Indian Classical Music (ICM) is an ancient oral tradition that dates back to around 500 BC. Despite its evolution over the centuries, it has managed to maintain its unique style and cultural significance. Until recently, this style of music has been largely overlooked in voice research. Given the global presence of the Indian community, it is essential for both teachers and singers to understand and learn from this style to better serve Indian students while staying true to the authentic form of the music while also gaining insight on how to diversify and cross-train within your own singing practice. Indian Classical Music is split into two major styles: North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic). The workshop will primarily focus on Carnatic Music.

This workshop first explores the ‘authentic’ sound of ICM. The questions we will explore are:

• What is the authentic ICM sound? Is there only one?
• What have singers and teachers experienced as the authentic ICM sound quality?
• What the ranges and acoustic features of an authentic sound are, and some ways to train these sounds

Next, you will get an introduction to various vocal ornamentations, which is one of ICM’s key stylistic features. To execute these ornamentations, the singer requires a great deal of vocal agility. Accordingly, we will explore:

• The various types of vocal ornamentations in ICM
• Trying out these ornamentations in your voice
• Ways to train these ornamentations

Finally, we will discuss some of the habits that could hamper the ICM style - what some of the vocal function hurdles are that ICM singers face and how to approach these in a culturally sensitive way.

The workshop will include interactive components, such as singing and listening to ICM singers, and there will be plenty of time for questions.