The most profound musicality happens when the physicality of the instrument and the expressiveness of the voice collide. In fact voice is also regarded as an instrument “Shareera” which is mentioned by ‘Sharangadeva’ in Sangeetha Rathnakara. Instruments used as accompaniment to vocal music, in course of time some of the instruments like Flute, Nagaswara, Veena … attained the status of solo instruments, and later on violin was included as both solo and accompanying instrument. But Thalavaadhyas even at present remain as accompanying instruments. Recent years the above mentioned instruments play a major role at music concerts. For too long we have treated instruments and vocal as separate disciplines. So here arises a question is it necessary for an instrumentalist to learn vocal and vice versa. Vocal and instrumental are closely connected and are like two sides of a coin. We shall see how crossing the vocal-instrumental divide is the fastest way to unlock the musicality.
When one starts learning a musical instrument directly without vocal knowledge one can experience practically that it is not an easy navigation to sail through the ocean of the music compared to the one who have prior vocal knowledge. A teacher always insists upon to learn musical concepts through vocal before trying on an instrument. Vocal training or practicing for an instrumentalist may not be to become great singer but it’s a pathway for one to become an artist from a performer. It will definitely help to understand the nuances of musical concepts which are required to master the musical instruments. Jayanti Kumaresh a famous Veena vidhushi can sing carnatic music very well but she has restricted herself to play only Veena due to her own reasons. Phani Narayana Veena Vadali is a very good carnatic music singer but is always oriented towards veena. The great teachers I have met in my musical journey always insisted to learn vocal first before trying on musical instrument. They say sing as many times as possible like thousand times, till you get it right. Talavadhya vidhwans who can elevate a concert insist, even percussionists should know the lyrics, bifurcation of words without which one can never be a good accompanist. Without knowing the lyric if someone accompanies, it will be a like they will be playing some swara which is never a lyric and cannot sooth listener’s ears. Most of them sing and accompany themselves during their instrumental practice. Accompanist should listen and know the lyric of the composition, gathis, neraval which is crux of the music, to accompany better which are very important to showcase in a concert. Prior knowledge of vocal or learning vocal in parallel with instrument learning can make oneself a quick learner. So vocal music can make you a better instrument player. Bhavam aspect can flow in instrument playing only when we feel the mood of the raga, flow of swaras, emotion behind a composition which can happen with the help of vocal music. So we can say learning or knowing vocal music will be an add-on to an instrumentalist.
Vocalists are not strictly required to play an instrument, But Learning an instrument for a vocalist can provide a visual way towards musical theory and also can help in breath support, pitch precision, ear training which can amplify one’s practice by providing a blue print of a composition which can create performance independence. Learning an instrument can be an added skill to a vocalist and can help in better communication with their accompanists. We all know Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna is a great Carnatic vocalist; he is also a great multi-instrumentalist. He had mentioned in one of his interviews that learning violin helped him a lot in his musical journey. Ranjani, Gayathri who are famous carnatic music singers were initially violin players in their early ages but later emerged to be great vocalists of carnatic music. They learnt violin in their early ages along with vocal training. There are such numerous examples in the current era. Some people say that they want to learn an instrument with which they can improve their quality of singing. We can also see some musicians play instruments and sing along at concerts. Knowing or learning an instrument can be add-on to a vocalist.
We see some of the street musicians who may not have the theoretical knowledge of music and has never been to a music school can be good singer or player which is a God’s gift. They will have a spark of good ear and can pass that spark easily onto their vocal chords and fingers. That is again natural learning of vocal or instrumental. For an instrumentalist to develop a good ear there is a need of vocal music knowledge. For a good singer there is need of good understanding about the accompanying instruments for a better concert showcase, which can incorporate different styles of singing with accompaniment which can give rise to a good band.
When we consider the audience or listener, the rasikas of the music who also play an important role in one’s journey of music, they see singers as solo musicians who need not know any instrument and Instrumentalists need not know vocal music. They may consider both vocal and instrumental music as seprate disciplines. This is a outer side perspective. But the inner perspective of music still requires interdependence of both the disciplines which a real musician is aware of. In modern music industry the line between a player and a singer is blurring more than ever. The true mastery is the ability to hear a melody and produce it instantly which is a skill that gets perfection only when voice and the instrument are in sync which can make music soulful forever.
– Sujatha Krishnappa