Konokol

[monk]

Does anyone practise konokol or knows where to learn it in Singapore?

 

[RudimentalDrummer]

What's this - Is it a Percussion Instruments or some HandDrums?

 

[monk]

it is vocal percussions

 

[justaphase]

Hello, I am damn happy that someone posted on Konnakol!

Anyway, I think you can learn it from mridanghists and/or various South Indian percussionists. I'm also looking for someone who teaches it exclusively because I would rather focus on that first, since I am generally a kit player and I employ Carnatic rhythms in my playing.

Of course the best would be to learn it with the mridangam and tala counting.

 

[weckl-x]

What's this - Is it a Percussion Instruments or some HandDrums?

Here's some stuff I found about it. Sounds really cool.

Konokol is the universal system of mastering rhythm without drums.

Some excerpts from an instructional DVD, plus pdfs available on this website:
http://www.mediastarz.com/shopKonokolDvd.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK7hsvdjHwg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkPxkQZqMiE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z84CnmymUI

A review of the DVD:
The Gateway To Rhythm - J. McLaughlin and S. Vinayakram

by Rich Murray.

http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/004045.html

Steve Smith touches on it at his PASIC 2005 clinic.

At the 2005 PAS international convention, Steve presented a clinic titled "Indian Rhythms: An Intro for Western Drummers," with noted Indian drummer Ganesh Kumar playing kanjira. "For the past four years, I've been studying the rhythms from India," explains Smith. "the music of India has incredibly rich rhythmic tradition, developed over thousands of years. The rhythmic part of the music is, in fact, one of its primary focuses, which is different from U.S. music, where the primary focus is melody and then harmony. They have a highly developed rhythmic system that I find extremely interesting, and studying it has helped me develop a lot more rhythmic knowledge and phrasing ideas. I love playing with the Indian musicians, interacting and improvising, using the Indian concept of a meeting ground."

South Indian rhythmic syllables (konokol):
Group of 3: ta ki ta
Group of 5: ta ka ta ki ta
Group of 7: ta ka di mi ta ki ta
Group of 9: ta ka di mi ta ka ta ki ta
http://www.vicfirth.com/features/steve_smith_PASIC05.html

 

[justaphase]

Personally I don't think any other rhythmic pattern can beat the southern indian Konnakol. It is based on mathematical calculations and there are like, what, 125 or so different time signatures?? Our western rudiments really cannot compete with their paragraphs and rhythmic passages! Full props to carnatic music from me.

Oh, and since the Kanjira was mentioned..this dude, G. Harishankar, is considered to be the ultimate. He's albino though, so don't mistake him for a white dude though he kinda looks like it! Even Zakir Huessein was afraid of playing with him, cause of his crazy calculations!