Anyone who claims "appropriation" is sadly mistaken. To appreciate the art of other cultures is to honor it.

Sadja : Sa : Cry of the peacock Rishabha : Re : Lowing of the bull Gaandhaara : Ga : Bleating of a goat Madhyama : Ma : Call of the heron Panchama : Pa : Call of the cuckoo Dhaivata : Dha : Neighing of the horse Nishaada : Ni : Trumpeting of the elephant Meanings : Sa is derived from Shadja which means 'giving birth to six'. Re is derived from Rishabha which means ‘Great One’ Ga is derived from Gandhar which means ‘sweet fragrance’ Ma derived from Madhyama which means ‘being in the middle’ Pa is derived from Panchama which means ‘the fifth note’ Dha is derived from Dhaivata which means ‘sixth note/divine’ Ni is derived from Nishad which means an ‘seventh note’ also ‘setting at rest’, ‘esoteric doctrine’, ‘secret doctrine’, ‘mysterious or mystical’ Singing the Swaras has a positive effect on the body, mind and the consciousness. The swaras also effect our feelings and emotions. The swaras are also associated with planets and colours ‘sa’ (shadjam) - Mercury - green ‘ri’ (rishabham) - Mars - red ‘ga’ (gandharam) - Sun - golden colour ‘ma’ (madhyam) - Moon - white or yellowish tint ‘pa’ (panchamam) - Saturn - blue or black dha’ (dhaivatam) - Jupiter - yellow ‘ni’ (nishadham) - Venus - multi colour Qualities of the Svara Shadja - Means 'father of the six svaras' and the one which gives birth to the other six svaras. Rishab - Being the nearest to the Grâmni svara (Sa) it is strong as Vrishab (Bull). Gandhâr ­ Is associated with karunâ (sadness, longing). Madyam ­ This svara is in the middle of the saptak. Pancham ­ Is made up of the words panch (five) and mi (to measure). Is that note that is fifth from the Shadaj and is the tool to measure the svara intervals. Dhaivat ­ Is the overtone of the madyam svara and is heard by the Dhivân (sensitive minds). Nishâd ­ Is so called because the notes of the scale come to a close with it. The word is derived from Sanskrit root “ni+shâd” to come to a rest. Nishâd is full of karunâ (longing)

Being a south Indian who's been forced into carnatic singing just like every other child here. I immedialty had like a blast from the past without even realised i started singing along and went on the next 20 having a whole concert with myself

For Westerners and non-Indians: both Carnatic and Hindustani (the 2 different forms of Indian Classical music) are very much contemporary. They have ancient origins but both are taught, learnt and performed in the current day and age. There are plenty of concerts both in India and abroad where Indian Classical music lovers can and do go and enjoy just like you have concerts for Western Classical music.

By now I strongly believe that Malinda is getting herself ready for timetravel with these traditional singing styles so she can blend in easily in the past

Imagine her singing something like Chinese opera. So many wildly different musical traditions to try!!

I'm Indian and the title made me super emotional. I've been following Melinda since her Google translate sings days and the Irish singing video was one of my favourites. So to see her explore my culture's traditional style of singing makes me so happy :)

This is very cool. I too was 'forced' to learn Carnatic music as a young immigrant boy, I appreciate it now a lot more than I did then! Really looking forward to the next one in this series, Malinda, I loved the Sean Nos video a few months back too. Edit: something not mentioned by Archana in the video is that there aren't just different kinds of raagas but different varieties of talas (the beat they played with their hands). This one is the Adi tala, the first tala any student learns.

i have grown up learning hindustani classical music which is the other form of traditional indian singing and it makes me very happy for my culture being shown on ur channel!

It's so amazing to hear traditional carnatic music integrated with Western pop. It's just more proof how music is a universal language. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about this style. 🥰

6:58 that Sun coming out was so apt. Because the Raga Archana is singing here is equivalent to Raga Bhairabhi in North Indian Hindustani classic. The name literally meaning something to be sung at Bhor(Dawn or morning). Yeah, Archana left out the most beautiful aspect of Indian Ragas. They are closely related to time of the day and the environment and the mood.

