Learn With Ram
Begin Your Next Chapter in Carnatic Music
Carnatic music, at its deepest, is not merely a performing art — it is a discipline of the self. It demands patience, attentiveness, and a genuine hunger to grow. If you carry that hunger, Ram Srivatsan is ready to guide you forward.
Ram accepts students at the intermediate and advanced levels — teenagers and adults who have already taken their first steps in Carnatic music and are now ready to go deeper. His teaching is rooted in the conviction that a student at this stage needs more than compositions. They need musical thinking — the ability to understand a raga from the inside, to feel rhythm rather than merely count it, and to develop a performing voice that is truly their own.
What Ram Brings to His Students
Ram's own journey — shaped by nearly two decades of foundational training, immersion in some of Carnatic music's rarest traditions, and the direct mentorship of musicians of the highest calibre — gives him an unusually rich and varied musical vocabulary to draw from as a teacher. He does not teach from a fixed curriculum alone. He listens to each student, understands where they are, and builds a path that is genuinely suited to their voice, their temperament, and their goals.
His particular strengths as a teacher include:
• Building a student's raga understanding — not just note patterns but the living, breathing personality of each raga
• Developing manodharma — the capacity for spontaneous musical expression that is the hallmark of a confident performer
• Refining a student's sense of rhythm and math — so that laya becomes a friend rather than a challenge
• Expanding the depth and range of repertoire — with access to compositions and traditions not commonly available outside direct lineage learning
How Classes Work
Ram offers both individual and group classes, in person in Chennai as well as online for students based elsewhere. Classes are structured around the student's current level and aspirations, with a focus on steady, meaningful progress rather than rushed accumulation of compositions.
There is no fixed examination or grading pathway — Ram believes that the concert stage and the student's own growing confidence are the truest measures of musical progress. That said, students who wish to prepare for examinations or institutional evaluations are welcome to discuss their specific requirements.
Who Should Apply
This is not a course for absolute beginners. Ram's teaching is designed for students who:
• Already have a working knowledge of basic Carnatic grammar — swaras, talas, and a foundational repertoire
• Are serious about deepening their musical understanding, not just adding songs
• Are willing to invest time, regularity, and genuine effort
• Are teenagers or adults — Ram currently accepts students from the teenage years upward
If you are not sure whether your current level is suitable, please do reach out. Ram is happy to have a conversation before any commitment is made.
Take the First Step
The most important thing is simply to begin. If Carnatic music has been calling you to go deeper — this may be the moment to listen.
To get in touch with Ram, please visit the Contact page or write to him directly. He personally responds to every enquiry.
