Western Music Notation Notation Edition: 6/28/15
Bliss of Kirtan 150+ Kirtan Chants Inspired by the Tradition of the Great Masters of India by Natesh Acknowledgements I am most grateful to the teachers of the Vedic tradition that I have had the great blessing to learn from and be in the presence of for over three decades: decades: starting with Baba Muktananda, Muktananda, then Swamis Chidvilasananda and Nityananda (the latter for a much shorter time), and finally my beloved Ammachi (Mata Amritanandamayi). Amritanandamayi). Without their benevolent grace and the the opportunity to do sadhana under their auspices, I would truly be lost. The chants in this collection are inspired by my connection connection to these masters - these embodiments of Divine Love - and the grace of awakened kundalini. I thank thank my wife, Monnie, who has steadfastly stood by my side through many tribulations and has actively participated in our weekly chanting in Sedona with the Kirtan Wallahs for over 10 years. years. I would also like to to thank all all the other Kirtan Wallahs, past and present, who have helped me lead kirtan in Sedona and elsewhere and everyone who has attended our Bliss of Kirtan evenings evenings over the years. Finally, I pranam to the Absolute, in its Formlessness and all its Divine Forms, without which there would be no Existence.
Please visit www.nateshkirtan. visit www.nateshkirtan.com com.. Please note the edition edition date at the upper right right corner of this title page. The latest version can can always be found at the following link: http://www.nateshkirtan.com/files/Bliss_of_Kirtan_Music_Book_by_Natesh.pdf © 2004-2015, Natesh Natesh (Craig) Ramsell. Ramsell. All Rights Reserved. Reserved. Please note that Natesh has elected not to copyright the chants, and permission is hereby granted to reproduce and record them them at will without remuneration. Attribution in the event of recording recording any of the chants herein is appreciated.
Please note that Natesh has elected not to copyright the chants, and permission is hereby granted to reproduce and record them them at will without remuneration. Attribution in the event of recording recording any of the chants herein is appreciated.
Contents Pages: ‘I’d Rather Be Chanting’
2
About the Chants in this Book
3
Introduction to the Sheet Music
4
Guitar Chord Diagrams for the Chants
5
The Music
6-159
Index to the Music by Category
7-11
Ganesha Chants
12-30
Devi Chants
31-66
Chants to Krishna and Rama (and Their Beloveds)
67-117
Shiva Chants
118-150
Other Chants
151-159
1
‘I’d Rather Be Chanting’ Kirtan - a form of ecstatic devotional chanting - is a powerful and transformational spiritual practice that is a central component of bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion. Chanting the Divine Name is considered the easiest path to moksha, or liberation, in this age of Kali Yuga. Kirtan opens the heart, purifies the entire being and the surrounding atmosphere, and stills the mind for meditation. The Great Beings have known about the power of chanting for millennia, and present-day masters still stress the importance of this transformational practice to their devotees. My teacher since the early 1990s, Ammachi (Mata Amritanandamayi) has said: "Devotional singing is a spiritual discipline aimed at concentrating the mind on one's Beloved Deity. Through that one-pointedness, one can merge in the Divine Being and experience the Bliss of one's True Self." My first teacher in this tradition, Baba Muktananda, said: "Chanting opens the heart and makes love flow within us. It releases such intoxicating inner bliss that simply through the nectar it generates, we can enter the abode o f the Self." Putting it a slightly more vernacular way, chanting feels really, really good and it's good for you, too! I’ve been chanting in this tradition for about 35 years and I love to chant the Divine Name! From my first experience of chanting in this tradition in 1979, I have loved to chant and to listen to chants. Even when my schedule creates obstacles to being regular with meditation, I have surrounded myself with opportunities to listen to recorded chants and to chant along if they are simple enough.
