Kirtan Leader Blog

How to Buy a Harmonium, Not a Headache

The only thing more amazing than chanting is getting behind a harmonium for your own personal chant practice. Whether you long to chant at home, add Kirtan to yoga classes or share...

IN THE WORDS OF MIKE COHEN

Fire & Destruction

December 30, 2021 was a terrifying day in Boulder, Colorado, where my partner and I live. Ninety percent of Boulder County was in severe or extreme drought, and we...

Brad, Ben and Gaya in the studio

Where are you when I need you, Ganesh?

This tale opens with a handful of obstacles. Nothing would stop you from wanting to professionally record a song, right? My mentor Mike Cohen, founder of...

For years I've wanted to create t-shirts with the words "Thinking Kills Kirtan" emblazoned across the front. The phrase came out of our Level 2 (Learn to Share Kirtan with Others) group intensives we ran multiple times per...

Folks are often confused about the relationship between Kirtan and sacred chant. Here are a few insights...

1. Sacred chant is a broader category than Kirtan. Robert Gass's Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound, is a great look...

CHANTS FOR CHALLENGING TIMES

“Mike Cohen’s voice is a grounding force of granite lined with velvet.”

The past four years, during which Chants for Challenging Times was composed, recorded, and now released, have...

Harmoniums and Headaches

Since they were introduced in 2015, I have been enamored with the Bhava brand of harmoniums created by Old Delhi Music. Last fall I thought it might be wise to try a few others to see if they were...

She was a new student. Eager to learn, she had many questions. Toward the end of the conversation, she nervously asked, “Do I really have to learn Sargam to lead Kirtan?”

My response immediately set...

An Interesting Discovery

During a intensive group training program with advanced students in 2016, some deeply held and unarticulated assumptions of several longtime students came to the surface. I was surprised to discover...