Bridging connections between Jazz Standards and Ragas with Chandana Bala Kalyan

This session explores the creative intersection of harmony and raga through a practical, hands-on approach to improvisation and composition. Participants will work through the process of translating harmonic structures into melodic possibilities rooted in Indian classical music.

In this session, we will:

• Transcribe a standard using swaras
• Identify and analyse the chord cycle
• Derive and create a raga framework from the harmonic material
• Explore improvisation using ragas over the chord progression

Designed for musicians, improvisers, and composers, the session offers a unique lens into bridging Western harmonic thinking with Indian melodic systems.

About Chandana:

A rare breed of singer-songwriter in the world of Indian classical music! Of unusual musical dexterity, she sings in polyrhythm cycles: using both the hands to keep time of different patterns.

Trained and steeped in the Carnatic classical tradition, Chandana brings a unique sensibility to the music she creates and performs. She is a contemporary singer who experiments with genres both as a composer and a singer. Her incredible ability to traverse scales and move between genres as diverse as Carnatic, Hindustani, Sufi and Jazz, exhibits her versatility. She has taken the Carnatic idiom and given it newer expressions in her experiments with different musical styles.

She has an extensive repertoire of devotional music including poetry of different Bhakti saints across the subcontinent such as Andal, Annamacharya, Haridasa sahitya, Vachana Sahitya, Varkari poets, Meerabai, Kabir, Surdas, Jayadeva, Sadashiva Brahmendra and many many more excelling in multi genres such as Devaranama, Abhanga, Bhajan, Viruttam, Shlokam and so on.

All our session tickets are non-refundable. Please double-check your availability before booking. Thanks for supporting our work and helping us build meaningful, committed learning spaces! 💛🎶