Back

Craige gets there 10-12 minutes later after I'm in practice-mind, so we content ourselves with a brief exchange of greetings before separating for the rest of the hour. Traffic is moderate, with favorable responses from any of the drivers who care enough to say or do something. The get-a-job guy is of course the exception. Today I call out, "Jesus wants you for a sunbeam!" as he goes by. Heh heh heh.

2/

After ten minutes of warmup in the lower register, I move upward to sing both asthai and antara of "ab nahin basaunt suhaavata ri," the teentaal chiz in Basant which forms the superstructure for the week's practice. The antara mukhda is unusual in its melodic construction in that it spends more time in the middle register, only touching the high Sa at the very end of the phrase...and because of its placement of a natural Ma on the Sam.

3/

The second line of this section, by contrast, inhabits a much higher tessitura, reaching up as far as an F# before descending and using the third line of asthai as a final segment. This is relatively common, in some cases making only a melodic rhyme (with new text), and sometimes (as here) simply duplicating the line in its entirety.

4/

Over the hour I practice simple melodic substitutions for asthai, working out some basic alternate melodies in single- and half-speed which use the complete text of the first line. For bol-taan work I find this study essential. Occasionally it's beautiful, but much of the time it's essentially mechanical in orientation — a matter of getting the joinery right, so to speak.

5/

I gradually push the tempo until I'm singing around mm. 180 as I approach the end of the hour. Make a video (both sections of the song plus a few perfunctory improvisations), then turn off the tabla, retune the drone, and sing "How Can I Keep From Singing?" with Craige, intermittently waving in response to the friendly drivers.

6/

We talk a little about breath control — I give him a simple exercise he can use to align breath and voice in his practice — before I pack up and head home. Today I have a ceiling to restore, students to teach, postcards to write, and a loaf of bread to finish baking. And, need I say, the ongoing struggle against the encroaching forces of fascism and fear.

See you tomorrow!

Man With Sign

end/