YouTube Discovery | Ep. 02 | Siddharth Slathia - Indian Classical Music Tutorials
What makes music? Musical notes or swara or solfège.
What are these exactly? Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni or Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti
If you don't know what I am talking about, I feel sorry for you and you have a lot to catch on!
To give a little context here, swara are the alphabets for music. Appropriate collection of alphabets that defines something is called a noun - which in music is called a Raaga. Every raaga has its own set of swara and meaning. When a noun combines with other types of words like prepositions, articles, adjectives we get a sentence. In musical terms, when you combine a raaga with rhythm (taal), tempo (laya) and lyrics (bol) we get a song. This is the basis of Indian classical music. Indian classical music has two variants:
1. Hindustani Music
2. Carnatic Music
What is the difference you may ask? Here is the Wikipedia link. Check it out yourself. Indian Classical Music
Before you criticize me for not writing anything entertaining, let me quickly give you a fun fact.
A lot of Bollywood songs are based on the raagas from the Indian Classical Music.
The most recent movie to have Indian classical music was Bajirao Mastani. Well I am no master of knowing which raagas have been used and I tried looking up on the internet but got varying results. It is better not to speak half-truth. One of the songs in the movie Albela Sajan is the same song as the one used in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.
By now you must be wondering where is the YouTube Discovery part and where is the post about Siddharth Slathia? Hang in there tight, now is the time. I felt it was necessary to introduce you to Indian Classical music before writing about Siddharth and his work.
Who is Siddharth Slathia and why am I writing about him?
Siddharth Slathia is a YouTube artist from Jammu, India. You must have definitely seen at least one of his videos but can't remember him by name. In that case, I blame you for not recognizing the creator of great content on YouTube. I stumbled upon his channel more than a year back when I was looking for Indian classical music on YouTube. Siddharth had uploaded tutorials on Indian classical music for beginners.
This was one of the most unique music content I had ever seen on YouTube - India. This was not it, he had more tutorials for average Joes like us. We've always tried singing a Bollywood song but failed miserably and the common excuse being "I don't know to sing" instead of learning. Siddharth had probably just found an easy way to stop the misuse of this excuse. He periodically uploads tutorials on 'How to Sing Bollywood Songs"
Well, just creating these tutorials speaks volumes of the talent he has. To teach someone, you must first have your basics clear. He definitely has lot of things clear in terms of music. His musical content is not restricted to just tutorials. He uploads covers for latest Bollywood songs, his rendition of some of the popular songs and his original composition.
I can keep writing about his videos since each one of them is different than the other but it is better if you check out his YouTube channel here and read my conversation with him.
Before you guys read the interview, here are my TOP 3 PICKS from his channel:
1. Lollipop Lagelu (Bhojpuri Song Revisited) - Siddharth Slathia ft. Kimberly McDonough
After listening to this, I dare you to go and check out the original song.लॉलीपॉप लागेलू - Pawan Singh - Lollypop Lagelu
2.Samjhawan (Reprise) | Hindi Version with LYRICS | Siddharth Slathia
3. Janam Janam | Dilwale | Siddharth Slathia (Cover)
Consolation: Gulabi Aankhein (Punjabi Cover Version) - Siddharth Slathia
I couldn't have asked for more honest answers to my questions. Thanks Siddharth. Read on!
What are these exactly? Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni or Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti
If you don't know what I am talking about, I feel sorry for you and you have a lot to catch on!
To give a little context here, swara are the alphabets for music. Appropriate collection of alphabets that defines something is called a noun - which in music is called a Raaga. Every raaga has its own set of swara and meaning. When a noun combines with other types of words like prepositions, articles, adjectives we get a sentence. In musical terms, when you combine a raaga with rhythm (taal), tempo (laya) and lyrics (bol) we get a song. This is the basis of Indian classical music. Indian classical music has two variants:
1. Hindustani Music
2. Carnatic Music
What is the difference you may ask? Here is the Wikipedia link. Check it out yourself. Indian Classical Music
Before you criticize me for not writing anything entertaining, let me quickly give you a fun fact.
A lot of Bollywood songs are based on the raagas from the Indian Classical Music.
The most recent movie to have Indian classical music was Bajirao Mastani. Well I am no master of knowing which raagas have been used and I tried looking up on the internet but got varying results. It is better not to speak half-truth. One of the songs in the movie Albela Sajan is the same song as the one used in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.
- Albela Sajan from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam is in raaga ahir bhairav which brings in the sad tone in the song
- Albela Sajan from Bajirao Mastani is in raaga deshkar (lot of people argue it is in raaga bhupali) which brings in the jovial mood of the song
By now you must be wondering where is the YouTube Discovery part and where is the post about Siddharth Slathia? Hang in there tight, now is the time. I felt it was necessary to introduce you to Indian Classical music before writing about Siddharth and his work.
Who is Siddharth Slathia and why am I writing about him?
Siddharth Slathia is a YouTube artist from Jammu, India. You must have definitely seen at least one of his videos but can't remember him by name. In that case, I blame you for not recognizing the creator of great content on YouTube. I stumbled upon his channel more than a year back when I was looking for Indian classical music on YouTube. Siddharth had uploaded tutorials on Indian classical music for beginners.