Saw this video pop up on my feed. Sounding great as usual, Malinda!

I was apprehensive of watching this video for so long. I am adopted from India. I was adopted into a white family in midwestern America. I have spent my whole life trying to connect with my culture and figure out how I fit into it. Learning about something so deep and meaningful to my culture has always been intimidating and somewhat isolating. But I want to do it so badly. This video means so much to me because it’s like having a friend here to support me. Someone familiar to learn along with me. Thank you Malinda! ❤

It's almost like the notes go flat slightly,almost into a minor. Fascinating scale! Our band director tried to explain this to us but I never got it! This was in the mid 80s in Missouri,so not a lot of resources available. So cool!

Archana’s speaking and singing voices are so different....she just transforms magically when she sings!💖

"Mongolian Throat Singing" This would be really cool to hear you try out

Oh god I've wanted to learn Carnatic and Hindustani for the longest time! Glad to see that someone trained mainly in the Western style (like me!) try it

I am not Indian, however I really find Carnatic singing kind of hypnotic and super interesting! It’s so irresistible to listen to!

And also confirm as another comment says (about Slavic music), in Bulgaria, which is where I originally come from, there exists a traditional singing rich of extra long female voice sounds that produce a mystic effect on the human mind. One song particularly, "Izlel e Delio haidutin", has been included in the Voyager Golden record launched in the space in 1977.

I would LOVE to hear how the traditional Kagoshima/Okinawan style of Japanese singing is created. I love the sound but can’t figure out how to make it happen

Can you do an episode on Slavic traditional folk singing and Scandinavian folk singing? I know there are probably better terms but I mean the music from Slavic and Scandinavian countries like Poland, Belarus, Bulgaria, Sweden, the faroe islands, Iceland etc. Also an episode on native people's traditional music would be very interesting as well.

As an Indian, I'm so glad that one of my fav singers from the US does a Collab with an Indian artist.. I'm sure all the other Indians are feeling the same 😭

This is so beautiful. How art brings two people together. The willingness to learn. Every culture has treasures to be learned.

Omg as a student of Carnatic music I’m so glad you appreciated and explored it. It’s a beautiful tradition and a part of my heart. Thank you so much for this, Melinda.

If I could communicate with trees If I could tame the seven seas If I could conduct each storm and breeze I would compose an earthwide song For all living beings to humm along All birds, all whales together singing Just one simple melody, harmony bringing Soothing mankind's ignorance and rage Allowing the planet to enter a new age This age of euphony will heal the world As I said, if I could I would write what I heard

I grew up learning the mridhangan(the traditional percussion accompaniment for a carnatic song), so this theory hit so close to my own experiences. Great job Mel

When Archana starts singing just the basic Sa Re Ga Ma, it seems so magical..

This is such a cool idea for a series, this is the kind of thing that I would have liked to be taught in high school in the music class. This first video was so cool and interesting, loved it

I really like the part where you tried to learn carnatic way of singing, because when Archana just showed some examples I really couldn't wrap my brain around how it is done. Like normally when I hear a brief melody I can repeat it. But here my brain was just stuck and my mind was blown :)

I love both Hindustani and Carnatic styles of music. However, the quarter tones are the ones that give me goosebumps every time I hear Carnatic music.

I don't usually enjoy hardcore traditional Indian singing, but this really helped me understand what's going on. I am grateful to learn, and can't wait to see where this series goes.

