Oh and another thing.....
Where should one wet it?
On the skin or on the ravai itself....
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Oh and another thing.....
Where should one wet it?
On the skin or on the ravai itself....
If the ravai dries it will harden and loose flexibility. It must be flexible to give good sound.
Often when a mridangam is brand new the thoppi is often very high and tight. Is this normal? and is it normal for it lose this natural as it used over many concerts?
Often when a mridangam is brand new the thoppi is often very high and tight. Is this normal? and is it normal for it lose this natural tension as it used over many concerts?
KR... I was hoping that one of the more experienced players would answer, but THey're probably all busy playing navaratri programs.
My experience same as yours! Maybe it needs a little loosening (tuning with stone & stick, this got discussed earlier in this thread.
I have obtained the title Sangeetha Kalajothy!!!
(Nick send me a pic showing the amount of ravai you put on your thoppi)
Once one has put on the mridangam heads and they need to do fine tuning do they use a polished stone to reduce the pitch by rubbing it on the black part of right side?
Kumaran: you should find an excusae to spend time with my guruji! (I met your guruji at his house the other day, BTW).
The kind of fine-tuning that you are talking about is to make chapu and meetu exactly the same note.
A little black can be removed by EVER_SO_SLIGHTLY dampening it and scraping a little away. It can then be polished.
I've seen my guruji do this a number of times, but would be very reluctant to try it.
BTW I'm off back to India. I might have some mridangams for sale!
Oh, and I don't use ravai, I use TVG paste. But I'm always surprised at how little my guruji uses.
Maybe because he uses a lot of gamuka it keeps the skins loose, I don't know
Oh! Congratulations, but tell us more. Who awards Sangeetha Kalajothy?
the OFAAL award after one has done the Diploma exam. I passed with Distinction!!
TVG paste??? explain..... i am rather intrigued...
Well done! You have huge interest and dedication and play great. I'm sure you'll win a whole load more
What is it that makes UKS' mridangams ring more than other kutchi mridangams. I got this from his album Garland of Rhythm.
His fingers!
To be honest, I've played one of his types of mridangams. There is distinct difference in the sound my mridangam makes and his.
Hello everyone.
I am a percussionist, music critic and writer
As a mridangam player, the most common problem is the ripping of the graphite "karini" at the initial stages and even balance of the top head./
Is there a way to curtail this problem.
sarma donepudi
Nick,
Can you give me the exact composition of TVG paste please?
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TVG Paste is a secret ;)
can i have step by step instructions on how to remove and replace the heads of a kutchi mridangam? it was damaged on it's way from india..i am in the U.S now..desperetly needed a mridangam so i take to class but all were too expensive here in U.S so i had one shipped from india and it was very carelessly handled by DHL shipping and now the bass and tennor both sound like your tapping on a bucket. please help me on how to remove the heads and replace them with newer ones..any special tools needed?
if anyone knows someone in the U.S that'll sell their mridangam for cheap price please let me know. i'm desperately searching for a kutchi mridangam to play.
Unni: I guess you got your mridangam by now, I certainly hope so. It may not be damaged but may have become slack: could you see damage?
Anyway, you have a teacher so you will be guided in this.
SR: No. There is no way other than high quality manufacture in the first place. And even then it cannot be guaranteed.
The black is simply glued to the skin; if the glue gives it falls off. That is all there is too it. The more carefully it is applied the longer it should last.
yeah it was actually very damaged. the bass side had a huge hole right in the middle of the innermost skin where u play tha. and the tennor side had completely caved in...so the replacement heads have arrived safely from india. and it took many hours but i finally got the laces off the damaged mridangam and removed the old heads now it's putting the new heads on and replacing the laces that i need help with.
Oh dear.
It is very hard work to put the new heads on.
You can put some small string to loosely hold the heads in place then start threading, following the way that it was threaded originally.
Are you going to use the original leather (vaar) or replace with nylon/polyester rope?
Better if DHL had agreed to finance replacement.
Was it packed properly? they usually put tin plates to protect the heads.
i was planning on reusing the same leather straps. no the shipper didnt save the paper for the insurance agreement of the shipment. he had never shipped a musical instrument before. i've left that in the hands of my teacher to work on that when he gets time..soon i hope he hasnt started yet...i found one that is old but it's got some water damage..but it's good to practice on.. i havent had much luck in finding a good mridangam that i can play..one main problem is that i dont know many ppl in U.S that plays mridangam..i've even put out one of those random posts on GER on merchandise search for mridangams for sale in U.S Price between $100 - $250..hoping in the future someone will help.. i wont be able to go to india till next summer so until then or until i find a good mridangam in the U.S..i'll do with the one i have now. the main thing is that no one can repair it here either..sending it back n forth to india is too costly and risky..no risks since it's the only mridangam i have..only problem is that you cant hear the "chappu" or the "thin" other than that... the only structural problem with the one i have is that some weird fungus growth has damaged the bass side a little where we play "thom"...ebay's prices for south indian mridangams ($400 are almost twice the price of what i paid for the mridangam to be shipped from india ($250)..