With over 4000+ plus students across 50 countries, Shankar Mahadevan Academy has proved that online music education is a viable and effective option to learn music. It brings us great joy to hear our students talk about how the academy has enabled them to pursue their music education with some of the best teachers from the convenience of their home. From 2 year olds who are just taking their first steps into the fascinating world of music to busy professionals learning on their way to work and enthusiastic senior citizens rediscovering their passion for music - our online courses have brought the Joy of Music into many lives. While there is no denying the convenience and effectiveness of the online medium, we discovered a different energy during our get-togethers, group classes in companies and annual meetup Sangam from in-person interactions. Our in-person programs at NCPA Mumbai were a major success and became a catalyst for launching this model of instruction in other cities as well.
In Summer, we launched many workshops and summer camps for children in Mumbai as well as in Bangalore in association with some of our partners. The courses took children on a journey of understanding diverse styles and genres of Music and creating their own song - Right from creating their own lyrics to composing a tune. Watch a video from one such camp held at Tharangini.
Encouraged by the immense response to the children's programs. we will be offering Classical Music Courses (Hindustani and Carnatic Vocal Courses) at our campus in Bangalore. These programs are open to both children and adults looking to take their first steps into the world of Indian Classical Music. We'll also be launching Instrumental Music Courses in early July starting with Western Guitar. All our courses have a structured curriculum with measurable outcomes and are augmented by online learning materials. What is more, you can even decide to pursue these courses online once you have a great foundation with our basic level course.
Interested? Enroll at http://www.shankarmahadevanacademy.com/a/rg/. Have a question? Email us at info@shankarmahadevanacademy.com or Call Us at 080- 41123640 and we would be happy to help.
The Shankar Mahadevan Academy is transforming the way music
is taught in schools across India through its innovative Grow with Music
Program. The “Grow with Music” program introduces children to the fascinating
world of music and takes them on a musical journey that starts from the basic elements
of music and progresses to the more advanced principles of music. The intent
of this program is not to make a musician out of every child, however it is to
inculcate in them a deep interest in Music and the ability to enjoy and
appreciate music.
In this program, Music is used as an effective tool to
develop other life skills including creativity, leadership, collaboration and
confidence building. It is an activity based program where the students
experience, rather than just memorize concepts of music. These activities are
designed to be fun and engaging for a child, while also giving defined
takeaways from each interaction.
The program also provides sophisticated learning tools that
allow for structured practice and creation even away from class. Parental
involvement is also encouraged and there are activities designed to be carried
out together. This not only allows a musical involvement for the entire family,
but also gives a context for effective interpersonal engagement and creating
joy together.
Music is recognized as one of the most effective catalysts
in holistic brain development, with a lot of published research on its positive
impact on the brain. It is one of the few endeavors that can be a lot of fun,
while still adding immense value to the practitioner. A human’s capacity to
learn is highest as a child. More importantly, the neurological framework that
defines his/ her learning approach is formed as a child. Thus, exposure to such
a holistic music program as a child not only teaches the individual a great
many things about music, but also give an edge over others in terms of
intellectual capabilities, grasping power and emotional balance.
The Grow with Music Program is driven by the belief that
Music is not the privilege of a talented few. It is a skill that every
individual can acquire through a structured learning mechanism. The curriculum
provided is highly structured, progressive and relevant with measurable
outcomes. Music education is made fun and engaging using innovative approaches
to explaining musical concepts.
The Program breaks down Music into its
fundamental blocks – Beats & Patterns, Pitch, Notes & Patterns,
Dynamics, Articulation, Mood & Emotion, Timbre, Form and Texture. A
theoretical understand of these elements is facilitated through dynamic
interactions. Relevant activities are then carried out, allowing an
experiential understanding of the same.
The program incorporates internationally recommended strands
in Music Learning and balances out aspects of Singing, Instruments, Notation
theory & skills, Creation & Composition and Listening & Responding
skills. Musical genres included in the program are Folk traditions from around
the country, Rabindra Sangeet, Popular Western Songs, Regional Songs, World
Music in various languages, Indian Classical & Semi Classical Music and
Fusion of various genres.
The students are also exposed to different instrument
families, and learn to identify different instruments through audio/ visual
inputs. The role of various instruments in a song is also explored. In parallel
to this, evolution & usage of different instruments in various cultures and
time periods are brought to light. Students are encouraged to take up a deeper
exploration of any particular instrument that appeals to them, after having
given them a complete and experiential overview of the different kinds that
exist. Many rare instruments are also presented here, and can be studied for
their academic interests or performance value. Traditional and non-traditional
notation techniques and theory are also dealt with to enable students to read/ write
music and communicate their musical ideas effectively.
