An article in NY Times which reinforces the benefits of music

Interesting article on Music in the New York Times:

Condoleezza Rice trained to be a concert pianist. Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, was a professional clarinet and saxophone player. The hedge fund billionaire Bruce Kovner is a pianist who took classes at Juilliard.

Multiple studies link music study to academic achievement. But what is it about serious music training that seems to correlate with outsize success in other fields? Check this link:


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/opinion/sunday/is-music-the-key-to-success.html

Promoting Music at IIT and Schools

Lecture-Demonstration at the Foundation Program at IIT - August 2013

An interesting interaction on Tabla with the freshers at IIT-Gandhinagar. Was glad to see the 'right' side of our future engineers! I commend IIT for including this session in their Freshers Induction program. Students had fun learning the basics of Teentaal and some of the compositions set to Teentaal. The lec-demo included discussions around evolution of Tabla, various gharanas (schools) of Tabla, Art and Science of Tabla playing, demo of compositions such as Uthan, Peshkar, Kaidas, Tukdas, Chakradaars, Gats, and Relas.The Tabla lec-demo was followed by a Sitar-Tabla duet with Srini.

Tabla demo at IIT - April 2013

Juganbandhi (Duet)

 Tabla and Piano Demonstration

Appreciating Indian Music and Tabla: Session for Children and Parents

Indian Music comprises of various genres such as Classical, Semi-classical, folk, bhajans, film, popular, rock etc. While the popular, rock and other modern forms of music have been greatly influenced by Western music, the traditional Indian forms of music – classical, folk, bhajans, semi-classical (thumris, tappa, ghazals) etc continue to demonstrate the uniqueness and originality of Indian music and are today appreciated by musicians and audiences across the globe. Indian classical music, which can be broadly divided into Hindustani and Carnatic music, has a rich tradition dating back to more than 4000-5000 years.


Research has shown that music, particularly classical music, has a positive impact on the holistic development of a child. Children who start learning music at an early age tend to excel in academic, are generally more intelligent, more confident, and less disruptive.

Session highlights:

Objective: Sensitization to some of the facets and benefits of Indian Classical Music, including Tabla

o It will highlight the benefits of music on a child’s development as well as how music can help in developing a holistic personality.

o Children would be made aware of different forms of music, musical instruments and musicians

o There would be a short Tabla demonstration explaining the history, anatomy, language of Tabla, various Gharanas, role of Tabla in today’s music, and a typical Tabla solo progression.   Session conductors: Rajiv Bhatt and Soham Bhatt