And while I composed my first chant almost that long ago, all but a few of these chants were written more recently, between early 2004 and the present. I also formed the Kirtan Wallahs in Sedona in June, 2004, in order to share my love of chanting with the community and have been leading call-and-response kirtan in Sedona almost every Sunday night since then. Our weekly Bliss of Kirtan evenings in Sedona are a big highlight of every week for myself and many others. If you haven’t done so already, may you soo n discover the bliss of kirtan! If you don't have the opportunity to chant on a regular basis in your area, I hope you'll consider creating one. This book can help get you started. At this time 102 of the 150+ chants in the book have recordings you can hear on my natesh.bandcamp.com and nateshkirtan.com sites, and eventually all of them will.
Happy chanting!
2
About the Chants in this Book The chants in this book range from simple to more complex, from yearning to celebratory. They are directed to the many Divine Names and not to any particular teacher in the Vedic tradition, so devotees of many different paths can enjoy chanting them together. There are chants for Devi (the Goddess in her many forms, such as Kali and Durga), and for Shiva, Ganesh, Krishna, Ram and more. Some of the chants are well known mantras or shloks that don’t fit neatly into one of those categories. All are presented in standard Western music notation with suggested chord accompaniment. Please note I have not attempted to adhere to the specific melodic compositional requirements of the Indian raga system, but rather have allowed the free flow of whatever musical inspiration Source had in mind for me as I was in the process of composing a chant. There is a mix of major and minor keys and of different meters, although most chants are written in what is known as Common, or 4/4, time in Western nomenclature. I really love to use the guitar to accompany chants because it's relatively easy and can simultaneously add both a rhythmic and harmonic element. I like to keep the chords simple, so that it is less taxing to play for a long time and the chord changes are easier when the chant gets fast, and many times that is accomplished through the use of the guitar capo. The pitch range is meant to be comfortable for most people, reaching from a low G to a d' (about an octave and a half above). Actually, only a handful of chants go below A or above c'. I utilize a number of different keys to meet the triple goals of melodic interest, keeping in the vocal range and having simple guitar chords to accompany the chants (using a capo as needed).
Introduction to the Sheet Music The purpose of this section is to give some tips on using the sheet music in this book. The music for each chant is shown in traditional Western notation, and the words and suggested chords are also shown. When simpler guitar chords can be played using a guitar capo, those adjusted chords are also listed as well as the guitar fret number at which to place the capo (which is the 3rd fret in the vast majority of cases). If there are no guitar chords specifically listed with the capo at a particular fret, then the chords are the same for guitar, piano or whatever. There is also a Guitar Chord Diagrams page for those less familiar with guitar chords. In most cases the guitar chords with capo are in a separate row above the actual chords to the chant and are shown in italics. Sometimes to save space the guitar chords are listed in line with the main chords, separated by a slash and still italicized, with an indication in the upper left corner of which fret the capo is placed on. (For instance, with a capo listed as being at the third fret and a C minor chord in the chant you would see "Cm / Am" when the chords are listed in the same row above the music.)
3
There are other uses of standard music notation including repeat marks, alternate endings and so forth which may be best learned if you are not familiar with them by simply listening to the chant, but I have annotated a sample sheet music below for a number of these elements. Typically there is also an indication of how many times a particular musical section is repeated to the right of the end of each section (unless there is an alternate ending for that section, in which case the number of repetitions are given in the alternate endings for the section). The chants typically have a call and response followed by another call and response for each section (a total of 2 calls and 2 responses) which is noted as "4x" to repeat the music a total of 4 times. For convenience, I also show section numbers and brackets on longer sections to show that all those measures represent one section of music. Finally, below the music on the left is an indication of what note I recommend be used for any drone instrument. Usually it is the same as the first actual chord of the chant but not always. Again, the annotated music below references these elements. One element that is not depicted is "D.C. (or cont.)" (and sometimes "D.S." which is similar), which means to return to the beginning or optionally continue to the next section that is done only occasionally rather than every pass through the chant. A few chants have "port." next to a line between notes, meaning "portamento" which is a gliding of pitch between those notes. There are also a few chants where there are alternative sections, labeled “Alt” under the section number. These are mostly changes in melodies (and maybe chords) that I do on occasion as an alternative to the standard music for that section number, but may be other changes in which case there is normally a note to that effect.
