KNOWLED GE FLOW IN INDIAN CARNATIC MUSIC

Abstract
Indian Carnatic Music is one of the most traditional music forms that is still popular and wide-spread all over the world. The origin of Carnatic Music dates back to 14th century which makes this music more than 1500 years old. This music is very rich in Knowledge especially in tacit knowledge just as in every other art form. So, the knowledge flow mechanism has been used efficiently in this field, thus making it successful through generations. This paper explains the various systems and knowledge transfer mechanisms that have been and are still being practiced to spread this music form. In the course of research, we could also notice that some KM tools like the Nonaka-Seci model, the T-shaped approach etc. are also being used by the Musical organisations to transfer knowledge, which are also presented in this paper.

Table of Contents

Carnatic Music- From a Knowledge Perspective Explicit and Implicit Knowledge in Carnatic Music Explicit and Implicit Knowledge Transfer A Comparison between Traditional and Modern Methods Improving Knowledge Transfer in Carnatic Music Knowledge Academies T-Shaped Approach in Music Organisations Nonaka-Seci Model in Music Conclusion References Management in Carnatic Music

Carnatic Music - From a Knowledge Perspective

The southern part of India, rich in cultures and traditions, is the cradle of Carnatic music. The major reason for the effective knowledge transfer in Carnatic music was a traditional system called the GURUKULA VASA. The Gurukula vasa is a unique system of learning in India where the disciples reside with their Gurus (teacher) to learn the art. Great composers like Purandaradasar, Thyagarajar, Dikshithar, and Shyama Shastri taught their disciples their compositions in the way it has to be sung through this system. These disciples, in turn, taught their disciples and this cycle continued generation after generation and thus the knowledge was transferred. In the olden days, the Kings in India made it compulsory for all the families to learn Carnatic music. As Carnatic music is divine, the kings also made it compulsory for all the temples to play Carnatic music and conduct concerts, musical discourses (Harikatha) to make people aware about our rich culture and thus creating an interest for learning this art. This practice went on for years, thus keeping this art alive. The musicologist and researchers also have played a vital role in the transfer of Carnatic music knowledge. Only 30% of the great compositions were taught by the Gurus to their students, the other 70% of their compositions remained hidden. Some great musicologists conducted

various researches and brought to limelight the other great works of the composers and transformed it in to various books and brought back the hidden works to the limelight. Their books were read by many musicians, people all over India and thus their knowledge was transferred. With the advent of technological development by 1930-1940, the Carnatic music performed by great Indian musicians was recorded in gramophones and many people learnt the way these old compositions have to be sung through these records. These gramophones reached every nook and corner of the country and it gave people a great opportunity to learn the Carnatic music. In the modern era, with more technological advancements, cds, live video recordings etc. the knowledge of Carnatic music is effectively transferred to the present and forthcoming generations. Cinema has also played an important role in the flow of Carnatic music. Indian cinemas have always given prominence for music unlike the foreign movies. In the olden days, the actors had to have a good Carnatic music knowledge to make a role in a film. Many Carnatic songs were used in cinemas and these songs created an everlasting impact in the minds of the people. These songs were so powerful that they were cherished for generations. The religions played a vital role in knowledge transfer of Carnatic music. Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and Buddhist etc. used the Carnatic music and modified it in their own style to reach people quickly and attract them towards their religion. The songs that praised their deities were composed in Carnatic music and these religious songs are still performed, thus keeping the music alive. Nowadays, Social Media has become the chief knowledge transfer mode in Carnatic Music. Every famous Carnatic Musician has a website and also a facebook page through which he shares knowledge with people. Live telecasts and musical Videos in Youtube have reached the Music

connoisseurs far and wide. Many websites like sahithyam.com, Raga.com etc. also contribute to the Knowledge flow. Apart from all these modes of transfer, the Carnatic music has a classic charm and a soulful divinity of its own which attracted many people to learn this art in some way or the other, thus knowledge was transferred.

Explicit and Implicit Knowledge in Carnatic Music

Carnatic music is popularly known as an Ocean in terms of the depth in Knowledge. It is most basic form from which the other forms of music were derived. It is distinctly unique from other forms of music as innovation and improvisation become the key aspects of this music, thus making the tacit knowledge flow a key element for the success of this music. Raga and Thala are the two main aspects of Carnatic music. A Raga is basically a pattern of notes having characteristic intervals and embellishments used as a basis for improvisation. In all, there are 72 major Ragas in Carnatic music. A Thala is a pattern of beats or rhythms. A thala is a regular, repeating rhythmic phrase rendered on percussive instruments. It is represented or counted through gestures of the fingers.