Creativity and lateral thinking ability in students is nurtured by using a pedagogical approach that lays emphasis on creating and composing music. Students are exposed to different genres of Music from around the country and the world, hence also introducing them to an international cultural experience that will take them a long way in life.The program stresses on application of all the constituent
elements, by facilitating a student driven creation and composition exercise.
The students explore individual musical ideas and then come together to bring
individual elements in place to create a full-fledged musical piece. This
brings in a complete understanding of individual musical elements and how each
element alters the overall impact of the song.
The program is supported by the Online Music (OM) Book, a
unique technology driven musical tool for student practice. The students can
find all their lesson plans, curriculum and audio/ video recordings of lessons
with lyrics on their unique login page. Individual practice pages are provided
with reference tracks and a recording facility where the student’s practice can
be submitted online and be assessed by the teachers.
Regular reviews and
training by the Academy for the teachers ensures the program stays up to date
and dynamic enough to retain its impact.
The Grow with Music Program offers an insight into various
cultures and genres. Along with the various soft skills the participant imbibes
through the experience, this program gives a strong base in music theory and
practice, which can be cherished throughout life and also taken forward along
more focused paths by those interested.
The Global Indian Music Academy (GIMA) Awards is an initiative started in 2010 to acknowledge and celebrate exceptional talent across different Indian music genres. The Fifth Global Indian Music Academy Awards (GiMA) ceremony was held recently in Mumbai. 12 students of the Shankar Mahadevan Academy got a golden opportunity to perform "Taare Zameen Par" with Shankar Mahadevan on this prestigious platform. These young singers, between ages 5 to 10, were part of the Academy's popular "Grow with Music" Program for Schools. Watch their performance here:
Shankar Mahadevan was delighted to have students of the academy take centre-stage with him.
"The Academy's reach is growing and it feels great to be able to transfer the Joy of Music to the younger generation. At the Academy, we are trying each day to contribute to helping talented young children enjoy,create and learn music and I have to say that the future of Indian Music looks great."
The Grow With Music Program is now part of the music curriculum of many schools across India. More than 1500 plus students are currently part of this initiative. Nine of the students who participated in this event were from St. Gregorios School,Mumbai, a school enrolled with the Shankar Mahadevan Academy. We also had students who were enrolled in our offline and online Grow with Music Course performing at this event. The parents and teachers of these students were thrilled to see their young ones on stage at an event of this scale.
Here are a few snippets from emails sent by ecstatic parents to SMA:
"When my son joined" SMA" in school I had no idea what he is going to learn, but when I saw him performing at NCPA, it was a big surprise for me that my son could sing GANANAAYAKA with such a confidence, it was an ecstatic moment for me.
Yesterday's event at the GIMA Awards was a mesmerizing moment for us parents, when we saw our kids on such a big and prestigious platform performing with their GURU. All thanks to Shankar Mahadevan Ji for starting this program for promoting music worldwide and uniting the whole world with music.Eagerly waiting for the next music session to start in Gregorios." - Gurpreet Dhami (mother of Samarvir Singh Dhami a student of SMA from St.Gregorios High School, Chembur)
"I fall short of words and know not how to express my sincere gratitude to the entire SMA academy, Shri Shankar Mahadevan, and the concerned teacher Mrs.Rohini Mahesh. If I say that it was a memorable event, it would be very less.To share the stage space with the great Shri Shankar Mahadevan and that too when the kids are just beginning to feel the strings of music, is a blessing and one of its kind.
It was a day that will be inked in our memory bank permanently forever and ever and which will bring a smile on all our faces year after year. I hope to be associated and be a part of SMA for a long long time." said Mrs. Narayan (mother of Vedant Narayan, a student of SMA from St.Gregorios High School, Chembur)
Rohini Mahesh, instructor at SMA who trained the children for the event had this to say: "GIMA 2015 was a special experience for me, to see our young Academy students (many of whom I tutor at St. Gregorios School in Mumbai, on our "Grow with Music" curriculum) perform with Shankarji on such a prestigious platform. Training them, on a 3 day fast track learning basis, for this event was an experience in itself, that I shall always cherish." .
There is no age to start learning music. Music is a universal language that can communicate across all sorts of boundaries. We believe that taking the first steps towards learning music early will make a significant difference to the development of musical skills as well as life skills. For parents looking to give your child the gift of music, we have some great online music courses for children from ages 2 to 15.
