Indian music is monophonic in nature and is all about ragas. Ragas are scales performed with Gamakas. Gamakas are the indispensable feature –the very heart of Indian Music transforms scales into ragas.
However, traditional Indian system only notates scales and not Gamakas.
GBNS Changes it all.
Gamaka Box Notation transforms the presently skeletal notation to fully equipped comprehensive one.
GBNS Salient Features
Gamaka Box Notation is the First Complete System of Written Language that upgrades the skeletal notation in vogue to a comprehensive one notating Gamakas.
It makes it possible for the first time to offer a systematic curriculum for Indian Raga Music that can be offered from the Basic-Foundational to Higher Level of Music Education.
GBNS – Made History With Hearing Impaired (Congenitally Deaf)
As an ultimate Proof of Concept, even the Congenitally Deaf were made to play Gamakas and Ragas, which is otherwise an impossible task, for the first time in history.
GBNS – made Non-Indians to play authentic Indian Music and perform Concerts
This was made possible by the Goethe Institute, Chennai and Munich, who sponsored the workshops, and concerts at the prestigious Kalakshetra in India and Maerz MusiK Festival, Berlin.
German musicians of the KNM Berlin ensemble learnt the Notation System of Gamaka Box and performed Indian music along with Indian musicians. The Maerz Musik Festival concert was also broadcast by the Deutschland Radio, a rare honour.
It is important to underline the fact that though they produce authentic gamakas they did not go through the grind of even the basics in the traditional way viz., Sarali Varisai etc. but achieved it only by learning the System of Gamaka Box Notation.
The key is small, that opens the door; The door is big the scene is bigger
Ramesh Vinayakam
Videos
German Musicians Rehearsing Khamboji Through Gamaka Box Notation
Gamaka Box Effect!- South IndianTodi Raga in – North Indian Sarod – Abhishek Borkar
Memory Space Chennai – Berlin Workshop With Ramesh Vinayakam
Gamaka Box Effect- English Violinist Alice Baron Plays Todi Gamakas off the paper!
Vaathapi Ganapathim – Maerz Musik Festival (March Music Festival)
Gamaka Box Effect! – Shanakarabharanam Varnam – Sight Reading by Guitarist Matt Bacon
Don’t Just Take Our Words For It
Testimonials
Lalgudi G Jayaraman
Violin Legend
Aruna Sayeeram
Vice-President, Sangeet Natak Academy
Sangita Kalanidhi
Sudha Raghunathan
“You have achieved what we have not achieved so far!”
“This is history; this is making history; this will create history!”
“It’s totally mind-boggling even to think what was presented. It’s a great gift to Carnatic Music!”
V. S. Narasimhan
Founder, Madras String Quartet
Pandit Ajoy Chakraborti
Ace Hindustani Singer
Ace Hindustani Violinist
Dr N Rajam
Gamaka Box is a breakthrough in the system of notation and is a great boon to the students of South Indian Classical Music!”
“Totally Scientific methodology of notation!”
“It enables students to actually visualise Gamakas. It is something unheard of you know. That’s its uniqueness!”
P. S. Narayanswami
Sangita Kala Acharya
Dr. Jeremy Woodruff
Composition Istanbul University
Author, South Indian Music, Oxford University Press
Ludwig Pesch
Gamaka Box Notation has proved that even students total foreign to classical music can play authentic music off the paper!”
“Gamaka Box is a precious jewel!”
“Gamaka Box is here to stay!”
Gamaka Box Notation Overview
Jeremy Woodruff, Head of International Education, Music Temple Dr. Jeremy Woodruff, completed his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh, studied composition at the Royal Academy in London with Michael Finnissy from 1999–2001 and Non-Western Composition at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam 2002–2004. Jeremy woodruff has employed Gamaka Box Notation in the project www.sonicborderlines.org
