namahatta.org - Congregational Development Ministry

In reference to yesterday's post about mrdangas and metronomes, Maha-mantra wrote me to say that "triplets at 66 bpm is too fast for beginners", and of course it is.

I didn't start out on 66 bpm with triplets - and neither should you. The 66 bpm practice of that mantra is just what I'm doing at the moment. The post is as much inspirational as it is instructional. The main point is - practice with a metronome.

In mrdanga playing power is good, endurance is great, but precision is king.

If you have power and endurance people will notice you. If you have precision you can become invisible - the kirtan will rock so hard that people will forget you're there.

And that's the goal.

I've been doing some investigation into drums and drumming lately.

Param Satya plays the tabla. I've been playing mrdanga for a few years now, and recently I've taken up doumbek (aka darbuka, tarambuka, egyptian tabla and more), and djembe.

Prahlad plays mrdanga, doumbek, and djembe.

We have a kirtan retreat coming up with drumming workshops and a drumming circle, so all these drums will come in handy. There are a few more at Atma as well.

A sifu master once said: "If you want to master something do it ten thousand times".

Of course, beyond the conception of mastery is the realization that we are subordinate to our environment and exist in order to serve.

However, the principle is valuable. I express it like this: "The difference between an experienced drummer and an inexperienced drummer is ten thousand strokes."

The other day I taught the basic strokes on the mrdanga to a student. Then I told her: "Now you know what I know. The only difference between us is ten thousand strokes."

A video podcast lesson on playing daadra taal beats on mrdanga, as per a request on an earlier lesson posted to YouTube.com.

Here are the mantras:

Daadra taal cartal beat:
dheiya da da dheiya

Mrdanga beats:

Dhei da dhei ta kheta kheta
Thei ta thei ta kheta kheta

Prem Yogi recently acquired a new Balarama mrdanga. He rang Krishna.com and asked them if they had anything lying around that they could supply him with, in order to avoid the standard 5-6 month waiting period for Ratna to make one up. Fortuitously they had a slightly used full-sized blue Balaram mrdanga that they sent over within a week. Tenacity pays off.

Prem Yogi with his new mrdanga

It was Prem's 25th birthday this week, and I wanted to get him something so I bought him a case for the mrdanga.

A mrdanga must always be transported and stored in a case. The mrdanga is understood as both Lord Balaram (Sankarshan) and Krishna's flute.

Raivata writes me:

Hmm I reckon you are right and copying a good synthetic design like that. It's a simple and proven design.

On the ahimsa note I reckon it's ok to use animal skin when it comes from pests like goats or possums (pests in NZ anyway). Allowing them to live is simply causing violence to the other life forms they harm. Perhaps you could train up some of the local boys as Kshatriyas and send them out there to bring home a few skins. Good for the environment, good for the sankirtana yajna and a practical step for introducing varnashram.

Both use mylar heads, and the bodies are constructed of aluminium. Weight is good. Sound is good.

The Egyptian design is something that could work for a mrdanga. It would remove the perishable rubber component from the current Balarama design.

Here are some of the best websites to help you learn to play mrdanga:

• KK Songs Khol Lessons - as well as fundamentals this site will teach you the double time beat and the dadra taal "breakdown" beat, as well as a lot of good background information.
• Learning Mrdanga - the basics of transcendental drumming - Jagannatha Mishra prabhu and his son Arjuna teach you to play the standard ISKCON kirtan mid-range and fast swing beats.
• Chant and Be Happy.com - the grand daddy of online mrdanga lessons. This site will teach you to play the "Prabhupada beat".

Enjoy!

Vrajadhama in form on the mrdanga in a kirtan at Atma one evening. [Movie inside]

This was on vina.cc in 2006. Does anyone know how true it is? If it is true, and it could well be, it's a powerful argument for mrdangas made with modern materials and technologies.

by Mahendra das
Dear Devotees, I am from India and have an export business where I ship out handicrafts, garments and all material related to devotional purposes to several temples. Also, I supply mrdangas to temples situated in the west.

