Perspectives of a student, performer and teacher

Table of Contents
Introduction
A Student and Performer of Western Music discovers Indian Music
Serious Study - A Disciple sets out the Long Path of Learning
Obstacles along the Way
Physical Obstacles
Lack of Repertoire
Listening Experience
Cultural Context
Social Pressures
Advantages of a Western Music Background?
Advantages of being in the West?
A “Western” Performer of “Indian” Music
A Teacher of Indian Music in Europe
A Teacher of Western Music in Search of the Teaching Models
Conclusion
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“It is not a question of Indian music, or American music, like that; any type of music, in tune and in rhythm, gives you food for your mind, heart and soul“. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan

It often appears that we live in a world of dualities. We tend to interpret our impressions in terms of black and white, good and bad - even east and west. Although in some situations this may be convenient, it tends to keeps us from seeing the more subtle relations that unite our world. The theme of Indian music and the West immediately suggests several dualities: geographical, cultural and musical. And it is exactly in this context that Maestro Khan’s simple and straightforward statement is an important reminder. It is a wonderful example of his musical vision and is an invitation for us to stay aware of the universal elements of music, even as we concentrate on the diversity and contrasts of its specific forms. I believe that if we keep his statement in mind, it will help us come to a fuller understanding of the complex and fascinating theme before us.

In addition to exploring the above ideas, this paper traces several of the important stages of my musical development during the last thirty-five years of studying both western music and (for the past twenty-four years), Indian music. I have tried to recount how my impressions during some of these stages helped me to better understand my roles as a student, performer and teacher . The most important points I wish to make may be viewed from the following perspectives.

From the perspective of a beginner, curious to enter the world of Indian music
There is nothing intrinsically “foreign” or “exclusive” about Indian music which makes it inaccessible to anyone who is attracted to it, and who has a wish to begin to learn.

From the perspective of a serious student, engaging in a long-term study
All of the essential features of Indian classical music can be passed on from the guru to the disciple wherever they happen to be living and regardless of the student’s ethnic origin. Depending on talent, determination, and attitude, it is possible for a student to overcome whatever obstacles may be waiting, and reach the highest level of understanding and execution.

From the perspective of a western performer of Indian music
The most discerning connoisseurs of Indian music tend to listen with their ears open and their eyes shut, and do not place much importance on a performer’s ethnic background or country of origin.

From the perspective of a teacher, working in a variety of western music contexts
Indian music can be introduced effectively in the West at many levels, from primary school through the professional music conservatory. Also, Indian music pedagogy has much to offer the western music educator.

A student and performer of western music discovers indian music
I grew up in the midst of a great cultural curiosity in everything from the “east”. I must admit however, that I was not actively involved in the movement and I barely noticed some of the momentous “Indian” events of the late 1960’s - George Harrison with his sitar, Ravi Shankar at the Monterey Pop Festival, etc. But as a music student in my own culture, I was gaining experience in a number of western musical styles. There were elements in many kinds of music that I found attractive - from folk music to rock’n'roll, to jazz and classical. I was also very interested in composing and improvising. But somehow I was not completely satisfied by any one style and was searching for my proper place as a musician. It was at this moment that I had the good fortune to see Ustad Ali Akbar Khan perform at the university where I was studying.

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Does the Study of Improvisation belong in a Music Conservatory?

“Improvisation” is one of those words that has a place in almost any context, from cooking to crafting, sewing to storytelling, poetry to comedy, dance to drama, and mime to music. It also encompasses a wide spectrum: from classical to folk, western to non-western, and amateur to professional. We can think of improvisation as both a skill acquired during many years of study, and as an action that is “just felt” in the moment. In short, improvisation is a big subject and plays a role in almost everyones’ lives.

During most all of the important periods of our music history, from the modal improvisations of medieval chant, to the extensive art of diminutions during the Renaissance, to the virtuosi cadenzas of solo concerti, improvisation was looked upon as an important measure of a musicians ability. In addition, composers throughout history have used improvisation as a tool for developing musical ideas and to help set an atmosphere for inspiration and creativity.