A raga is purely connected with the imaginations of the musician which is made within the boundaries of the particular scale with its grammar. Many great legends found out that singing a raga can be done through exploring the pattern of notes by applying creativity and imaginations. Such improvisations and variations can be brought only by pursuing tacit knowledge and not by just explicit knowledge. In graphical means it was found that a raga is not at all definite it can be improvised in many ways. Once, a Carnatic Music legend and a famous musicologist, T.R. Subramanian, happened to meet an American researcher, who wanted to graph the flow of a raga. he recorded the raga for five times and to his wonder he found out that the graphical structure differed from each other so from this it was proven that Carnatic music is not a music of books but it is music of creativity. The Explicit Knowledge in Carnatic music is to know the position of each raga and the pattern of notes associated with it or to know the calculations involved in any thala, whereas, how to sing and improvise any Raga or how to play a Thala on any instrument is the Tacit knowledge involved. A Musicologist is a person, who is rich in explicit music knowledge and a Musician is the one who performs on stage, thus, the tacit knowledge expert. In other words, a musicologist knows only the grammar and

characteristics of the raga but he is not exposed to the ways of singing it. A professional musician knows to how to sing it with improvisations and variations on a prestigious stage in front of elite audience. For instance, in raga Kalyani, a musicologist knows only the appropriate position of the raga but a musician knows how to improvise the raga structure even without knowing its explicit flow. This kind of tacit knowledge is gained through systems like Gurukula Vasa.

Explicit and Implicit Knowledge Transfer

Explicit Knowledge transfer:

Many music researchers and musicologists have taken pain and strain in bringing out the hidden glories of Carnatic music to lime light. Great musicologists like Venkatamakhi, Svaramelakalanidhi (1550) etc. have made extensive research on the Ragas and transformed it in to books and charts through which the explicit knowledge has been widely spread. The basic lessons and the varnams were printed into various books for the beginners enabling them see and sing. Many books on the theories of Carnatic music describing the structure of raga & thala were published by many great scholars. Government of India announced a graduate and a masters degree in Carnatic Music to encourage the music academicians. The internet also plays an important role in the transfer of explicit knowledge. Many websites have been developed which provides abundant details about the Carnatic music. Musicologists have started publishing various music journals which talks about the description of a raga and rhythmic intricacies involved. Below is the Melakartha chart. It was designed initially by

Svaramelakalanidhi (1550) and later modified by Venkatamagi. This chart is a boon to all the Carnatic Music lovers and learners as it helps to locate any Raga and learn about it.

THE MELAKARTHA CHART

Tacit knowledge transfer:

Tacit knowledge transfer is the most important aspect to learn the Carnatic music. Major areas like improvisations, variations, and stage performance strategies rhythmic calculations can be learnt only through personal interactions with a teacher. As mentioned earlier, in Gurukula vasa system, the student is in a close touch with the guru, thus gaining practical knowledge. The musical concerts by great musicians are another source of tacit knowledge. By attending musical concerts, a person can learn how a composition has to be handled. The concert performance strategy like which should be sung first, understanding the mind-set of the audiences etc. can be learnt only through watching a concert in live. Lecture demonstrations by eminent artist all over the world have been a great medium of tacit knowledge transfer. In the modern era, with the advancement of science and technology, the transfer of tacit knowledge has been made easy. The Youtube has been a boon for knowledge transfer, where a student gets to hear the live concerts of legends. Skype classes are also becoming popular which has reduced the distance barrier, facilitating the student to pursue his passion from any part of the world.

