JAYA SRILA PRABHUPADA
BASIC MRIDANGA HANDBOOK
SIMPLE
November 2008
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Sri Mridanga Pranama Mantra
Namo Jagannatha sutayo Namo mrdanga namah
Labanga rasa madhuri Sahasra guna samyuktang Namo mrdanga namo namah Namo baladevayo namo namah
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the son of Sri Jagannatha Misra (Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu). I offer obeisances unto the mrdanga from which sweet and necterean sounds emanates. I offer my obeisances again and again unto the
mrdanga who has thousands of good qualities. And I offer my obeisances unto Lord Baladeva who assumes the form of
the mrdanga to serve Lord Chaitanya.
IMPORTANT NOTES ‐ Mridanga is also known as the khol ‐ The sound of the khol creates auspiciousness exactly like the sound of the conch shell ‐ The mridanga is the direct expansion of Krishna’s flute from Goloka and also of Lord Baladev, therefore it is considered and respected like the Lord’s paraphernalia ‐ Mridanga playing is considered a type of yoga and everyday practice of 30 minutes or more is required ‐ The mridanga that produces the best sound is 22‐23 inches in length with 4 and 8 inch diameters on the small and big heads respectively ‐ The mantras used in this book are from the Garanhati music sampradaya originating from Narottama das Thakura ‐ Before playing one must offer obeisances to the mridanga with the mantra above. ‐ It is very important to say the mantra aloud when one practices. One will not have difficulty in singing and playing at the same time afterwards ‐ Small head called “dayan” Big head called “bayan” ‐ Put strap over your right shoulder and under your left arm (for right‐handed people) ‐ Generally, big end goes with weaker hand. Small end goes with strong hand ‐ Nowadays there are different varieties of mridangas: • Clay drums with leather straps and leather head. • Metal drums with leather straps and leather head. • Fiberglass drums with leather straps and leather heads. • Balaram Mridangas ‐ Fiberglass body and plastic heads ‐ Clay drums produce best sound ‐ Don’t put down mridangas with leather heads standing up when the surface is wood or ceramic (where it absorbs cold or moisture). This will ruin or tighten the big head Vocabulary Tehai ‐ repetitive finishing percussion triad (3) composition played in a pleasant meter to coincide with the opening meter (sam) is called tehai – the finishing triad. Hatuti ‐ a pleasant and carefully setup rhythmic composition played on a Mridanga instrument with the accompaniment of cymbals (kartals) heralding the auspicious advent of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and to focus the attention of the audience before commencing kirtana performance.
HAND PRACTICE I
HASTA SADHANA
(very important to loosen the hands)
Mantra 1. BIJA MANTRA. tere kheta….
Explanation. “te” right hand four fingers closed sound
“re” right hand with thumb in middle of the small head of mridanga (open) “khe” left hand closed sound
“ta” right hand with four fingers open sound. Mantra 2. tere kheta tere tere kheta…
Explanation. same as previous.
Mantra 3. tere kheta tere kheta tere tere tere kheta… Explanation. same as previous.
Mantra 4. tikhi takhi tere kheta, kheta takhi tere kheta… Explanation. “ti” same as te.
“khi” same as khe.
“ta” right hands four fingers open sound “khi” same as khe.
“tere kheta” all ready you have “khe” left hand close sound
“ta” this is special with thumb same as re “ta” right hand four fingers open sound “khi” same as that.
tere kheta all ready you have. Mantra 5. tere kheta tere kheta tere tere tere kheta ; tikhi takhi tere kheta, kheta takhi tere kheta
So now try to play everything together as 5. Please practice this mantra for a long time, and your hand will become powerful.
Mantra 6. ghene nere ghena geda, khene nere khena kheta… Explanation. “ghe” left hand open sound
“ne” right hand with thumb like re “nere” same as tere non different “ghe” left hand open sound
“na” right hand four fingers open sound same as ta “ge” left open sound but it is not strong sound
“da” right hand four fingers close sound like te but it is more stronger than te “khe” left hand close sound or flat sound
“ne” right hand with thumb same as re “nere” same as tere. all ready you have. “khe” all ready you have.