This was one of the most unique music content I had ever seen on YouTube - India. This was not it, he had more tutorials for average Joes like us. We've always tried singing a Bollywood song but failed miserably and the common excuse being "I don't know to sing" instead of learning. Siddharth had probably just found an easy way to stop the misuse of this excuse. He periodically uploads tutorials on 'How to Sing Bollywood Songs"
Well, just creating these tutorials speaks volumes of the talent he has. To teach someone, you must first have your basics clear. He definitely has lot of things clear in terms of music. His musical content is not restricted to just tutorials. He uploads covers for latest Bollywood songs, his rendition of some of the popular songs and his original composition.
I can keep writing about his videos since each one of them is different than the other but it is better if you check out his YouTube channel here and read my conversation with him.
Before you guys read the interview, here are my TOP 3 PICKS from his channel:
1. Lollipop Lagelu (Bhojpuri Song Revisited) - Siddharth Slathia ft. Kimberly McDonough
2.Samjhawan (Reprise) | Hindi Version with LYRICS | Siddharth Slathia
3. Janam Janam | Dilwale | Siddharth Slathia (Cover)
Consolation: Gulabi Aankhein (Punjabi Cover Version) - Siddharth Slathia
I couldn't have asked for more honest answers to my questions. Thanks Siddharth. Read on!
ME: In one of your tutorial videos you mentioned that your YouTube viewers who watched your Bollywood song tutorial/lesson requested to start Indian classical music tutorial. So what were your expectations when you made your first Bollywood song tutorial for Tum Hi Ho?
SIDDHARTH: Well, to be honest, I wasn't expecting anything. I saw that there were countless Bollywood covers on YouTube but not even a single tutorial on how to sing some of the famous Bollywood songs for the beginners. Also, a lot of my fans were requesting for my personal contact number on my Facebook page to get guidance on singing. Sharing personal contact with a lot of people is not always possible. So I thought of uploading tutorials of popular Bollywood songs to share whatever I know about Bollywood music with my fans.
ME: This one ties back to the first question. Over a period of time the frequency of your Indian classical tutorials have reduced? Is it because they are difficult to make and don't commercially appeal your audience? Or has the demand for such tutorials declined?
SIDDHARTH: Well, I have covered the basics of Indian Classical that I think is helpful for Bollywood singing along with about 4 caagas so far. Indian Classical is something that you never stop practising, you just keep on adding more to it. So I feel the content that I have shared is enough for people to continue for a long time. But yes, I agree that the frequency of my tutorials have reduced and that is purely because I have been working on a lot of projects and it has been very difficult to find time to make these lately. However, I am uploading tutorials for Raag Miyan Ki Todi and Raag Miyan Malhar very soon.
ME: What are the pros and cons of live audience and YouTube audience? From purely artistic point of view, which one do you prefer?
SIDDHARTH: Let's talk about the YouTube audience first. See, you can upload studio work as well as clips from your live performances on YouTube. Generally, the songs recorded in studios get a better response on YouTube, as compared to the clips from the live performances as the quality of sound is never as clear in the live performance videos. On YouTube, people don't just listen to your singing, they look at the quality of the video, they even comment on your acting and facial expressions (even though it is clear that you are a singer and not an actor!). On YouTube, the audience is much larger. Sometimes, they can make your song viral while sometimes, your videos can attract the trolls. When it comes to live audience, you know for sure that all those people are there purely for the love of music and the response from them is spontaneous. When the crowd greets your song with whistles and clapping, the feeling is completely different. I cannot really choose between the two as both of them are very important to me. Put it this way - if it wasn't for my YouTube audience, I wouldn't be getting invitations for live performances!
ME: In every cover you make sure to include a bit of your originality either in terms of musical arrangements, lyrics or style of singing. How many days of effort goes into making a single cover?
SIDDHARTH: It completely depends on the song. Sometimes it takes me about 7-8 hours to do the music arrangement, record my vocals, mix the track and shoot the video while sometimes it can take 4-5 days. As far as the variations in the songs are concerned, most of them are spontaneous, I think this is where my Indian Classical background adds to my benefit.
ME: With the kind of virality your covers have, are you satisfied with the rate of the growth of your subscribers? Would you prefer consistent loyal viewer base or on-the-fly viral success?
SIDDHARTH: First of all, I am grateful to everyone out there who has subscribed to my channel and helped me reach at the stage where I am today. But no, I am not satisfied with the rate of the growth of my subscribers as I have been on YouTube for the longest time and I feel I deserve more audience.
ME: Do you react to negative/hate comments? reply them, ignore them or spam them?
SIDDHARTH: Constructive criticism is always appreciated and I always take such comments positively to help myself improve further. Hate comments are not entertained, people who post such comments are blocked.
That is all I have for this post in the series. I hope you liked it. If you did then feel free to share it. Let me know your favourite cover by Siddharth Slathia or if you have any suggestions/feedback - in the comments below. Until then, Ciao...!
His Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SiddharthSlathia
You can subscribe to his YouTube channel here:
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Nice post,Thanks for sharing.
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