But as important a skill as improvisation once was for musicians, today it is rarely an integral part of a music students’ education. Rather, the word improvisation now usually calls to mind music styles outside the realm of a conservatory - styles like jazz, blues, and non-western traditions. Although in recent years there have been some attempts to integrate improvisation into some of the more “experimental” compositions, it remains nevertheless, a skill that is rarely called for in the repertoire that most conservatory trained musicians are required to perform.

But if composers and performers throughout history used improvisation extensively during the creation and execution of music, how can it be that it is not an integral part of music education today?

In fact, improvisation is still an important skill for any musician, and making it a part of a conservatory curriculum can have a beneficial result in many aspects of a students’ musical development. From technical skills, to ensemble playing, to memorizing pieces more quickly, to analysis and interpretation, learning to improvise sharpens many of a musicians’ skills and even trains new abilities that may otherwise never develop. For instance, it gives a performer an instant taste for composing, and in performance, can help develop a stage presence that is more relaxed and which enables one to react better in the moment. Whether to bring in an element of spontaneity, or just to recover more quickly from a mistake or lapse of memory, the ability to improvise is beneficial to all aspects of musicianship.

Let us look again briefly at the subject from several perspectives: historical, pedagogical, and purely musical.

Historical - As mentioned above, in our western music tradition, improvisation was once an important part of a musicians training and was used extensively in performance. From the medieval periods onwards, both composers and performers were often times cited as being fluent improvisers, able to leave their listeners spellbound during long passages of improvisations. Virtuosic violinists used to show off their skills at improvisation during extended extemporare cadenzas. Beethoven was a master of improvisation and was said to have even been able to improvise fugues (regularly won contests in improvisation.) Chopin and Liszt were also known for their improvisatory skills. Its prevalence alone as an important skill is a good reason for musicians today to at least have a taste of this practice. Whether or not a student becomes a master of improvisation, it also gives him/her both a direct link to, and a common thread of experience with, performers and composers from past epochs and musical styles.

Pedagogical - The study of improvisation builds musical skills that cannot be learned as well by other methods. Improvising develops a part of the musical intelligence that has nothing to do with reading notes or attempting to execute one fixed interpretation of a composition. In addition it involves learning a process of immediate listening, analysis and execution, which goes far beyond the usual skills developed in ear training classes. Improvising develops not only a quicker kind of instant listening, but also helps develop a feedback mechanism that sharpens a musicians ability to react in the moment and build upon the music being developed. It is also an excellent measure of a students’ understanding of the compositional elements of a given style. Combined with analysis and practical exercises in composing, improvisation may be thought of as one of the highest measures of a students’ complete understanding of a given style.

Purely musical - There are indeed, many convincing reasons why all music students should learn to improvise. Perhaps the most important is that improvisation, both by composers and performers, played an important part in the performance of much of the music that is still heard in concert halls today! But in addition to all the justifications and benefits- technical, compositional, etc. - there is an additional reward that is purely musical in nature - and hard to resist. Once learned, improvisation is actually fun and gives a musician an additional sense of satisfaction in participating in the creation of music in the moment!

San Rafael, California September 1, 1995.

Ken Zuckerman teaches improvisation courses in Medieval music and the classical music of North India at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Hochscule für Musik, and Allgemeine Musikschule of the Music Academy of Basel and the Zurich Hochschule der Künste. He is also the director of the Ali Akbar College of Music - Switzerland.

Swarthmore College
Department of Music and Dance
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

To whom it may concern:
Ken Zuckerman is a marvellous musician whose numerous performances at Swarthmore College over a dozen or so years have always been occasions of beauty, poetry, refinement, excitement, and profound pleasure. As a composer, a professor whose teaching areas include Asian music, and as an educated devotee of North Indian classical music, I can affirm that Mr. Zuckerman’s native musicality and poetic spirit are of the highest order, and would undoubtedly be manifest in any musical tradition, including European early music (one of his areas of expertise).

