Gana Bajana
Description
The creative force behind “Gana Bajana” is the vision of the mother and daughter to create a different medium for the American born India kids. While teaching Indian classical music and interacting with the young aspiring students in the San Francisco Bay area, Nikita and Natasha realized that there was a need to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western music for children. After much research, we discovered that no one has created a children’s book displaying the Hindustani and Western music styles side by side in a simple way. This was the genesis of Gana Bajana. In this beginner-level book, we have composed, transcribed, and compiled Hindi children’s songs, meant for vocal, piano, or keyboard performance. Using our simple to understand method, the students will be able to easily pick up the basics and rapidly transition to more complex songs.
The first of its kind, Gana Bajana is perfect for second and third generation Indians or for those who are interested in Indian Hindi music. We sincerely hope that you enjoy our creation!
Music is a universal language and a basic medium of expression. The main objective of this book is to provide a tool for young people (ages 4-8 years) to learn simple Hindi songs as well as play them on popular western instruments such as a piano or an electronic keyboard. By bridging the two, both South Asian sounds and methodology are made accessible via the familiar instruments of voice and western scales.
This is a new, easy, step-by-step method, teaching ten simple Hindi songs annotated on western sheet music. Each song is also accompanied with its Indian counterpart of notations (Sà, Ré, Ga, Ma). The purpose behind this is to allow teachers and users to compare and contrast the two styles of music theory by understanding their similarities and differences and to convey them to the student.
The material is introduced at a proper pace for young children and beginner learners of instruments, suitable to their small hands and also considerate of their normal attention spans. The compositions are easy but tuneful, and the selections, along with attractive illustrations were chosen to generate interest and appeal to the young minds. Additionally, we have provided the translation in English. For some songs, the Indian classical ràga on which the composition is based is noted, thus introducing everyone to the theory of Indian classical music.