4
5
THE MUSIC
6
Index to the Music by Category This Index lists the specific page numbers for the sheet music for each chant for each of the 5 categories. It also presently cross-references 102 of the 150+ chants to specific albums and track numbers. This information refers to the albums of recordings that can be found at either www.nateshkirtan.com or www.natesh.bandcamp.com, if available. If the album indicates ’Bliss’, then that track only appears on my Bliss of Kirtan studio album at this time. A “+” symbol next to a certain chant’s album listing means that the chant also appears on the Bliss of Kirtan album in addition to the listed Live Recordings album. The track numbers are hyperlinked to the listed track on my Bandcamp site for easy reference. (And the “+” symbols are linked to the relevant Bliss of Kirtan track on Bandcamp for that chant.) The next column is an indication of degree of difficulty, which is certainly somewhat subjective, but can be somewhat useful in considering what chants are easier than others. I’ve taken into consideration number of parts, rhythmic variations, occasional parts, complexity of words and so forth in reaching these classifications. The scale is, roughly: 1 = Simple, 2 = Pretty Easy, 3 = Moderately Difficult, 4 = More Difficult, 5 = Most Difficult. If the more complex words don’t phase you, such as those in Tvameva Mata or Purnamadah Purnamidam, for instance, you are likely to rate the degree of difficulty differently. The next column indicates the fundamental note for any drone (i.e., ‘Sa’ in the Indian sargam system). The second to last column indicates the key in a Western music notation sense based on the key signature of the music. (Note that the drone note most often matches the key, but not always and thus the need for separate columns.) Finally, the rightmost column specifies the time signature, again as that is typically expressed in Western music. “Mix” in this column means the time signature changes.
CHANT CATEGORY OR NAME
PAGE
Website Album
Album Track
Degree of Difficulty
8
Drone
Key
TS
4
G
G
4/4
3
D
Dm
4/4
4
C
F
4/4
3
C
Cm
4/4
1
C
F
4/4
4
G
Gm
3/4
GANESHA
12
Gananatha Gananatha
13
Ganapati Ganapati Jay Jay Ganesha
14
Ganapati Ganapati Sharanam Ganesha
15
Ganapati Ganesha Sharanam
16
Ganapati Ganeshvara
17
Ganesha Ganesha Jay Jay Ganesha
18
Ganesha Jay
19
Ganesh 2
2
2
G
Gm
3/4
Ganesha Namo Namah
20
Ganesh 1
5
4
A
Em
4/4
Ganesha Sharanam
