Cross Fingering Technique- An In-Depth Analysis of the Revolutionary Technique

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Pre-requisites

To complete reading of the following lectures

Introduction to Carnatic Music Introduction to Carnatic Flute

The above pre-requisites must be fulfilled in order to understand some of the technical terms in this presentation as well as to interpret the practical nature of this presentation with ease

Objectives To introduce commonly used techniques in flute playing

To understand the origin of the cross fingering technique in Carnatic flute playing

To appreciate the contribution & importance of cross fingering in Carnatic flute playing

To highlight the importance of Nadeswaram music in Carnatic music

Synopsis

Earlier Fingering Systems

Nageswaram Tradition

Cross Fingering Technique

Earlier Fingering Systems1. Introduction

2. Three-Finger System

3. Parallel Fingering

Introduction The earliest music flutes in Indian music did not possess a sophisticated fingering system like today due to several reasons:

Limited understanding of musical notes

Differing fingering styles based on preference

Unregulated design of flute – no standard design

Three-Finger System This method is one of the earliest traditions in Tamil music. It was among the first accepted techniques in South Indian flute playing

Better known as the Mundru Viral Sadhakam, this technique allowed the flautist to reach up to the thara sthayi dhaivatha, off-setting the tonic note by one note.

Its tonic position for Shadjam is the current Kaiski Nishada position & the Panchama is the current Suddha Madhyama position. By transposing, the rest of the notes can be played in this order.

Three-Finger System Some of its notable contributions to the evolution of Carnatic flute playing are

Advocating the use of transposed fingering which lasted till the introduction of the cross-fingering technique by 'Flute Mali'

Opening the avenue of playing semitone notes by its own limitations, leading to its eventual disuse.

Parallel Fingering Introduced by the blind flute prodigy, Sharaba Shastri, it became the first accepted standard in performance flute music

It involved playing the notes in a staccato manner

Covered the full range of notes in Carnatic music

Classical compositions could be played cleanly on the flute without much difficulty

Parallel Fingering Some of its notable contributions to the evolution of Carnatic flute playing are

It is the first time tested technique of serious flute playing, giving the competent flautist the status of a soloist

Opening the avenue of playing the gamakas (joining slides between notes) semitone notes by its own limitations, leading to it losing popularity today

Nageswaram Tradition

1. Introduction

2. Significance

3. Playing Method

4. Influence on Carnatic Music

Introduction Also known as the Nadeswaram, this instrument is arguably the world's loudest non-brass aerophone

Its made of a central wood body, carved out from a solid tree trunk with a metal slot at the top for reed placement & a large flaring bell-shaped piece at the opposite end

The body tapers from the smallest point at the blowing point to the largest point at the end

Its North Indian equivalent is the Shenai, a shorter instrument

Introduction Designed like the flute, it consists of 7 holes with 5 additional holes at the bottom side of the central body

Its range is about two & a half octaves, which is the range of the human voice

Modulations between notes are made by controlling the amount of air pressure blown in the instrument as the fingering is highly complex & challenging to master

Its sheer size & loud volume calls for great stamina & respiratory strength on the part of the performing artiste

Significance Originally used in folk music & later on in Carnatic music, the instrument achieved prominence as an auspicious instrument because of its rich timbre volume & resonating sound

In the past, temple processions in South India are accompanied by nadeswaram music during the opening time of the temple of each day

The full gamut of the ragas' characters are revealed in this sacred music & till today, the world of raga alapana is ruled by nadeswaram artistes

Significance

So great is the exposition of the raga, that great stalwarts of yesteryears would wake up early before dawn to listen to the nadeswaram artistes in the temple processions

Nadeswaram artistes themselves are highly regarded & remunerated for their mastery of the challenging instrument

Both connoisseur & laymen flocked readily to listen to great nadeswaram artistes & their performances. On the hand, vocal music at that time was at its infancy as a public performance & had a very selective audience

Playing Method While the now-popular cross-fingering method is used in the flute, its origins undoubtedly came from the nadeswaram which aptly produced the vocal nuances of the human voice extremely well

While partial opening & closing of the holes are used extensively in the Carnatic flute, the nadeswaram has finger work using the 5 additional holes is different while the shaking of the notes to produce gamakas are used in the flute & the nadeswaram

This method of gamaka production was later used by Flute Mali to great success on the flute, with some changes