His mastery of the sarod, and of the raga tradition in which he has been immersed for so many years, is of a very high order of instrumental technique and profound musical understanding. This is all the more extraordinary given that he is a Westerner, not “born into” Indian traditions. But once one enters into the unfolding of one of Mr. Zuckerman’s performances of a raga, one forgets to notice his nationality and becomes absorbed entirely by the music and the thoughtful personality that is projected through it. It is ultimately not surprising that he is fully accepted by the most renowned Indian musicians as an equal, and performs regularly to great acclaim in India. He is a favored disciple of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and a frequent collaborator with such tabla masters as Zakir Hussain and Swapan Chaudhuri.

Mr. Zuckerman is also a gifted teacher. His visits to classes and public lecture-demonstrations have been models of effective and enjoyable communication. With his engaging and modest manner he is able to draw students into Indian musical philosophy and technique so that they experience in a visceral and immediate way the basic principles of raga and tala and begin to have a feeling for the deeper aesthetic and cultural resonances in the music. He is also an remarkable role model for our age of global cultural inter-relations, as an American whose love for a rich and ancient musical culture from across the world has transformed his life and enriched those of many others.

Gerald Levinson
Professor of Music
April 26, 1998

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HAVERFORD COLLEGE
Department of Music
June 21, 1998

To whom it may concern:

Ken Zuckerman has asked me to write a brief note about his visits to Haverford College during recent academic years. I am glad to oblige him. Ken’s recitals here with tablists Zakir Hussain and with Swapan Chaudhuri were performed before large and very appreciative audiences. Listeners were impressed with his command of the sarod, with the respect this artistry earns him among tablists of the very highest rank, with the evident warmth that he brings to concert hall.

Some members of the College community, of course, come well prepared for his performances. But for others this is very new territory. I am thus especially grateful for Ken’s skills as a teacher. We often arrange for our musical visitors to lead workshops or lecture demonstrations for interested students in conjunction with their visits. Ken’s visits have consistently been extremely effective in this regard. He shows us the basic elements of the tradition, teaches us to clap and to sing the fundamental structures or tala and raga, and gives us a clear explanation of how they work in combination. Students are duly impressed by the seriousness of his commitment to this music, as well as by the joy and humor he brings to the classroom. In all, his visits have been both musically rewarding and ideal opportunities for learning about South Asian music and musical life.

Please do not hesitate to be in touch if there is anything I might provide on Ken’s behalf, or if you would like to speak in greater detail about the sorts of projects we have undertaken together.

With best wishes,

Richard Freedman
Chairman, Department of Music

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Michigan Technological University
School of Forestry and Wood Products
Houghton, MI 49931

Dear Ken,

I was one of the fortunate audience members at Michigan Tech in Houghton, MI who thoroughly enjoyed your Sarod performance on March 12, 2000. You are certainly a highly accomplished artist and thanks for visiting our relatively small campus and town. I would like to share an interesting experience with you and I hope you will enjoy hearing about it.

In India, we have a concept of “NadBrahma” i.e. God in the form of music. When you were playing Hemant in a Jalad fashion (the Jhala) towards the end, I strongly felt that a divine sound of AUM was resonating from your Sarod. Due to my upbringing in a musical family from India, perhaps it was not most surprising that I was experiencing that “Nadbrahma” in your music. But my 10-year daughter who is in US since she was 10-months old and has not much contact with Indian music turned to me at that second and asked me “Dad, can you hear the sound of AUM?” I am sure it was not a coincidence that we both felt the same thing at the same moment. Many others in the audience must have felt something similar in your music.