21
2
D
Am
4/4
Ganesha Sharanam Jay Jay Shri
22
3
G
Gm
4/4
Ganesha Sharanam Sharanam Ganesha
23
4
C
F
4/4
Jay Ganesha Shri Ganesha
24
4
C
Bb
4/4
Jay Jay Ganesha Namo Namah
25
Ganesh 1
3
4
Bb
Bb
4/4
Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha
26
Ganesh 2
1
2
Am
4/4
Ganesh 1
Ganesh 1
Ganesh 2
Ganesh 1
1
3
9
A
PAGE
Website Album
Sharanam Ganesha Jay Ganesha Om
27
Ganesh 1
7
Shri Ganapati Ganapati Om
28
Ganesh 1
Shri Ganesha Sharanam
29
Vakratunda Mahakaya
30
DEVI
31
Amba Amba Ma
CHANT CATEGORY OR NAME
Album Track
Degree of Difficulty
Drone
Key
TS
4
C
Cm
4/4
2
5
E
Em
3/4
Ganesh 1
4
3
C
Cm
4/4
Ganesh 1
6
4
G
Gm
4/4
32
Devi 1
5
4
E
Em
4/4
Ambe Ambe Mata Jagadambe
32
Devi 2
1
1
F
F
4/4
Devi Devi
33
3
A
Am
6/8
Devi Devi Jay Shri Devi
34
4
A
Am
4/4
Devi Ma
35
Devi 1
7
4
G
Gm
6/8
Devi Mahadevi Jay
36
Devi 2
3
4
C
Cm
4/4
Devi Mahalakshmi
37
5
C
Cm
7/4
Durga He Durga
38
3
C
Gm
4/4
Durga Jaya Mata Om
39
5
C
Cm
5/4
Durga Mahalakshmi Sarasvati Ma
40
Devi 3
2
2
C
F
4/4
He Kali He Ma
41
Devi 2
8
3
C
F
4/4
He Ma Durga
42
Devi 2 +
9
4
A
Am
4/4
He Mata Kali
43
Devi 1
1
4
E
Am
4/4
Jagadambe Ma Jay Jay Ma
44
3
C
Gm
4/4
Jagadishvari
45
4
G
Gm
4/4
Jay Jay Jagadambe Jay Jay Ma
46
Devi 1
8
2
G
C
4/4
Jay Jay Ma Jagadambe Ma
47
Devi 2
7
4
E
Em
4/4
Jay Jay Ma Kali Ma
48
2
C
Cm
4/4
Jay Ma Jay Ma Jay Jay Ma
49
3
C
Bb
4/4
Jay Mata
50
5
D
Am
Mix
Jaya Jagadamba Mahadevi Ma
51
4
C
Cm
6/8
Jaya Jaya Mahalakshmi
52
Devi 1
3
3
A
Am
4/4
Kali Kali Kali
53
Devi 1
9
4
Bb
4/4
Kali Kali Ma
54
Devi 3
3
1
A
G
4/4
Kali Ma
55
Devi 1
6
2
G
C
4/4
Mahadevi Ma Jay Jay Ma
56
4
E
Am
4/4
Mahalakshmi Namostute
57
Devi 3
5
1
F
Bb
3/4
Mata Devi Jay Jay Mata
58
Devi 3
4
4
Bb
Bb
4/4
Mata Om Mata Jaya
59
3
C
F
4/4
Om Kali Om
60
Devi 2
4
2
E
A
4/4
Om Namo Kali Durga
61
Devi 1
2
2
Bb
Eb
4/4
Om Parashaktye Namaha
62
Devi 3
1
2
C
Cm
4/4
Devi 2
6
Bb
CHANT CATEGORY OR NAME
PAGE
Website Album
Album Track
Degree of Difficulty
Drone
Key
TS
Cm
3/4
G
4/4
Om Shri Mahalakshmye Namaha
63
Devi 2
2
4
C
Parvati Shankari
64
Devi 1
4
4
A
Shambhavi Shankari
65
Devi 2
5
5
C
Cm
3/4
Shri Mata
66
4
C
Cm
4/4
KRISHNA & RAMA (and Their Beloveds)
67
Bhagavan
68
Krishna 2
4
3
G
C
4/4
Bolo Hare Krishna Hare
69
Krishna 2
6
4
E
Em
4/4
Bolo Ram
70
Krishna 5 +
6
4
G
F
4/4
Govinda Gopala Krishna Hare
71
Krishna 4
5
3
G
Govinda Govinda Govinda Jay Jay
72
Krishna 2
7
2
C
F
4/4
Govinda Jaya Jaya
72
Krishna 1
6
2
D
Dm
4/4
Hare Hare Rama
73
Krishna 4
7
1
G
F
4/4
Hare Krishna Hare Ram