I really appreciate this take on a music very close to my heart. Unfortunately it's the case that we only have so much time to talk much about it. So I thought I'd take some time to add a few things that may interest people here. 1. Carnatic music is not a "1000 years old". It is not an ossified system that has been "preserved" since antiquity. It is a living breathing, and continuously evolving incarnation of the musical ideas that have risen in the vast land of India over millenia. With the exception of passages taken out of Hindu scripture, all the greatest compositions today date back to the 17th to 18th century. There are older compositions which we have unfortunately lost the melodies of. This music is still very much evolving incorporating the diversity of styles from across India. 2. Archana has described a raga very beautifully. It is a feeling. If you take a set of melodic phrases that "feel right" together and convey some emotional idea, you have a raga. Make no mistake, this is not a concept unique to Indian music. Arabic music has it, even western music. We simply have a dedicated system to study this 3. I have to disagree with the voice thing. Like with any music there are a variety of voices. It is completely incorrect to claim that all singers sing in a frontal manner. I personally like to switch it up when I sing. The human voice is really flexible and can create stunning sounds when explored. Carnatic music makes use of Chest, throat, and head resonances and a lot more. no falsetto is used however. 4. Regarding quarter tones.... I understand that there's a lot of academic interest in this as it is unfamiliar to wester audiences. However IMHO the best way of looking at this is through the lens of emotion. Quarter tones are used ALL THE TIME in western music, they're just not called so. I've heard them consistently in blues and country music. All of those vocal flourishes that convey that extra punch of feeling typically involve a microtone. Western Classical violinists use microtones to add more "feeling" quite often. So in summary, quarter notes are not the "basis" for the music, emotion is. When I learn a scale, there is no guide other than what my teacher sings and what it makes me feel. If you want to learn the music, it's easier if you feel it out than if you think about the microtones. 5. Ornamentations define the music. They are not "optional". The very identity of many ragas is borne out in the way the notes are ornamented. In-fact the word Ornamentation is a bit of a misnomer. In Carnatic music, the word "swara" (closest concept to a note) refers to a moving body of sound and not a specific frequency. E.g. Sa being flat and Re being an oscillation around Sa in the raga gowla. Again, the best way to internalize these things is to listen, feel, and practice.

It's really interesting....listening to India's ancient singing has that humming and nasally type of gesture, reaction, or emotion involved in it. In Asia, Vietnamese and Chinese's ancient singing has that same vocal emotion too.

As a person who is learning North Indian classical singing, I'm fascinated by the Carnatic music. Just so amazing!

She says it's all nasal. But being a South indian myself who was trained in carnatic, i think we are discouraged from using the nose a lot while singing. It's a mix of both, we use the nose but we don't solely use the nose.

I've learned carnatic music for about 10 years and it was fun watching u learn it^^ Archana has a very beautiful voice and she couldn't have explained it any better... thanku for the lovely video❤️

Being part Spanish, I'd be very curious to see you dissect and expertiment with traditional Spanish music, especially considering any Arabic influences it may have incorporated! I wonder how it differs from other Mediterranean musical styles from countries that did not spend 800 years under Arab control, whether that had any effect on the instrumentation or chords that are used.

This concept is an absolutely great idea! I'm loving learning how artists are celebrating their traditional music and carrying it forward! So important! I love seeing it! Be still my heart! 🤍

This style is very difficult to learn but yet very beautiful.

Singers are truly something different... I took absolutely ages to learn how much Malinda learnt in the span of this video, and their singing legit gave me chills and goosebumps. So good.

Malinda you are a national (and international) treasure! I love how you're highlighting all the different cultures and traditions! Beauty will save the world!

Omgggg that's so cool!!! ❤️❤️❤️ Happy belated Birthday btw.. Hope you had the happiest of birthdays Malinda 🎂🥳

Props to Archana omg ❤💕💗

This is so amazing ❣️ I love what you're doing & sharing 🙂 thank you 🌌

OMG Malinda!! Yess!!!! This is soooo good! It's a marvelous idea! I love this so much. I like the translation stuff too (still can't get over gradually watermelon) but this project feels like something much much more important

As an Indian really feels proud to see video abt carnatic music. Thanks... And you Archana you really talented.thanks.. And all your songs are good

I really enjoyed this! Looove the how she broke it down! I found myself singing along.