“na” same as ta
“khe” all ready you have
HAND PRACTICE I
HASTA SADHANA
MANTRA SHEET
Click on mantra to view video Mantra 1. tere kheta….
Mantra 2. tere kheta tere tere kheta…
Mantra 3. tere kheta tere kheta tere tere tere kheta…
Mantra 4. tikhi takhi tere kheta, kheta takhi tere kheta…
Mantra 5. tere kheta tere kheta tere tere tere kheta ; tikhi takhi tere kheta, kheta takhi tere kheta
KIRTAN SECTION I
***IMPORTANT NOTES: Kirtana etiquette:
“While playing mridanga it is important to follow the kirtana leader not lead him. It is also important to play softer than the song itself. The mridanga sound should not be so loud that it buries the song. In a garland, for example, the strings hold the flowers together. It is not possible to make a garland without strings, but it is not possible without flowers either. Both the flowers and strings are equally important. The flowers are compared to the song and the strings that hold it together is the mridanga. But just as in a garland the strings are not the most prominent thing, the mridanga is less prominent than the song itself. To play louder than the song is only disturbing to the song. This is the basic understanding according to the Acariyas. One must be especially careful to play properly for Krishna. Use bonafide mantras coming from a bonafide Goudiya vaishnava music Sampradaya. It is very important that junior mridanga players follow behind more experienced mridanga players.”
FIRST SPEED MANTRA. khik khi neda gida gida dhei / tak ta tak thini thini ta
Explanation. "khik" left hand only, closed strong sound "khi" left hand closed sound
"neda"- “ne” right index finger up, closed sound; “da” both hands open sound; "gida"- 'gi' left hand, open; 'da' both hands, open;
"dhei" like "jha" but stronger; tak - right three fingers closed ta – right index finger open
thini – first ‘thi’ is right index finger closed, second ‘ni’ right three fingers closed ta – right index finger open
This mantra has many variations. You will usually start the kirtan with this beat. SECOND SPEED
These mantras are played a little faster than the first speed ones. There are also many variations to these. MANTRA. jha <sp> ta khe ta ghe ghe ta
Explanation. “jha”-- both hands open sound “<sp>” – short space
“ta” - right index finger, open sound (or you can use all 4 fingers) "khe" left closed
"ghe" left hand open only
THIRD SPEED
Play the same mantra above at double the speed. This is called “double” or “double time.”
The next mantra is a very simplified version of what you can play at “nitai gaura haribol…” You play “ta” at the first “bol” in ‘haribol’ and then continue eight times before it comes back to the first ‘haribol’ and repeat.
MANTRA. ta da da
Explanation. ta- small hand three fingers open
TEHAIS
A Tehai (ending) is often the repetition of a mantra played three times. Notice the last repetition of the three is missing a sound at the very end. That last sound is actually the sound from the next kirtan mantra you are going to play. For instance, you can play second speed “jha <sp> ta khe ta ghe ghe ta” Then end with “kheta kheta jha, kheta kheta jha, kheta kheta.” After this last “kheta” go back to “jha <sp> ta khe ta ghe ghe ta ….” and so on. Same for other tehais. This is the basic system for connecting beats.
This tehai is played from “hare hare” – end of Hare Krishna mahamantra. In general, you start it at the beginning of the last “Hare.”
TEHAI. kheta kheta jha, kheta kheta jha, kheta kheta… Explanation. “khe” left hand closed sound
“ta” right hand with four fingers open sound. “jha”-- both hands open sound
KIRTAN SECTION I
MANTRA SHEET
MANTRA. khik khi neda gida gida dhei / tak ta tak thini thini ta MANTRA. jha <sp> ta khe ta ghe ghe ta
MANTRA. ta da da
