W
Lots of students, thanks to reschedulings from the past few days. I'm looking forward to being at home, taking care of teaching, resistance work, and podcast responsibilities, and restoring my energies after a demanding start to the week. I am grateful to music for being a small oasis of agency, control, beauty, and honesty — for in the bigger world, these are not guaranteed.
See you tomorrow.
Man With Sign
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The new septuplet taan helps the old one, establishing a stronger muscular knowledge of the precise subdivisional placement. I continue to the end of the hour (making a video at 8:26), feeling stronger and more in control of the material. After completing the recording, I sing to 8:30, then pack up and head homeward; it really looks like rain's on its way.
7/
Over the next thirty-five minutes I gradually accelerate the tempo, but only switch from metronome to tabla when I reach 52 bpm (singing with the metronome means I don't have to wait a full cycle to sing the line again, so I get a little more practice!). Once I begin using tabla, I try to incorporate free improvisations in the intervening space, creating a bridge to the next attempt.
6/
Once this bol-taan is solid, I begin alternating between the new line and the septuplet/quintuplet line that's been my preoccupation for the past fortnight, with the metronome still clicking away. As expected, the two lines initially interfere with one another, eventually settling into their respective niches after about fifteen iterations. I push the tempo by 2 and do it again.
5/
After internalizing this passage with the metronome at 40 bpm, I move to add text, with syllables outlining a repeating 2+2+3 (or 4+3) grouping, and altering the last note of the last cell (which now holds the mukhda text) to land on the Pa, the focal tone of the original mukhda. "mo...ra.. ji...ya.. a.ti.aa.. ku.la.ta.. pi.ya.bi.na ta.ra.pa.ta mo.ra.ji.. YA".
4/
Today I (even in my bleary state) have an agenda. I need more septuplet passages, albeit ones with somewhat simpler internal parsings. I compose a simple 7-note palta and duplicate it 7 times: SRSDSRS RMRSRMR MPMRMPM RDPMPDP MPMRMPM RMRSRMR SRSDSRS (note that the starting notes form a 7-note arch: SRMPMRS.
3/
While there are some contrarian voices during the hour, my sign attracts a lot of favorable attention, with many waves, smiles, salutes, and lifted thumbs. This boosts my morale, which has been sagging a little in the aftermath of yesterday's SCOTUS decision (which was anticipated, because we all know fascists gonna fascist, but still...jeez).
2/
Man With Sign, April 30, 02026
Thursday morning finds me bleary and sore, the consequence of several days' high activity in performance contexts. It's damp, promising rain, as I make my way to Roosevelt Circle. Today I'm a soloist; Craige has something else going on. I arrive at 7:30, set up my big sign, and hold up SCIENTIFIC IGNORANCE IS A POOR FOUNDATION FOR PUBLIC POLICY.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiyiEDciW7E
#ClimateChaos #GlobalWarming #HindustaniMusic #CitizenActivism