This was magnificent! You approached this with such respect and obvious joy, it's all anyone from another culture could ask for. You did great stepping outside of that comfort zone and learning something new, that's always humbling, haha! Thanks for the intro to Archana, she's epic (listening now on Spotify). Bless, dear Lady.

I'm so glad this is going to be a series because music really does transcends cultures and languages. Also Archana seems like such a great teacher!

Isn't it so fascinating that what she sang today wasn't even one drop in the ocean? That was a molecule in the ocean of carnatic music. 😌 (Proud to be a Carnatic singer and an Indian, also this music is around 5000 years old... It all starts in the Vedas, the Samaveda especially) Edit: I'm a girl. So if you are arguing about a comment I made ages ago... At least use the correct pronouns of She/her.... I love how people assumed that I'm some guy... Also I am a carnatic singer and people should know that all Hindu scriptures have been passed down through word of mouth before they were written. And history that we know today is fragmented, not everything that is written is true because most of it is interpreted. However, the literature used in compositions and the language is what tells us how old the piece actually is.

Absolutely loved that! I love the different tones that voices have - when Malinda started singing I immediately recognised it, although it was a different singing style, and though “Ah, love her voice”. Then when Archana sang again I loved that too, but such a different timbre. Off to listen to more of Archana now, and can’t wait for more of this sort of thing.

You have a very calm, curious, and innocent demeanor. It was a pleasure to learn from your learnings.

The discussion of resonance reminds me of how I was taught to manage it when I was taking lessons on feminizing my voice; we were taught to gradually move it out of our chest and into our throat before bringing it all the way forward. (There were other things we were taught alongside resonance, of course, which are much more socially learned behaviors rather than the result of testosterone poisoning.)

This is such a wholesome video! I'm so glad to see that you are providing a platform for us all to learn about the different cultures through music! Music truly does bring all of us together! The only thing that I would like to modify about what Archana said about carnatic singing is that it is not a "nasal" technique; instead you are encouraged to sing from the diaphragm (why students are required to sit criss cross on the floor); different notes resonate in different parts of the body at different pitches, but it is not primarily nasal

I am so glad you made this. I was looking into Carnatic music a few years ago, but the resources were so scarce!

OMG! This blew my mind! Thank you so much. I had a lot of fun watching this and singing along.

This is so awesome! I appreciate your music Malinda, thank you!

This is amazing!! Thank you for sharing your curiosity and discoveries with us! you make the world a better place!!!!

thank you for bringing cultures together through videos like this. the respect and curiosity you have for this tradition shines through in the way you ask questions

this is so incredible, enjoyed it wholeheartedly. Thank you both

Omg that's so cool. Absolutely beautiful, I just love the way this sounds. I love the sound of music from all the different ancient cultures. You can just picture yourself in the native environment. It's like a mood. Omg I can't wait to hear more, Malinda! Personally, I've been learning a lot of Viking music. It's ancestral for me. It's very beaty, gets my blood boiling and makes me battle ready or solemn depending on the song. I recommend groups like SKÁLD, Heilung, Danheim, and others.

That wasn't the sun; it was the light of knowledge. :-) Love these videos, and always fascinated how you're willing to push yourself outside your normal boundaries. Also, good timing what with similar fusion music being used in the Ms Marvel series now playing.

Very happy to bump into this series!! Wow, this is such a treat! Thank you for this amazing musical exploration @Malinda!!!

Belonging to north of India I was introduced to Carnatic music quite late in my life but the moment I started listening to Carnatic music I fell in love with this style . ❤️❤️

Beautiful interview Malinda and you introduced us to a gorgeous artist! I'd really love to see you learning about and attempting to joik. It's a traditional style of singing practiced by the Sami

I'm grown with sinhalese music which is inspired by Indian classicals, Most prominently it's Hindustani-ish but sometimes Carnatic vibes also gets into play. Archana's voice tho, It drives me back to my school days where I were studying Eastern Music!

