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Karaoke..ing to a singing future
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The Sing Along Training Programme of Avishkar drew a corpus of talent. K. PRADEEP enjoyed their karaoke singing.
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MOST OF the young singers had been on stage before. Some of them had also won at competitions, appeared as anchors and performers in different television shows. Yet, the sensible among them are those who realise the universal ground of all moods, the ability to apply imagination to the voice and the ability to sing with imagination. This and many other intricacies of public singing is what the Sing Along Training Programme, introduced under the auspices of Ganavishkar, intends to impart. The first public performance of the first two batches of this scheme was held at the Avishkar Hall, Kochi, last weekend.
Origin of the project
"We embarked on this project a year ago. It began as a simple entertainment for a few like-minded music lovers. We then used to have these regular, in-house programmes, sometimes with specialised themes like the best of Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Vayalar etc. They were all karaoke events, for we could not simply afford the expenses for a live orchestra. But we found that the singers were the same every time and so decided to include new, fresh voices," says Unnikrishnan, one of the coordinators of this project.
On a hunt for new voices they realised that there was great demand for karaoke singing, there was a fund of rich talent at the school and college, but most of them were not getting the right opportunities to sharpen their skills. "We went ahead with our plans and started the first batch at Avishkar two months back. The participants, with basic training in music, were screened by experts and then for a month, every Sunday, they were put through training in karaoke singing, assessing their strengths and weaknesses," explains Unnikrishnan.
"The workshop was extremely helpful. Minute details were looked into, emphasis was on voice culture, voice modulation, pronunciation and the importance of imparting expression to the song," says Neeta Nandakumar, a final degree student, and part of this training workshop. Neeta had featured in various music programmes on television and also as a television anchor.
More than fine-tuning their skills the workshop also gave suggestions on the type of songs the singers need to select, depending on their voice, method of rendition and the style best suited for them. "We were asked to study eight or nine songs, most of them old ones. These were sung during the workshop and finally three songs that were perfectly suited to our different styles were selected to be performed on stage," elaborates Aswati Harikumar, another trainee. Aswati, who has completed her degree, also confessed that the training gave a boost to her confidence and also helped to perfect some of her recurring flaws.
Debut show
The first stage performance stood out for the sheer quality of the young singers, both male and female. If at times they went off track it was because of the poor quality of the karaoke tracks. "Yes. This is a problem. We do have enough tracks, but some of them are bad and we need to get some better ones. We know that this is not a substitute for a live orchestra but at present we cannot afford that," reveals Unnikrishnan.
"This was the first time I was singing in a karaoke programme and it was tough. You need to be doubly attentive to go along with the track. In the case of the singing with an orchestra you could always trust them to move with you, but not so in this case. This training was invaluable," feels Teenu Talents, a Plus One student from Sacred Heart College, Thevara. This must have also helped Teenu to keep in shape for the semifinals of the `Swaramanjari' television music competition.
The next batch of trainees has already queued up. The fees are Rs 500 for the entire training. For most of the young talents this workshop presents the best chance to chisel and perfect their singing skills. There are plenty of opportunities for the best among them. "Since we pick the trainees after a thorough screening and then put them through a systematic training many producers of television music programmes have already made enquiries. In fact, some of them have already been featured, while some of them have found a firm footing too," remarks Unnikrishnan.
Music club
Buoyed with the success of this venture there are plans to begin a music club. "Very soon we will have a music club, which will have as members all those who love good music. We hope to meet every week, have informal music sessions, discussions and all that. This club will then provide a back up for our `Sing Along Training Programme', informs Jayaprakash.
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