Dinah has done some serious study of Raga both in India and the School of Oriental and African Studies. Transferring Raga onto the ‘cello, she has had lessons with Indian musicians Rahamit Khan, Baluji Shrivastav, Mehboob Nadim, and has performed with tabla players Sanju Sahai and Hanif Khan.
She believes that Indian classical music has powerful communicative properties, often overshadowed by the popularity of Western influenced bhangra and bollywood.
She has devised an educational workshop called ‘Raga Unravelled’. This takes the basics of Indian music and uses them as tools to encourage pupils to make up melodic and rhythmic phrases.
“…. they enjoyed hearing their names as rhythmic patterns and became more active as the composition started to take shape. They listened with interest to all the live and recorded examples and worked enthusiastically both as individuals and in a team. The behaviour throughout the two sessions was very good due to their full engagement and willingness to participate. The workshop could easily be adapted to suit different age groups and abilities” – Andrew Harrod Director of Music at Oak Lodge School.
Raga Unravelled
A Workshop in Indian Classical Music
Demonstrating from the ‘cello, this is a fun inspirational workshop, taking a magnifying glass to the beautiful melodies and exciting rhythms of the Indian Raga, and to the magic of India itself…