[Flash movies inside]... And a bonus for the seriously hard-core: David Kuckhermann's trio 4th Race. If you were ever into old-school Yes, Jean Luc Ponty, Dream Theater, Fates Warning, or any other uber-technical music with the odd time signature and heavy syncopation, this will float your boat. :-)

Further to thoughts on making mrdangas and clay mrdangas versus other materials:

I think the Darbuka, also known as Doumbek, or Egyptian tabla, is a good example. This is a drum that is very popular throughout the Middle East, from Afghanistan through Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. Traditionally it is made with a clay body and fish skin head. Modern darbukas are manufactured by a number of companies worldwide, including one from Remo, and typically utilize aluminium covered with a decorative vinyl finish, with a mylar head with tuning screws.

Phani commented:

it's great how you utilize locally available material and skills to produce mrdangas, or something that comes close to the original thing. but isn't clay locally available in most places, too? (eskimos might experiment with ice-mrdangas...) i never watched mrdangas being made here in mayapur, but don't think there's a huge learning curve getting the clay molded, dried, and burnt into mrdanga shape.

for the heads you could still use fiber, plastic, or whatever; not screwed on, but tied up like the indian mrdangas are. at least until cow protection becomes more wiedespread in the west, and ahimsa leather of cows who passed on peacefully.

There is no need of sending the artisan to U.S.A. better send our disciples from here and learn the art there. In this connection manufacturing the mrdanga shells as well as the skin work on it is very essential. If possible our men may learn how to make karatalas also. At Navadvipa, there are many artisans for this purpose.
The summary is that our men must learn these four things: doll making, mrdanga making, karatala making and if possible making saris.

Nitai posted a comment with some mrdanga beats written out in tab form for learning.

He asks: "Why hasn't it been done before?"

Actually, it has. My 2001 book "The Art and Science of Harinam Sankirtan Yajña" contains 50 beats all tabbed out for your learning pleasure.

As promised, here are some pictures of my wooden mrdanga produced in Peru.

These mrdangas are handcrafted by a Peruvian disciple of Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami, Vivasvan das. He warps the wood by heating it and bending it.

Here is where the two halves of the drum are joined.

Raivata writes:

Actually that pic was taken in Jan 2008. I was in LA talking drums with Ratnaji just a few months ago

This is a photo of my homeboy Raivata das with Ratnabhusana prabhu, shot in New Dwaraka, Los Angeles, a few years ago.

Ratnabhusana prabhu is the devotee who makes the Balaram mrdangas. He made the yellow mrdanga that you see me playing on harinam and in kirtans. I picked it up from him when I passed through New Dwaraka in 2001, on the way to South America.

Amul from New Jersey, USA writes:

i just saw your video where you put silicon on the mrdanga head. I have a question about that. Does it dry smooth? i am asking because if you want to do the "woop woop" slide on the big side of the mrdanga, if its really rough then it wont be possible. please let me know, i am going to do this because this is such a problem, that black stuff just doesn't stay on sometimes!

Dandavats Amul,

That depends on how you do it, and what you use to do it.

See also here.

[Google video inside]

Problem: Leather head mrdanga has lost its "black stuff" - it dried up, cracked, and fell off.

Solution: Plan A: Initially I proactively took off the remaining black stuff, and Prahlad and I were going to boil up some rice and make a paste out of the black stuff and the rice syrup. I heard that the black stuff is boiled rice water mixed with burnt bricks - I haven't confirmed that. Anyway, Param Satya threw the black stuff out when she was cleaning up, so we lost that option.

This is a video that I shot of Gaura Hari das, mentioned in H.H. Indradyumna Swami's recent diary entry, while he was here performing with Maharaja and his spiritual circus.

This is a good solid style of playing that is quite representative of modern ISKCON kirtan.

I gave Prahlad my old camera...