minimum Buddhu-da should allow Scotch to be sold on-site so one can
happily drown one's sorrows while waiting all night for that off-hand chance
of one non-sucky performance a night. Blechhh. (With due apologies to the
gentle soul who was kind enough to get me a pass for the entire episode.)

Which does not mean I won't go this year: after all, mollAr doud masjid obdi
(mullah ki daud daud masjid tak).

[Abhik Majumdar]

Post by d***@uiuc.edu
At a minimum Buddhu-da should allow Scotch to be sold on-site so one can
happily drown one's sorrows

By Buddhu-da you mean Bhattacharya and not Dasgupta, right? Easily
confusable in the context of Sarod performances, I'd say.

Abhik

[d***@uiuc.edu]

Post by Abhik Majumdar

Post by d***@uiuc.edu
At a minimum Buddhu-da should allow Scotch to be sold on-site so one can
happily drown one's sorrows

By Buddhu-da you mean Bhattacharya and not Dasgupta, right? Easily
confusable in the context of Sarod performances, I'd say.

Good point. You are right of course. I was referring to our Dearly Beloved
Leader, the Most Honorable Chief Minister, the Right Most Honorable Shriman
Shri Buddhu aka Budhhadev Bhattacharyya Esq., not Panditji. Thanks.

r.

[Praful Kelkar]

That is too bad to know about Dover lane - one of the most prestigious
ICM events in the world. Well hopefully we will see a turn toward
more "classical" in ICM and less ding-dong as the fast-pace phase of
cultural change settles into a wiser more grounded phenomenon, which
values the "classical" in arts. There is not much one can say about
the format in ICM concerts these days... there ain't no such thing
other than making it stick -- which can mean a variety of things such
as betting more money or pleasing the gallary or whatever it can mean
for the particular artist on the particular day and the particular set
up.

-PK