Tyagaraja
and Mirabai – Though born in different centuries, in different milieus, these
great individuals devoted almost their entire lives to creating songs that are
the ultimate expression of spirituality and devotion. Both Tyagaraja and
Mirabai renounced every other wordly pleasure to create music for their “Lord”.
Their untarnished and complete faith shines through in their compositions and
have inspired generations of musicians as well as devotees around the world.
Their compositions are an integral part of kutcheris, musical performances and competitions
that feature Indian music. Their works have an ethereal quality and universal appeal which has resulted in translations in many world languages.
Tyagaraja
is one of the trio of exemplary composer-musicians of Carnatic music in the
18th century, known as the Trinity of Carnatic Music. He is revered as a highly
influential figure who played a key role in the
development of the Carnatic Music tradition.Tyagaraja’s
700 plus compositions, including the famous Pancharatna
Kritis are an expression
of his ardent devotion for Lord Rama. As a follower of the namasiddhanta tradition in which the repetitive recitation of the
name of God is seen as a path to enlightenment, he is believed to have uttered
Lord Rama’s name more than 960 million times during his life time. His
unadulterated devotion is believed to have rewarded him with visions of his
beloved God and his kritis are said to have been spontaneous creations in his ecstatic
state.
Born a princess, Mira Bai
relinquished the luxuries of her palace and her family to spend her time singing
songs to her beloved Sri Krishna. Her single-minded devotion to the “Lord” and
the power of her words and thoughts has resulted in gems of poetry that shine
with the purest form of love. Her bhajans are immensely popular and have been
translated into many Indian and world languages. Her volume of work includes
more than 1,300 pads or poems. Her poetry wraps you with a special thrill and burns
in you the lamp of spiritual fervour:
“I am mad with love And no
one understands my plight. Only the
wounded Understand
the agonies of the wounded, When the
fire rages in the heart. Only the
jeweller knows the value of the jewel, Not the
one who lets it go.”
The Shankar Mahadevan
Academy believes that these legends and their music have the power to
communicate even to our generation and their musical compositions should be celebrated.
The Hare Rame Hare Krishna Contest is an endeavor to reward exceptional talent
that can carry on our musical traditions and lend new life to the musical
treasures we have inherited. We are excited by the overwhelming response we are
getting to this contest. Here are the prizes to inspire you a little more:
Winning Prizes:
The Grand Winner of the contest gets:
oAn opportunity to perform in SANGAM 2015, the annual global meet of the academy in front of Shankar Mahadevan and the audience
o Two free Instructor-led courses (6 months) of learning from the academy in either Carnatic or Hindustani worth 24.000 INR
o A certificate with Shankar’s Signature.
1st and 2nd runner up gets:
o Free entry to SANGAM 2015
o A self-study course from SMA, “HMS Super pack” worth 4500 INR
o A certificate with Shankar’s Signature
· Top 10 participants will get a certificate with Shankar’s signature
Happy Holi everyone! We are celebrating Women's Day and ushering in Holi with the riotously colorful "Hamaari Laadli Laayi Bahaar" - a musical ode to the Girl Child; who through her presence ushers in the colours of Spring in our lives every day. The beautiful lyrics penned by Zainul Hassan Khan,Winner of the Girl Child 2014 Contest capture not only the many moods of Spring that a Girl Child brings into our hearts but also reminds us to give her the love and care she deserves. This Women's Day let us pledge to keep her hopes and dreams alive!
This video is the first of a series of initiatives by the Shankar Mahadevan Academy to spread the Joy of Music and use it to bring about social change. We are extremely happy that we have three wonderfully talented women we discovered through our contests performing in this video.
Breathing life into the lyrics with their melodious voices are Shirisha Chakraborty, Archita Bhattacharya and Deepti Namjoshi, who were thrilled to be realizing their own dreams of singing with the legendary Shankar Mahadevan.
Shirisha Chakraborty was the winner of the Voice of Storm Contest, 2014 while Archita Bhattacharya and Deepti Namjoshi were winners of the Voice of HDFC and The Voice of L&T contests respectively.
The music for the song has been composed by Shankar Mahadevan and arranged by Siddharth Mahadevan and Soumil Shrirangpure.
We hope that you enjoy watching this as much as we did putting this together for you:
Hamaari Laadli : A Shankar Mahadevan Academy Initiative
Happy Holi to all the women who add oodles of colour to our lives and to the men who celebrate them! This week, the Academy is giving a 15% discount to all women students who want to start their musical journey with SMA. Use coupon code WDAY15 on checkout to avail the offer on select courses*. Offer ends March 10.
