My review of John McLaughlin and S. Ganesh Vinayakram's Konokol instructional DVD The Gateway to Rhythm has been posted at Modern Guitars Magazine. Konokol is an Indian system for mastering rhythm without drums.
Review: John McLaughlin and S. Ganesh Vinayakram - The Gateway to Rhythm DVD
UPDATE 12/17/07: I've republished my review below.
Like many Western musicians, the Indian rhythmic system known as Konokol
has always been a bit of a mystery to me. I've heard the seemingly
complex rhythmic-pattern language on many recordings, but as
interesting as it sounds, the sometimes rapid-fire vocalizations (Takita, Taka Dimi, etc.) have always befuddled me. With the new instructional DVD The Gateway To Rhythm (Mediastarz Monaco; distributed in the U.S. by Abstract Logix), jazz guitar legend John McLaughlin and Konokol
master S. Ganesh Vinayakram (who was a percussionist in McLaughlin's
Remember Shakti band) not only explain and demonstrate the Konokol system in a way that's easy to understand, they illustrate how learning Konokol will give you a deeper understanding of rhythm in general. McLaughlin has advocated Konokol as a system for learning rhythm without drums for over 30 years.
Konokol is basically a vocal drum language. Each Konokol
sound is a "word" that you speak to represent a certain number of
notes, based on the number of syllables in that word. In essence, you
are vocally mimicking specific drum strokes. The five Konokol sounds covered in The Gateway To Rhythm are:
Da = 1
Taka = 2
Takita = 3
Taka Dimi or Taka Juna = 4
Da Di Gi Na Dum = 5
It's important to note: each Konokol sound represents a rhythmic pattern, not a specific note duration. For example, you can say Takita
to represent a group of three notes, but those notes can be a triplet,
quarter-note triplet, or any group of three notes however they may fit
into the bar. A group of five notes could be vocalized as one Takita plus one Taka, or one Da Di Gi Na Dum,
whether those five notes represent one full beat or not. Choosing one
sound over another is determined by where you want the accents to fall
in the bar, since the proper Konokol form is to accent the first syllable of each sound when you say it (except in the case of Taka Juna where you accent both the Taka and the Juna).
Overall, The Gateway To Rhythm is well presented with fine
production values. Not much is used in the way of graphics, but the
rhythmic score shown at the bottom of the screen during Vinayakram's
demos and improvs is nicely done and easy to follow. The DVD is divided
into six chapters. The early chapters deal with subdividing bars of 4/4
using the various Konokol sounds. If you have no experience with Konokol
at all, as I didn't, these early chapters help to make the whole art
form far less intimidating than it seems. There's a certain "How does
he do that?" factor when you see a master like Vinayakram really flying
through a Konokol improv, and you have no idea what it's all
about. By working through the early chapters, you'll gain a foundation
of understanding so you'll at least know how they are doing what they
are doing, even if you can't do it yourself yet. And if you're like me,
after gaining some deeper knowledge about any discipline, you'll be
even more impressed when you see a master of that discipline at work.
One thing that is stressed in the early lessons on this DVD is the
importance of keeping the time by clapping your hands (or using a
metronome.) If you don't do this, you can get lost at sea very quickly,
especially in the later chapters when more advanced meters such as 5/4
and 7/4 are covered. Overall, the lessons are very well explained, and
the DVD's larger purpose of using Konokol as a "gateway" to a deeper understanding of rhythm really works.
Each chapter concludes with a Vinayakram improvisation, followed by
a demonstration by McLaughlin, both based on the material covered in
that chapter. Vinayakram's improvs are among the most interesting and
eye-opening parts of the DVD. They are fairly simple at first, but turn
into Konokol "shred-fests" in the later chapters. The whole concept of subdividing rhythms using Konokol really "sinks in" when you view these short improvs.
Following Vinayakram's improvisations, McLaughlin demonstrates how Konokol
can also be applied to a melodic instrument (in his case, the guitar),
by playing snippets of several of his compositions stretching back to
the Mahavishnu Orchestra days. For example - after the second chapter,
McLaughlin shows how that chapter's main focus, Takita, can
be applied to the Mahavishnu classic "The Dance of Maya." The main
melody of this song is in 10/4 time, and can be broken down as Takita, Taka Dimi, Takita (3+4+3=10), and the shuffle section, in 20/8, is six Takitas, plus one Taka
(3+3+3+3+3+3+2=20). Other songs McLaughlin uses as examples include
"You Know, You Know," "The Wish," and "5 Peace Band." In each case,
McLaughlin does a great job of demonstrating how this eastern system of
rhythm can be an asset to a western composer.
One of the highlights of the DVD is the improvisation McLaughlin and
Vinayakram perform together at the conclusion of the final chapter.
With Vinayakram riffing away right next to him, it's easy to see how
the rhythmic variations in McLaughlin's lines have a strong Konokol inspiration.
McLaughlin and Vinayakaram's main goal with this DVD is to present Konokol
as a great tool for mastering rhythm without the aid of a drummer.
After watching this DVD it's hard to argue with them. Rhythmically
subdividing bars of music can be a difficult task, especially when you
are working with odd meters such as 5/4 or 9/8. Konokol gives you a way to practice this discipline anywhere, without an instrument (other than your own voice and hands.) This makes The Gateway To Rhythm
one of the most unique instructional videos you will find. It's not a
guitar instructional video, it's not a drumming instructional video;
it's designed to make you a better musician overall (no matter what
instrument you play) by tackling what is arguably the most important
aspect of any style of music - rhythm.
Rich
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Steve Lukather will release his latest solo album on 2/22/08. Entitled Ever Changing Times (Frontiers Records), it's a vocal album with some heavy musicians along for the ride. See the tracklisting and personnel below.