I'm so happy that I came across you on yt. You're so versatile and I appreciate your efforts to bring forth the ancient masterpieces. Thanks again Malinda. I adore your works.

Fabulous! I am so excited that you are doing this serie!!! I love this video thanks to you both!

This is very fun, and I hope you do continue with this possible new series!

This is crazy amazing! I love this stuff.

That was so beautiful! Thank you for sharing this style. Please do more!

Thank you both for making this; it's a new adventure for me and I appreciate it!

Carnatic notes are so much more difficult than Hindustani classical notes, although both the modes are equally beautiful and intricate

I love this series so much! It's so cool to learn along with you and from people who are passionate about the music they're singing ❤🙌 (Also you ask excellent questions!) I remember listening to carnatic whilst doing GCSE music and my teacher just couldn't get it across to us. It's nice that the syllabus has such a wide range of music included but it would have been even better if we could have listened to the music performed live and taught the nuances by the artists themselves. Its a bit like studying Shakespeare without seeing the play - yes you can read and watch a performance, but it's not the same as being in the room and getting goosebumps.

💖💖 this was beautiful!! Thank you both!

She's such a good teacher!! Very calming

Lovely video! You honor us by learning about our music and singing it ❤

That was very interesting. I relly like this kind of singing and her voice is awesome! Also, very well done Malinda, that seemed really difficult.

That sunlight... looks like you are enlighten!!!

What a beautiful style of singing! I loved how it connects her to her culture

That ‘shake’ itches my brain, it’s so beautiful

Archana has a beautiful voice and her classical singing is perfect. It shows the amount of practice she would have put in over many years. We should appreciate her parents who put her to learning it 👏

so beautiful thanks for featuring this wonderful singer

I LOVED that - thank you so much for sharing!

How wonderful is this channel and this episode! As a child my mother saw the goodness of Carnatic music, I quit just before reaching mastery to play sports 😊 Now I want to learn again embracing my southern Indian culture. More power to you both

Thank you this was an awesome post. My sister in law is from India , she has an amazing voice , she has been coaching our daughter, ( her God daughter), and she has really improved, thank you for giving her the credit she really deserves. Could you post a link for voice coaches in this style for parents looking for coaches in this style

OMG I love you!!! I was hoping you would do this. I'm so excited!!

Oh my gosh I’ve always compared your singing to the techniques I was taught in my Carnatic class which helped me place my voice more comfortably! And this video feels like a manifestation lol this is such a treat to watch!

Fantastic. Love music from all around the world. Watched some from a couple of years back of Pratibha Sarathy. Also different styles of throat singing, and just too many others to list.

OMG i can keep listening to Archana singing classical. sooooo soothing and awesome

Even though I didn't know the actual name, I've heard Carnatic singing and I find it so glorious and expressive I love this series you decided to do, I love learning about different singing styles and specially when you are behind the content, because I also love the time and passion you put into your videos and projects. I can't wait to see what's coming next.

This was amazing and I'm SO stoked for this series!! You were really getting the hang of it! I would love to see you learn about Pansori, which is Korean traditional "operatic" music. It's stories in song, and the vocal style for them is very specific and ornamental. Can't wait for whatever comes next!!

This makes me want to learn Carnatic music, it's so so beautiful. Archana is an incredible artist, definitely checking her music out

Archana is so talented!!!

Absolutely loved this! Quarter tones are so freakin hard to wrap my mind around. It takes mad skill. I learned alot from this thank you! It’s like when a western singer tries to purposefully sing “off key” it’s extremely hard to do intentionally. We have trained our ear to identify it as wrong but in this kind of context it is so cool. You did way better than I would’ve Malinda!

Her voice is insaneeee + amazingly beautiful

Holy smokes! Fell in love with you both 🤯🤯incredible stuff 🫶🏻

Ohh I looove this video! Please make more for different singing style. You girls are awesome!

Such an awesome concept! Can't wait for the next installment!

Malinda.. we applaud you 🤗🤗🤗🤗