SRIRAM RAVISHANKAR
Grooving
Right?
Percussionists discuss if technological innovations are a threat
to traditional artistry
It wasn’t until the 1960’s, that
technological innovations boomed in
such a big way that it altered the very
grammar of how music was made until
then. Today, with artificial intelligence
just around the corner, it is primordial
to check if all the innovations will
serve our creative growth or not.
A group of percussionists across
age groups discuss if technological
innovations are a threat to traditional
artistry at all.
“My father Ustad Allah Rakha
Khan saab used to always say, “As
a musician you must always evolve.
If you don’t evolve and embrace the
change, more than you, your music
will stagnate.” But you when you say
percussion technology, it’s not just
tech part that we are talking about,
it’s also how percussions are made
today. With better percussion, you
can now device better techniques to
play the instrument because it is more
convenient! You can’t discount the
convenience technology brings. But
convenience shouldn’t be your starting
point as a musician!” laughs legendary
percussionist, Taufiq Qureshi who
is the only artist to have developed a
unique rhythmic language transposing
his tablarepertoire onto the djembe.
Swarupa Ananth Sawkar, a student
of Ustad Allah Rakha Khan and Ustad
Zakir Hussain, is one of India’s leading
female percussionists. Echoing the
words of Qureshi she said, “For an
acoustic instrumentalist like me,
technology means nothing more than
enhancing my performance in terms
of texture, volume, or any parameter.
I believe our approach to technology is
what determines its role in our lives.”
Saurav Ghosh, Associate dean at
True School of Music, Mumbai and
London Centre of Contemporary
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Musicgraduate in drums said, “I
don’t particularly believe traditional
artistry must even perceive
technological innovations as a threat
at all! Because, there are audiences
for every genre of music. I think it’s
got to do with a greater mentality
issue! People are ready to pay for a
big Bollywood concert but still expect
don’t readily pay for a jazz concert!
Besides, this whole pursuit of making
things simpler in music is only
catering to a commercial audience.
True music lovers will always have
an ear for real music with real
instruments and people.”
Opposing a traditionalist’s approach
to technology, son of ace drummer
Sivamani and programmer to ARR,
Kumaran Sivamani says, “For me
technology is not just pushing buttons,
it’s a whole new game. Back then, it
was a pain to mic every instrument
and still get terrible feedback. But now,
you have a whole array of instruments
at your fingertips as samples. Using
technology is just as tough and tedious
as traditional playing. It was probably
a threat to live percussionists because
most of them didn't know to operate
those machines with its routings and
endless options. Otherwise, it a boon
for creative limitlessness that we’ve all
been silently waiting for.”
Yash Pathak, a regular in AR’s line up
and composerrightly sums up saying,
“We must understand that technology
is a derivative of acoustic playing
and not vice versa. Just like how we
have willingly accepted the changes in
each percussion’s sound has changed
over the years, I think its best we
remain as sonic explorers and let the
music guide us. The search for newer
soundscapes that can best represent
our age and time will never stop.”
Swarupa Ananth Sawkar
Saurav Ghosh
Yash Pathak
Taufiq Qureshi