You have achieved that “God in the form of music” through 24-plus years of practice and please continue to share this joy with as many people as you can. With best wishes,

Sincerely yours,

Dr. C.P. Joshi
Assistant Professor of Forest Biotechnology
Plant Biotechnology Research Center
School of Forestry and Wood Products,
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931

The musical traditions of the European Middle Ages and of North India, in spite of their many differences, have common roots going back far into the past. This can be seen especially in the organization of compositions according to the melodic modes. Internationally renowned specialists from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and of the Indian classical tradition here build a musical bridge between these cultures. Structure and improvisation, sensual melodies and complex rhythms, virtuosity and passion mark this fascinating meeting of two worlds!

This program offers a rare opportunity to experience two different musical worlds in dialogue: the reconstructed musical culture of the European Middle Ages, and the ancient but still continuous tradition of North Indian classical music - two worlds that are indeed separated with respect to time and geography, and yet still linked by common characteristic features. (more…)

“A complete mastery over the instrument, pure raag structure and note sustenance are the great qualities of this artiste.”

“…a simply magnificent and extraordinary concert.”

“…he has risen from a mere curious foreigner interested in fathoming the secrets of the exotic East and its equally exotic musical fare, to being one of the foremost performers of the art.”

“Here was a master who had fully harnessed the power of the sarod - the finest of sarod players outside India - an American now living in Switzerland. After a standing ovation and an encore, Ken treated us to yet another enlightening and delightful raag. It was pure magic.”

“Ali Akbar’s skill in the hands of a foreigner - It was also especially remarkable that in his Koushi Kanara there was the presence of the pure Ali Akbar mood. His control over the rag was an indication of good learning. Likewise, the deep musical sentiment that was there in his vistara of the padas in the alap is the proof of a class artist.”

“Ken showed an authentic grasp over the subtleties of the Maihar gharana, sustaining the dhrupadi characteristics of the school. He played Chhayanat and established the imageries of the “raagrup” and then captured both the lively and sombre moods of the following item.”

He commenced his solo sarod playing with rag Madhuvanti in which he played alap, jod, jhala and gat, and kept the audience spellbound by exhibiting his command over the sarod and made the raga more sweet and delicious through his distinguished style…”

“The torch-bearer of Maihar gharana, Ken, in his presentation of Kaushi-Kanada, unravelled the nostalgic pathos of the raga through alap, jor, gat in trital, extensive meends, outstanding ghasits, gamak, rhythmic variations in both Masidkhani and drut gat along with jhala and clear tankari.”

“…when Zuckerman launched a duet with Estevan, the sarod and percussion reaffirmed a shining truth - music dissolves national borders in a way that treaties cannot.”

“Zuckermans’ inovative approach of playing uncommon taals and stroke improvisations are the special gifts of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan to him. Well done, Mr. Zuckerman: looking forward to hear your next concert in London. Thnaks to you and Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, the maestro tabla player.” Kalavati, April 16th, 1996

“Ken has assimilated within himself the very soul of Ali Akbar’s artistry”

“…the music of the maestro flows in his veins…”

“The final effect that emerged was simply grand in its impact.”

“Both the alaaps and gaths were wonderfully played, clear, bold, correct and full of feeling. Bravo American sahib!”

Check out Ken’s new video on youtube!

Ken Zuckerman & Swapan Chaudhuri - Raga Jogiya Kalingra

Welcome!

To listen to a 7-minute collage sampler of Ken‘s music, please click here:

“Whether playing the medieval lute, oud, sarod, and whether appearing alone, with his mentor Ali Akbar Khan, with Jordi Savall’s Hesperion XXI or with medieval chant expert Dominique Vellard, Ken Zuckerman is one of the world’s most eclectic masters of improvisation. His electrifying performances of medieval, Renaissance and classical Indian music leave his audiences breathless. Following sell-out performances in 2001, he returns to the Purcell Room with two of his favourite musical colleagues, both master percussionists.” Phillip Pickett, South Bank Centre, February 2006.

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In July 2006, Steve Tortorici, a radio programmer based in Forida, recorded an interview with Ken Zuckerman for a series entitled “The Artist Files.” To listen to this radio interview please click here:

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To view a 2-minute sample video (flash), please click the PLAY button

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To view the full 15-minute video please click here!