Influence on Carnatic Music At the dawn of the 20th century, the era of performing music called for new methods for presenting the art to the public as opposed to the limited audience of royal patrons of the past century

Nadeswaram music itself became the answer, with the step-by-step delineation of a raga to the climax of sweeping brighas appealed to one & all. The compositions remained crisp & alluring with a madhyama kala tempo generally

Particularly all the great titans, including Semmangudi Srinvasa Iyer, M. S. Subbulakshmi & G.N.B professed the influenced of nadeswaram music in their renditions

Influence on Carnatic Music Probably, the greatest phenomenon in nadeswaram music is the legendary T. N. Rajarathnam Pillai, a celebrated genius of the instrument as well as a competent vocalist (he was a disciple of Thirukkodikaval Krishna Iyer)

His renditions influenced many great stalwarts to adopt his approach. Flute Mali & T.N.R shared a special friendship, & often practiced together exchanging musical knowledge

In the vocal arena, Semmangudi Iyer, among the many greats, adopted T.N.R's performing approach significantly. G.N.B completely assimilated the technique almost singing like a nadeswaram performance with his God-given voice

Influence on Carnatic Music Needless to mention, the trio; Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M. S. Subbulakshmi & G.N.B perpetually left an indelible influence in the performing era of Carnatic music

The many disciples of Semmangudi Srinvasa Iyer & G. N. Balasubramaniam have over the years modified & refined their gurus' techniques to suit the new-age audience while retaining the core techniques of their gurus

Although nadeswaram musicians once numbered in the hundreds because of the music's appeal, today, their numbers dwindle & rising stars like the Injukkudi brothers & Sembanarkovil brothers are keeping this art alive

Influence on Carnatic Music Nadaswara Chakravarthy T. N. Rajarathnam Pillai

Source: YouTubeSource: YouTube

Cross Fingering Technique

1. Introduction

2. Explanation

3. Future

4. Conclusion

Introduction

In simple terms, cross-fingering is a method where air is allowed through a finger hole(s) left open between closed finger holes

In cross-fingering technique, semitones (sharp & flat notes) & quarter-tones (altered sharp & flat notes for sruthi specific playing) can be played appropriately

Semitones can be played alternately with different fingering

Explanation

The production of semitones of some notes will be discussed

Assuming suddha rishaba (R1) is played with 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 finger-holes closed, it will be the same as playing 1st finger-hole closed & the 2nd partially closed

Playing suddha dhaivatha (D1) with 1 – 4, 6 & 7 finger- holes closed, leaving the 5th finger-hole open, will yield the same note as playing 1 – 4 finger-holes closed & leaving the 5th partially opened

Explanation The production of semitones' janta svaras will be discussed

Playing R1 with cross-fingering as discussed earlier, will yield a double note; R, R, when the 2nd finger-hole is tapped & released. In conventional play, R, R, is obtained by sliding the finger to S position & back; R1, S, R1

Playing D1 with cross-fingering as discussed earlier, will yield a double note; D, D, when the 5th finger-hole is tapped & released. In conventional play, D, D, is obtained by sliding the finger to S position & back; D1, P, D1

Explanation The production of quarter-tones will be discussed

Quarter-tones are produced by altering the extent of opening the finger-holes for the note for specific sruthi

Due to the nature of this topic, further details on the 22- sruthi system will not be discussed

Opening Hole Shruthi

¼ opened Ekashruthi

½ opened Dvishruthi

¾ opened Tisruthi

opened Chautsruthi

Future

It is therefore important to take note, that Flute Mali did not completely assimilate the cross-fingering technique from the nadaswaram, but adapted appropriately to certain notes to improve the ease of playing the flute while producing the vocal nuances of Carnatic music appropriately

The current flute prodigy Shashank further added a new dimension to the Mali's technique by introducing “Transposed Fingering” which is discussed separately from this topic, (a link is provided on the Tutorial site)

Conclusion

The importance of cross-fingering in flute playing should never be forgotten, for almost all avenues of Carnatic music has witnessed the “vocal capacity” of the Carnatic flute

Evolution on the other hand has to progress & refine the current techniques of flute playing. One such approach is the “Transposed Fingering” introduced by Shashank, which is a modification of the Mali's technique & also corrects some subtle limitations of the Mali's technique

The End...