Guitar Prasanna Defied Convention To Bring Carnatic Music To Six Strings
· Free Press Journal
It may come as a surprise that a musician steeped in the Carnatic tradition began his journey playing pop music, like Boney M’s Rasputin on the guitar. But Prasanna, known globally as Guitar Prasanna—is no conventional classical musician. He has pioneered a unique style that brings Carnatic music to the guitar, blending it with global influences.
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The world-renowned guitarist, who has collaborated with legends such as A.R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraaja, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Victor Wooten, and Trilok Gurtu, was earlier this year in Goa for a concert at the Goa Chitra Museum in Benaulim.
First strings
Prasanna’s journey began in Ranipet in Tamil Nadu. The fascination of watching his neighbour Thyagarajan on the guitar remained with him. Later, in Chennai, at his school in St John’s, he enrolled for guitar classes as extra-curricular.
While his sister trained in Veena and Carnatic vocals, Prasanna absorbed the music around him and translated it instinctively onto the guitar. He credits his mother for persuading her Carnatic guru, vocalist Tiruvarur Balasubramaniam, to take him on as a student—despite initial reluctance.
“My mother was relentless in convincing him that I was playing Carnatic music just by listening, and so I was ready to learn formally,” Prasanna recalls. “Coming from a traditional space, he couldn’t initially accept the idea of Carnatic music on the guitar, but he later opened up to that.”
With no precedent for adapting Carnatic music to the instrument, Prasanna learned by listening, converting vocal lessons into guitar phrases. “Since I was learning from my guru, who taught me by singing, my ears had to do the homework of converting what I heard from vocals to my guitar as precisely as possible. I ended up probably inventing many sliding guitar techniques to accomplish the gamakas—it seemed impossible until I started doing it.”
Prasanna later studied with A. Kanyakumari, the celebrated violinist. “Since she often played with the late Mandolin maestro U. Shrinivas, she was much more tuned into the idea of Carnatic music on mandolin and guitar and what potential these instruments had". Kanyakumari also taught Prasanna by singing, and he transcribed all that to the guitar on his own.
By the age of 13, Prasanna was fully immersed in music and influenced equally by Deep Purple, Michael Jackson, Dire Straits, and Carlos Santana. “I naturally integrated Carnatic ideas into rock music. That defined my direction,” he says.
Already playing semi-professionally, Prasanna pursued a B.Tech in Naval Architecture at IIT Madras, balancing academics with music. “I was doing well in school, and there was no conflict between excelling in both. I chose IIT Madras because I didn’t want my music learning to get affected,” he says, adding that he formed a band and performed original compositions during this time.
Exposure to jazz, blues, and Western classical music later altered his trajectory. He left a software job to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. “At Berklee, I felt initially overwhelmed as one among thousands of guitarists in the school. The challenge was to make myself stand out,” he says. Blending Carnatic with jazz, rock, and fusion became his defining sound.
Musical excellence
Today, Prasanna is known around the world as a virtuoso guitar player and composer. He has scored the music for the Academy Award-winning documentary Smile Pinki, has released 20 albums as a leader, and performs and teaches prolifically all over the world. He has performed with top Jazz/World musicians, including Esperanza Spalding, Joe Lovano, Airto Moreira, Omar Hakim, Larry Coryell, and others.
Despite his global acclaim, Prasanna values his audience connection the most. “My music is more niche than Bollywood, but the bond with listeners is deep,” he says. “In an age of short attention spans, I’m grateful that people still listen to my albums like Be the Change (2004) and Electric Ganesha Land (2006).”
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Apart from performing, Prasanna teaches students across genres, blending the guru–shishya tradition with Western institutional training. He also founded Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music near Chennai and was President of the college for 5 years. When asked what the differences in learning styles between the Indian and Western music were, he says, “The difference is that in the Carnatic system, we play advanced material by ear. In the West, most people who play advanced music are trained also to read music in addition to playing by ear."
Fans in Goa were treated to a delightful performance by the virtuoso in his signature style at the Goa Chitra.
"My fans were wondering what took me so long," he jokes. We certainly hope he returns to Mumbai and Goa to woo us again with his talent.