74
2
D
Dm
3/4
Hare Krishna Mantra - Enchanting
75
3
C
F
3/4
Hare Krishna Mantra - Exuberant
76
4
G
Gm
4/4
Hare Krishna Mantra - Grand
77
4
G
F
4/4
Hare Krishna Mantra - Joyous
78
2
G
F
4/4
Hare Krishna Mantra - Majestic
79
Krishna 3
7
2
C
F
4/4
Hare Krishna Mantra - Yearning
80
Krishna 1
7
3
A
Am
4/4
Hari Bol Shri Krishna
81
Krishna 4
2
2
E
Em
4/4
He Bhagavan He Mere Bhagavan
82
3
D
G
6/8
Jay Jay Sita Jay Jay Ram
83
Krishna 3
5
2
A
Am
3/4
Jay Vitthale Jay Jay Vitthale
84
Krishna 5
4
1
A
Am
4/4
Jaya Jaya Radha
84
Krishna 4
1
2
C
F
4/4
Jaya Jaya Shri Bhagavan
85
4
G
F
4/4
Jaya Narayana Jaya Om
86
2
Eb
Eb
4/4
Krishna Bhagavan
87
1
E
Em
4/4
Krishna Gopal
88
1
G
Am
4/4
Krishna Govinda Gopala
88
3
D
G
4/4
Krishna Govinda Gopala Hare
89
2
D
Am
4/4
Krishna Govinda Gopala Hari Hari
90
4
G
Gm
4/4
Krishna Govinda Hare Murare
91
3
D
C
4/4
Krishna Hari Bol
92
Krishna 1
2
1
G
G
4/4
Krishna Krishna
93
Krishna 4
8
4
F
F
4/4
Krishna Krishna Gopala Krishna
94
Krishna 1
1
3
G
F
4/4
Krishna Mukunda Hari
95
Krishna 2
5
3
A
G
4/4
Mukunda Murari
96
3
C
F
4/4
Krishna 5 +
Krishna 4
Krishna 3
Krishna 2
5
3
6
8
Am
4/4
PAGE
Website Album
Narayana Hari Om Bhagavan
97
Krishna 4
6
2
Om Jaya Jaya Hare Om Bhagavan
97
Krishna 5
3
2
Om Namo Bhagavate / He Bhagavan
98
Krishna 3
4
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
99
Panduranga Hari
99
CHANT CATEGORY OR NAME
Krishna 3
Album Track
Degree of Difficulty
8
Drone
Key
TS
Bb
Bb
4/4
A
Am
4/4
4
D
Dm
4/4
1
D
Am
4/4
2
D
G
4/4
1
Bb
Bb
4/4
Panduranga Jay Jay
100
Panduranga Panduranga
100
Krishna 2
1
2
Bb
Eb
4/4
Radha Krishna
101
Krishna 5
2
2
C
F
4/4
Radha Krishna Govinda
102
Krishna 3
3
2
G
G
4/4
Radha Mukunda
103
Krishna 2
3
2
E
Em
4/4
Radharamana Hari Bol
104
5
G
Gm
4/4
Radhe Krishna
106
3
C
F
4/4
Radhe Krishna Radhe Krishna
107
1
C
F
4/4
Radhe Krishna Radhe Shyam
107
1
C
Cm
4/4
Radhe Radhe Krishna
108
2
Bb
F
4/4
Ram Ram Hanuman
108
3
C
C
4/4
Rama Hanuman Sita
109
5
E
Em
Mix
Rama Rama Jay Jay Rama
109
1
E
Em
3/4
Rama Rama Jaya Sita Ram
110
Krishna 1
3
3
F
F
4/4
Shri Krishna Govinda Gopala Hare
111
Krishna 3
2
2
D
G
4/4
Shri Narayana
112
Krishna 1
4
2
F
F
4/4
Shri Ram Jay Ram
113
Krishna 4
4
1
C
C
4/4
Shri Rama Jay Rama Jay Jay Ram
114
Krishna 2
2
3
C
F
3/4
Sita Ram
115
Krishna 3
1
2
G
G
4/4
Sita Rama Hanuman
116
3
G
G
4/4
Sita Rama Jay Jay Sita Ram
117
3
Bb
Bb
4/4
SHIVA
118
Jaya Nataraja
119
2
G
G
4/4
Jaya Shiva Jaya Om
120
1
G
Cm
4/4
Jaya Shiva Om Namah Shivaya