A Comparison between Traditional and Modern Methods of Knowledge transfer

In the olden days, to learn music, gaining tacit knowledge was a difficult process. The only way a student can gain knowledge was through learning under the guru. To become a student of a particular guru, one has to undergo many difficult steps just like leaning martial arts in china. In the olden days, meeting a popular musician itself was a hard deal. A student has to strive hard to become his disciple and under his tutelage, the student had to undergo certain hardships like helping the guru by washing his clothes etc. The students had to compulsorily accompany the guru for his concerts, iron his clothes and make all the necessary arrangements and listen to his concerts with full attention. After several years of such practice, the guru, when satisfied, selects two or three of his students to accompany him on the stage. The guru will suddenly force a section of a song or an improvisation to his students where the student has to be ready to tackle it. Through this practice, the stage fear is eliminated from the minds of the students and improves the knowledge of on the spot improvisation. During this process, the student will meet up with many mistakes and embarrassments, thus learning to overcome it. Thus, during the Gurukula process a student will gain knowledge about performance techniques, on spot rhythmic calculation and overall he learns how a concert should be performed. Thus, though Gurukula was a difficult process, a student can be confident of becoming a good musician. In the earlier days with no scientific advancement, the radio was the only source to listen to Carnatic music, the radio broadcasted the recordings of great Carnatic musicians and the students have to wait patiently to listen to their major broadcastings. Today, due to the development in media & communications, every student is just a click away from good music

knowledge. After the implementation of social media in to music, it has become much easier to gain knowledge about the Carnatic music. The knowledge of Carnatic music is transferred worldwide. The popular Indian Carnatic musicians give frequent performances throughout the world and spread the art. Many countries nowadays have started organizing Carnatic music concerts by inviting popular Indian musicians to perform. Thus, the knowledge is transferred worldwide. The concept of fusion has become the current trend in the field of music. Fusion is a mix of the two forms of music resulting in a new flavour. For e.g. Carnatic with Hindustani etc. has attracted people. The music legends in todays world meet with western music legends to showcase the beauty of their respective music. Such events have been telecasted globally. In the modern era, the Carnatic music has reached such heights that in the Olympics, commonwealth games etc. have come forward to make Carnatic music concert a part their opening ceremony. Thus, the knowledge is reached every nook and corner of the world.

Improving Knowledge Transfer in Carnatic Music

Skype classes: Nowadays, there are many ways to learn Carnatic music. Even though the advanced internet, media etc. have played a dominant role in transferring the knowledge of Carnatic music, it has grown steadily but slowly due to its tough grammar. As seen earlier Gurukula vasa system was the best way to gain tacit knowledge about Carnatic music but it has become difficult to follow the system because of the changing lifestyles. So, the system has to be modified in to a modernized form by starting a music school in which all forms of Carnatic music would be taught under one roof. For those enthusiastic learners who are located far away, Skype classes through internet can be arranged.

Another way to improve the transfer of Carnatic knowledge is that the popular music legends should come forward and conduct various free workshops and music campaigns with lecture demonstrations explaining the embellishments of ragas so that the students will gain knowledge. Carnatic music can be made a subject in all the schools and universities. The schools must make it compulsory for the students to listen and see the audio and video recordings of yesteryear legends and living legends by making suitable interactive arrangements for it. The music directors should encourage the Carnatic music in movies. They must increase the Carnatic based songs in the movies. So that the knowledge can be transferred more powerfully and it will effectively reach the people. The television channels must encourage the telecast of Carnatic musical concerts at least one hour everyday which will transfer the knowledge throughout the world. Like a 24\7 sports channel and news channel a 24\7 Carnatic music channel should be started which will telecast the great performances by music legends, lecture demonstration and live performances to popularize the Carnatic music for the upcoming generation. The science should be made more advanced that it reaches the rural areas and some advancement in the internet can be made and students in rural areas can also up come with their talents. The Indian musicologists should come forward to publish great books about Carnatic music in all foreign languages like Spanish, Chinese, and French by which knowledge of Carnatic music could be spread worldwide. Those books should also be made available in internet, so that the knowledge can be transferred more easily. The musicians must form a group or a page or give frequent articles and updates about Carnatic music on social websites like facebook which have now become the most powerful means of knowledge transfer among the people.

