Online Hindustani Music Classes

The ideal age to start is between 7-10 years. But, there is no upper limit of age when it comes to learning Hindustani classical music. Students come from diverse age groups including children, teenagers, college-goers, working professionals or even seniors in the age bracket of 60 to 70 years of age.

The most inevitable career option for a Hindustani classical music student is to become a singer. Years of dedicated practice under the guidance of an accomplished Guru will help you to achieve this. The second option is to become a teacher and impart the knowledge you acquired from your Guru, to help other potential singers.

The best time for riyaaz as recommended by the Gurus is early morning between 4-6 AM. It helps in the habit formation. However, adult students who have several personal and professional commitments might find it difficult to adhere to such a strict regime. They can fix a time of the day for practice as per their convenience.

Start with 15-30 minutes of daily practice to build a consistent routine without feeling overwhelmed. As you progress, you can increase their practice time to 30-60 minutes each day, concentrating on improving techniques, mastering scales, or perfecting songs.

There are no specific distinctions as such. All the ragas taught at the beginner level can also be taught at the intermediate and advanced levels. Only the intensity changes. New and more complex vocal techniques and rhythms are introduced. The goal is to train the students to create their own musical content and be comfortable singing in diverse rhythmic structures and tempos so that they become well-rounded professional performers.

At the beginner level, the focus is to get the basic concepts right. Just like we learn the alphabet at the elementary level in school. From there slowly we learn to form words, then sentences, and gradually - paragraphs, and then long-form essays or stories. In vocal music, the first step is to learn to identify the swaras and sing them in their correct frequencies. Next is to learn to sing in rhythms and maintain the tempo. The next step is to identify the structure of the ragas and the different elements that make up a complete khayal repertoire.

The lesson plan for beginner-level Hindustani vocals depends on the students’ grasping capacity and learning objectives. Some students are in their early years or maybe seven or eight years old. They need constant handholding. Mostly they only repeat after the teacher. Older students who have just started learning need to be evaluated based on their learning abilities and the teaching methodology is adopted accordingly. Also, some students have learned some form of vocal music earlier. The teacher has to evaluate whether their concepts are correct or not. They are evaluated based on their proficiency and a customized lesson plan is designed accordingly.

For intermediate and advanced-level students of Hindustani classical music, learning goals should be prioritized more than the duration of practice. Ideally, take up one concept at a time and perfect it. Sit for 30-60 minutes or more depending on your requirement.

An estimated 2-3 years will take for you to perform some complex Semi-classical compositions such as Thumri. You can add 2-3 years more to it for performing a Raga in its full spectrum.

On an average, the duration of one class for Hindustani classical vocals is between 45 minutes to an hour.

As we mentioned before age can never come in the way of your learning Hindustani classical music. Trust your teacher to evaluate your learning abilities and objectives, and then create a completely customized lesson plan for you.