apart from this, the nuances and graces of our music cannot be taught
correctly by taking a large class. There is yet another more serious
difficulty in organizing a big music school or college, and imparting
instruction through different masters; each professional, belonging to
a particular style and school of his own has his own way of rendering,
and if different pieces and parts of a curriculum are to be taught by
three or four different teachers, there is a medley of styles and finer
points of rendering, which is not at all desirable. To avoid this my sug-
gestion has always been to divide the class into small groups and allow
each master to take charge of the whole education of his small batch.
Group teaching brings on group singing. The conjoint rendering
of pieces even by students trained in professional courses of study,
as has been recently featured by the All India Radio in my part of the
country, does not appeal. There is no special merit in number or noise.
On the other hand, it is in solo rendering that the genius of our art
finds full and free play. The new fancy for conjoint playing of numer-
ous and varied instruments, sometimes with a voice, hardly deserves
the name of orchestra which it often fallaciously puts on. Whatever
ingenious manipulations may be made in such attempts, it has to be
accepted that the result achieved is not commensurate with the labour
and time expended on it. Imitation, a craze for novelty, and at best a
pious desire to introduce variety are responsible for this trend in our
music today. While this new venture will achieve nothing noteworthy,
it would have succeeded in spoiling our ears and making ourselves
lose our love for our melodies as such. I cannot understand how an
execution which distorts and obscures the melodic form out of all re-
cognition can ever be enjoyed or allowed to gain ground in the field
of our art.
It should not be supposed that group singing has no part in our
music. In ancient books, groups of musicians and instrumentalists are
referred to but those who really know these texts know that this em-
ployment of group effects refers to ancient Indian drama which was
always accompanied by song, dance and gesticulation, and not to con-
cert music. Similarly in devotional congregations, festivities and cere-
monies, where music, however charming in its own way, is not at high
art level, we do have mass singing, chorus and the community joining.
At best this feature can be utilized only occasionally, at the early stages,
to infuse enthusiasm in the young learners of music.
Among organized music institutions, I have reserved to the last the
pure music colleges in which students are given only musical training,
predominantly practical, but having the necessary amount of instruc-
singke
(singke)
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