Two Instrumentalists on a Silver Morning

It was a Sunday. Getting out of the sleepy mood of winter Sunday morning, we were caught in the environment of melodies. This music conference was organized by “Rupak” (means silver), an institution of classical music…

There were two artists in this conference called by Rupak. One was Sri Dhrubajyoti Chakraborty on sitar, accompanied on tabla by Sri Bablu Pal. The other one was the American Mr. Ken Zuckerman, who played sarod, accompanied on tabla by noted artist Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri…

Later after the interval, who appeared on the stage was not an Indian. But his so facile and smooth capacity in performing Indian traditional music may not be found even amongst many Indians. Ken Zuckerman is a competent student of Ali Akbar Khan. Giving performances in several conferences around the countries of the world the name of Ken Zuckerman has become a shining appearance. At present he is the director of the Ali Akbar College in Switzerland. On that morning he played raag Nat Bhairo. The exact arrangements of ragas impressed the interested audience. The artist’s keen and faultless timing expression fascinated the audience. This foreign artist set a resulted example of 20 years long of devoted practice and learning of music. Of course his play became more appealing through Swapan Chaudhuri’s tabla accompaniment. He presented us a very enjoyable morning through and through by this wonderful duet performance. Certainly thanks go to “rupak” for this conference.

Calcutta, Aparna Mazumdar, January 1998 (more…)

Indian Express
Bombay / January 16, 1992
Ken enthralls
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Not since the late John Higgins, dubbed Bhagavathar for the virtuosity in Carnatic music, has a western exponent of Indian music so taken our music world by storm as Ken Zuckerman, whose sarod recitals have the unmistakable touch of a maestro. It is little wonder though, because 39-year-old Ken has been under the tutelage of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, the sarod maestro, for over 20 years and presently heads the Ali Akbar College of Music in Basel, Switzerland. The Ustad himself calls Ken ‘one of my most gifted students’ and has accorded Ken the honour of performing with him on the same platform. The audience of Dadar Matunga Cultural Centre was a witness to Ken Zuckerman’s phenomenal handling of the sarod.
Ken started with reposeful alaaps in the mid-afternoon melody, Madhuvanti. From the innate delicacy of his touch, may his very attitude to Hindustani music, it was at once apparent that Ken has assimilated within himself the very ’soul’ of Ali Akbar’s artistry. Playing with his head down and total concentration (like his Ustad) Ken conjured up the self-same improvisations in an unhurried development of the raga. There was a logical progression of the alap, jod, and jhala followed by a gat set to Teental in which he received understanding support from Aneesh Pradhan on tabla. He followed it up with a Pilu which was marked by imaginative passages reminiscent of the Maihar maestro. The sitarkhani gat was set to Addhataal.
The post-interval session was dominated by a hauntingly beautiful Durga - a raga which has unaccountably, receded into oblivion. Ken’s interpretation of Durga was a rare revelation with a gat set to Roopak and then coupled with a ’sum-to-sum’ drut composition of Baba Allauddin Khan. Ken concluded his recital with a Mishra Mand which was highlighted by delicate phrasing off innovative swar-sangatis - then he gradually decelerated into a ‘fade out’, but the memory of his concert will endure. Credit equally goes to young Aneesh Pradhan who kept a low profile in his support on tabla. As or Ken, his sarod recital could well serve as a model for our contemporary exponents of the sarod: it was an admirable recreation of the intrinsic values one has cheishe in his Ustad’s sarod baaz - and happily free of present-day gimmickry.
Sumit Savur
Indian Express (more…)

Darbar - South Asian Music Festival, April 13 - 15, 2007

“Leicester can hardly be described as a rural location, but it does have what is surely Britain’s best festival of South Asian music - the Darbar Festival (www.darbar.org.uk). This year the headline nsames includes one of the world’s greatest sitar players, Shahid Parvez, the superb sarod player Ken Zuckerman, the inspriational singer Parween Sultana…” Simon Broughton, Songlines May 2007