121
3
G
Gm
4/4
Mahadeva Mahadeva
122
Shiva 1
1
3
G
Gm
4/4
Mahadeva Sadashiva
123
Shiva 1
8
2
A
Am
3/4
Maheshvara Ishvara Shankara
124
Shiva 2
7
3
G
F
3/4
Maheshvara Mahadeva
125
Shiva 3
6
3
C
Cm
4/4
Nataraja Mahadev
126
Shiva 2
8
3
E
Em
4/4
Nataraja Mahadeva
127
Shiva 1
7
3
E
Em
4/4
Nataraja Nataraja
128
4
G
G
4/4
Krishna 1
Krishna 1
Shiva 2
5
8
1
CHANT CATEGORY OR NAME
PAGE
Om Namah Shivaya - Exhilarating
129
Website Album
Album Track
Degree of Difficulty
Drone
Key
TS
2
A
Am
4/4
Om Namah Shivaya - Longing
130
2
A
Am
4/4
Om Namah Shivaya - Rapturous
131
3
C
Bb
3/4
Om Namah Shivaya - Resplendent
132
1
D
Am
4/4
Om Namah Shivaya Gurave
133
3
C
Cm
4/4
Om Namah Shivaya Om - Entrancing
134
Shiva 1
9
3
C
F
4/4
Om Namah Shivaya Om - Glorious
135
Shiva 3
3
2
C
Cm
3/4
Om Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Om
136
Shiva 1
2
2
G
Gm
3/4
Om Shiva Jaya Shiva
137
1
E
C
4/4
Om Shiva Om
138
Shiva 2
5
4
F
Bb
4/4
Omkara Maheshvara
139
Shiva 3
1
2
C
Cm
4/4
Shankara Shambho
139
Shiva 3
5
1
C
Cm
3/4
Shankara Shambho Hara Shankara
140
Shiva 1
4
3
D
G
4/4
Shiva Hara Shambho
140
Shiva 2
3
1
G
Am
4/4
Shiva Hara Shiva Om
141
4
E
Em
3/4
Shiva Shambho
142
Shiva 3
4
1
E
Em
4/4
Shiva Shambho Maheshvara
143
Shiva 1
3
3
E
Em
4/4
Shiva Shambho Om Shiva Shambho
144
Shiva 1
5
3
C
Cm
4/4
Shiva Shambho Shankara
145
5
C
Cm
5/4
Shiva Shiva Hara Hara
146
3
C
Cm
4/4
Shiva Shiva Hara Shambho
147
Shiva 3
2
2
G
G
4/4
Shiva Shiva Hara Shiva
147
Shiva 2
6
2
G
Am
4/4
Shiva Shiva Mahadeva Shiva
148
Shiva 1
6
2
C
F
4/4
Shiva Shiva Shankara Shiva
148
1
D
G
3/4
Shivaya Namaha Om Namah Shivaya
149
'Bliss'
3
4
E
Em
4/4
Shivaya Shivaya Namaha
150
Shiva 2
4
3
C
Cm
6/8
OTHER
151
Asatoma Sadgamaya
152
Other +
4
5
G
F
4/4
Gayatri Mantra
153
'Bliss'
8
4
C
Cm
3/4
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
154
Other
2
2
Bb
Bb
4/4
Om Guru Om Guru
155
3
F
Eb
4/4
Om Guru Sadguru
156
2
C
Cm
4/4
Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi
157
2
E
Em
4/4
Purnamadah Purnamidam
158
Other
3
4
D
Dm
4/4
Tvameva Mata
159
Other +
5
4
D
G
4/4
Shiva 2
Other
2
1
GANESHA CHANTS
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
DEVI CHANTS
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
CHANTS TO KRISHNA & RAMA (and Their Beloveds)
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
SHIVA CHANTS
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
OTHER CHANTS
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