Knowledge Management in Carnatic Music Academies

To understand how KM is implemented in a musical Organisation, we have done a case study on a private institution RAM, to research and understand the Knowledge transfer methods that are practised in Music. Ravindran Academy of Music (RAM) is a private music institution that is located in the southern part of India. More than 15 subjects are being taught in this organisation like vocal, veena, Violin, Flute etc... The speciality faculty of this school is the Mridangam faculty as the founder; Prapancham Ravindran is himself a famous Mridangam Artist. In the discussion about the Knowledge transfer strategies implemented by this institution, we could infer that they have followed some unique methods of Knowledge transfer. In this institution, explicit knowledge is transferred through books. For the vocal students, three books have been used which are classified into the beginner, Intermediate and advanced levels. For the Mridangam faculty, Bunch of Rhythms, a book written by the founder himself is being used. Professional A grade musicians have been appointed to teach music to students thereby making the tacit knowledge transfer effective. One interesting feature about the institution is that the institution has tie up with the University of Madras and hence conducts some certificate courses on Carnatic Music. They conduct exams and use the simple knowledge mining strategies to improve the performance of its students. These exams test on both the explicit and tacit knowledge of the students. This institution also organizes online classes through Skype. Every year a music festival is conducted during the month of December and younger talents are encouraged to perform on stage in front of the elite audience. Some of the public and private schools in India have tie up with educational schools and organization by sending teachers to teach the Carnatic vocal and instrumental music. Some great music schools in India have their own music auditoriums and they are running their own music academies. Every month, a special concert is arranged during the month ends for the students to gain tacit knowledge through listening. We

noticed that the organisation periodically observes the results of students and improves the process. Even some music schools have their own digital recording studios which help in recording audio and video cds of great stall wards of Carnatic music and they insist the students to buy those cds so that they can gain the knowledge by listening to them. And thus knowledge is transferred. Thus, the institution makes use of KM strategies in the following: Decision Making Process improvement and improving
The overall student outcomes

Some KM improvements that can be suggested to such music organisation for further improvement are as follows.

T-Shaped Approach in Music Organisations

T-shaped management is an approach designed by the Harvard Business School. It relies on a new kind of executive, one who breaks out of the traditional corporate hierarchy to share knowledge freely across the organization (the horizontal part of the T) while remaining fiercely committed to individual business unit performance (the vertical part). The successful T-shaped manager must learn to live with, and ultimately thrive within, the tension created by this dual responsibility. Although this tension is most acute for heads of business units, any T-shaped manager with operating unit obligations must wrestle with it. Why not just institute a state-of-the-art knowledge management system? The trouble is that, while those systems are good at transferring explicit knowledge. For example, the template needed to perform a complicated

but routine task. Furthermore, merely moving documents around can never engender the degree of collaboration thats needed to generate new insights. In Carnatic music, the Thalas and Swaras are considered to be the two root aspects. The thala means the rhythm and the swara is the melody. To become a perfect complete Carnatic musician, a student needs to have a thorough knowledge on both these aspects. Even when there is a slight deficit in any one of these aspects, it becomes impossible for a student to become a good Carnatic musician. In a Carnatic music concert, a musician has to handle the rhythm and Swaras at ease. The pieces like ragas, thanams, and Pallavis are compositions of the great trinities a musician has to have exemplary knowledge about ragas and thalas It is also important for the Mridangist (South Indian drummer) or any other instrumentalist to have a good knowledge about both aspects of Carnatic music. To develop this, the music organizations or schools have to enforce the Tshaped approach to action. In this approach, the main teacher of the vocal faculty has to teach vocal music to the students learning Mridangam, once every week, thereby transferring the Swara based knowledge to students leaning Rhythms, thus making them a complete musician. Similarly, the main teacher of the Percussion faculty has to teach the Vocal students about rhythms, once in a week, thereby imparting good thala knowledge to the vocal students. Thus, the main faculty of every subject performs the role similar to a manager of a business unit in a T-approach. They have train vocal students (Verticals)and also help Mridangam students get an idea about vocal music (Horizontals). The organisation has to observe if this dual role is performed effectively by the head teacher of every faculty. Thus, the T-shaped approach has to be put to practice in all the music schools in India to make the knowledge transfer complete.

Nonaka-Seci Model in Music

Tacit to Tacit (Socialization) - In the Indian Carnatic music the tacit knowledge plays a vital role. It is through the tacit knowledge the Carnatic music can be best learnt. The tacit to tacit knowledge is transferred through the concerts, lec-dems etc. when a student attends a music concert he learns a lot of things which cannot be learnt through books. Apart from music, it is so important for a student to learn other aspects such as mannerisms on stage, stage presence, and apt song at apt time etc. which can be learnt only through attending a live concert. In music organization a student learns directly from guru. A student has to grasp what the teacher sings and reciprocate that and thus learning the art. Thus in a music organization the tacit to tacit knowledge is transferred. Tacit to Explicit (Externalization) - A musicologist need not be a good musician, but a musician has to be a good musicologist. Hence, this says the importance of explicit knowledge. Though the tacit knowledge is important, the knowledge can reach many people only in the form of explicit knowledge. When a musician transfers his tacit knowledge into

