INTER-DISCIPLINARY
Students and practitioners from diverse artistic disciplines have participated in training under the Correlated Objective Music Education and Training system. Through its method of isolating various dimensions of music-making, COMET becomes adaptable to practitioners across art forms. COMET’s inter-disciplinary program draws on the interconnectedness of music, dance, and drama as reflected in indigenous traditions, particularly the Natya Sastra (2 BCE) - a Sanskrit treatise on performing arts as a whole.
Music and Dance
MUSIC AND DANCE
Music and dance are inseparable. If we wish to enhance the quality of dance, the quality of music should also be uplifted alongside it. Dance and music should go hand in hand. Dance brings together ‘Time, Tone, Text, and Tune’ with bhava and aesthetics from the very beginning. COMET method helps to build this component in both artforms. The methodology emphasises and demonstrates how dance and music can be integrated right from the basics. Every teacher can instil the intricacies of both artforms in every student from the beginning.
Brhaddhvani has collaborated with prominent dancers and institutions to integrate COMET into Bharatanatyam training. Since 2016, Bharata Kalānjali has incorporated COMET’s structured approach to Karnatak music basics into its curriculum, emphasizing the importance of foundational musical training for enhancing rhythmic precision and musical awareness in dance. Through COMET's multi-layered approach, dancers refine their sense of laya (musical time) and improve their integrated practice of music and dance.
A specific area where COMET benefitted our dancers - without their realizing it - is the laya structure: how the lyrics overlay, how the composition overlays above the lyrics, and how the relationship of laya between them overlaps. This is very subtle and comes through experience; one must be immersed in it, and that’s when one can get the feel of it. This is something I saw in the dancers. Because they haven't been musically trained, they were able to get it without realizing that they had done so. The change in their relationship with music was obvious.
Satyajit Dhananjayan
Students of Bharata Kalanji's presentation on 31st March, 2019. Brhaddhvani and Bharata Kalanjali come together to strengthen the musicality of dancers.
Before I was introduced to Subramanian and Brhaddhvani, I only experienced my art without the connection to music. But Subramanian discovered the music in my work. I did not understand then. But as I progressed, I saw the light and realised his point
S. Vaidheeswaran
MUSIC AND POETRY
COMET explores the relationship between music and classical literature. Subramanian integrates texts from Tamil literature, such as the Tirukkural and Atticcudi, into the curriculum. These texts, traditionally recited in prose, are reinterpreted through rhythmic and melodic frameworks that highlight their inherent musicality. Subramanian employs a metric format to present the texts in layered stages. This innovative approach introduces students to Tamil literature while simultaneously developing their musical skills.
Subramanian’s collaboration with Tamil poet S. Vaidheeswaran has significantly enriched the curriculum. In 1994, Vaidheeswaran accepted a two-year position as artist-in-residence at Brhaddhvani. During this time, he composed Tamil poetry for the abhyāsa gānam, reflecting Brhaddhvani’s beliefs and philosophy. The lyrics convey universal truths about life, free from religious or political influences. Aligned with Brhaddhvani’s vision of universality, Vaidheeswaran’s poems are inherently aphoristic. Vaidheeswaran also penned the lyrics for Brhaddhvani's vision song, Kaatrellam, which was set to music by Lalgudi G. Jayaraman.
Brhaddvani’s vision song ’Kaatrellaam’, a poem by Sri Vaidheeswaran tuned by Lalgudi Sri. G Jayaraman