books, or publishes it in Carnatic websites, this will be read by large number of people throughout the world. The books such as Ganamruthabodhini (first grade books for beginners) and Varnamalika (Second grade books) by Panchapakesa iyer are a perfect example of the tacit to explicit knowledge transfer. Similarly, the book named BUNCH OF RHYTHM by popular Mridangist (South Indian drummer) Prapancham Ravindran is a perfect example of the tacit knowledge transformed into explicit knowledge. In music organizations, when a teacher recites a korvai (Sequence of rhythms) the students take notes of them. Thus, when a tacit knowledge is transferred into explicit knowledge, a lot of students across the globe get benefited and this leads to the wide spread of knowledge. Explicit to Explicit (Combination) - Explicit to explicit knowledge is done by (organizing, integrating knowledge) combining different types of explicit knowledge, for example building prototypes. The creative use of computerized communication networks and large-scale databases can support this mode of knowledge conversion. Explicit knowledge is collected from inside or outside the organization and then combined, edited or processed to form new knowledge. The new explicit knowledge is then disseminated among the members of the organization. The explicit to explicit knowledge is transferred when a book is rewritten or abridged by the teacher in an organization. When a teacher finds a book useful to his students or any other teacher of other department, he may re-write the books into simple terms for the students to understand. Or even the translation of books comes under the explicit to explicit knowledge transfer. When this is done , the knowledge of Carnatic music is transferred throughout the world and everyone understands the greatness of Carnatic music. Through the transfer of books into pdf files and publishing it in websites the knowledge is spread globally. The famous books for the beginners and other students have been made into pdf formats, which can be downloaded and read by students in any part of the globe, which is again a transfer of explicit to

explicit knowledge transfer. Thus the explicit knowledge spreads faster and covers large number of people than the tacit knowledge. These great books are considered to be a great asset to the Carnatic music. Explicit to Tacit (Internalization) - Explicit to tacit by Internalization (knowledge receiving and application by an individual), enclosed by learning by doing; on the other hand, explicit knowledge becomes part of an individual's knowledge and will be assets for an organization. Internalization is also a process of continuous individual and collective reflection and the ability to see connections and recognize patterns and the capacity to make sense between fields, ideas, and concepts. When the lessons in the books are taught by the teacher directly to the students it becomes the explicit to tacit knowledge transfer. The teacher has to teach the students how to practically apply the lessons on the books into their instruments or to sing it. A complete musician should have a good explicit as well as tacit knowledge. The books are usually results of years of research done by great musicologists, hence a musician should read these books, and transform it into the tacit knowledge by using it in his concerts and by teaching it to his students. When this is knowledge is transferred in concert, it again becomes a tacit to tacit knowledge transfer and this cycle continues.

Conclusion
In the course of this research, we were able to infer that the knowledge flow in Indian Carnatic music has been extremely effective and a good mix of traditional and modern methods. The musicologists have played the role of a Chief knowledge officer by gathering and organizing the knowledge in the form of books and chart which have become treasures for the explicit knowledge transfer, whereas, the musicians have contributed to the knowledge flow by transferring their tacit knowledge through the traditional Gurukulas and Skype classes of the modern trend. It is also evident from this research that traditional methods have been more efficient in transferring tacit knowledge but are comparatively much slower in its approach which is not suitable for todays fast moving world. In modern times, thanks to the social media and better knowledge management tools and technologies, the knowledge flow has become much easier and faster. In such a musical art form, the tacit knowledge plays a more vital role. Hence, the musical organizations have to add right amounts of traditional methods to their approach. So, to make the knowledge flow more efficient, faster and easily acquirable in future the musical organizations must combine the traditional and modern methods and implement the next generation knowledge management practices. The musical organizations can also implement tools like the T-shaped approach, in which everyone acquires knowledge about all the important aspects of Carnatic music and the Nonaka-Seci model, where explicit and tacit knowledge are richly transferred and shared. Thus, Implementing intelligent and modern methods of knowledge transfer into the traditional Carnatic music will result in a wide spread of popularity of this divine musical form.

References
Morten T. Hansen and Bolko von Oetinger. 2001. Introducing T-Shaped Managers: Knowledge Managements Next Generation. Harvard Business school press.

Schubert Foo, Ravi Sharma & Alton Chua. 2007. Knowledge Management Tools and Techniques.

The Melakartha System - http://www.carnaticindia.com/carnatic_music.html