SWAR
Swar are nothing more than the seven notes of the Indian musical scale. Swar is also called "sur". At a fundamental level they are similar to the solfa of Western music. These are shown in the table below. Two of these swar are noteworthy in that they are immutably fixed. These two notes are shadj (Sa) and pancham (Pa) and are referred to as "achala swar". These two swar form the tonal foundation for all the Indian classical music. The other notes have alternate forms and are called "chala swar".
Indian Swar Western Equivalent
Shadj Sa Do
Rishabh Re Re
Gandhara Ga Mi
Madhyam Ma Fa
Pancham Pa So
Dhaivat Dha La
Nishad Ni Ti
Notice that there are two forms of the names of the notes. There is a full version (i.e. shadaj, rishabh, etc.) and an abbreviated version (i.e., Sa, Re, Ga, etc.). The abbreviated name is most commonly used. This is called "sargam".
The swar (notes) are assembled to make the scales. These scales are called "saptak".
The swar have special relationships with each other. Although there are only seven notes they repeat in the upper and lower directions. Therefore, when ascending the scale when one reaches Ni, then the scales starts over with Sa, Re, Ga, etc. This is the upper register. By the same token when one is decsending the scale, it does not stop at Sa but continues down as Ni, Dha, etc.; this is the lower register.
SAPTAK - THE SCALE
The word "saptak" has two meanings. The first is the English word "register". The second meaning translates to the English word "gamut" or "the series of seven notes". We will discuss the second meaning here.
The word "saptak" in Sanskrit means "containing seven" and is derived from the Sanskrit word "sapta" which means "seven". (Incidentally, the English month "September" was original the seventh month in the old Roman calendar). To understand the nature of the saptak we must return to our concept of the swar. Remember that Sa and Pa are immovable. This forms our perfect fifth. Every other note has various forms. However Hindusthani sangeet (North Indian system) and Carnatic sangeet (south Indian system) take different views as to how many, and what these positions shall be.
In Hindusthani sangeet (North Indian system) the movable notes have two forms. Therefore, the notes; rishabh (Re), gandhara (Ga), dhaivat (Dha), and nishad (Ni) may be either natural (shuddha) or flattened (komal). Madhyam (Ma) is unique in that its alternate form is augmented or sharp. This note is called tivra ma. Therefore, we find that we are actually dealing with 12 swar. This extended concept is shown in the table below. These are roughly comparable to the keys on a harmonium, or piano (chromatic scale).
Indian Swara (Hindustani)
Shadj Sa
Komal Rishabh Re
Shuddha Rishabh Re
Komal Gandhara Ga
Shuddha Gandhara Ga
Shuddha Madhyam Ma
Tivra Madhyam M'a
Pancham Pa
Komal Dhaivat Dha
Shuddha Dhaivat Dha
Komal Nishad Ni
Shuddha Nishad Ni
The situation in Carnatic sangeet (the south Indian system) is a bit more complex. In the South the movable notes Re (Ri), Ga, Dha, and Ni may occupy one of three positions. Ma however still only occupies two positions, ether natural or augmented position (sharp). This is shown in the table below.
Indian Swara (Carnatic)
Shadj
1st Rishabh
2nd Rishabh / 1st Gandhara
3nd Rishabh / 2nd Gandhara
3rd Gandhara
1st Madhyam
2nd Madhyam
Pancham
1st Dhaivat
2nd Dhaivat / 1st Nishad
3nd Dhaivat / 2nd Nishad
3rd Nishad
In the previous tables we evoked a model which is somewhat similar to the Western chromatic scale. This is not exactly correct. We must not forget that the Western scale is based upon the equal tempered scale while the Indian scale is based upon pure tones. Therefore the exact level of intonations will vary
MODES AND SCALES IN INDIAN MUSIC
The scale forms the basis of all music. This article will look at the differing concepts of scale in both the North and South Indian systems of music.
It is well known that Indian music is based upon the concept of seven notes (sapta swar). Theses notes are: Shadj, Rishabh, Gandhar, Madhyam, Dhaivat, and Nishad; yet they are commonly abbreviated to Sa, Re (Ri), Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, and Ni. The positions of these notes may vary considerably, therefore there should be a way to describe these scales. This is called "mode" in English, "that" in Hindi and "mela" in the south Indian languages.
The concept of that or mela extends back to Bharat's time, where it was referred to as "jati". There were 18 jatis, 11 of which were said to be mixed, while seven were called "shuddha". The term Shuddha in Sanskrit means "pure". The term shuddha was applied because they were all related by a simple process of modulation known as "murchana".
Murchana is easily understood by the following illustration. We see that if we start with a scale, in this case Bilawal-Dhirashankarabaranam (natural scale), we may produce a number of other scales by simply shifting the tonic. This fundamental relationship is why the ancients called them "Shuddha".
THE PROCESS OF MURCHANA (Modulation)
Bilawal-Dhirashankarabaranam Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa * * * * * *
Kafi-Kharaharapriya * Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa * * * * *
Bhairavi-Hanumantodi * * Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa * * * *
Kalyan-Mechakalyani * * * Sa Re Ga Ma' Pa Dha Ni Sa * * *
Khammaj-Harikamboji * * * * Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa * *
Asavari-Natabhairavi * * * * * Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa *
(nonexistent) * * * * * * Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa
An important conceptual shift occurred somewhere between 1000ad and 1500ad. The process of relating scales by murchana (e.g., shuddha jati) was downgraded and the process of relating scales by an alteration of the internal intervals (e.g., mixed jatis) was adopted. This shift was probably precipitated by two events. First was the fixing of the interval for the 5th. We see from the previous illustration that it was possible to have a "Komal Pa" (i.e., diminished 5th). When it was no longer acceptable to have this komal pancham, the system was forced to change. Another disadvantage of this system was that after modulation, the scale would have to be slightly retuned because the intervals on each position were not exactly the same. For whatever reasons, the process of looking at scales as a function of internal intervals became the new paradigm for Indian musicologists.
The master of this new paradigm was Venkatmukhi Swami who is very important to the South Indian musicians. In 1660 he published his Chaturdandiprakashika in which he outlined his system of 72 mela. This process is demonstrated quite simply in the following illustration. We see in the chart that there are 6 permutations of both the lower and upper tetrachords. When we multiply them together we get 36 different combinations. These 36 are then doubled by the use of tivra ma (augmented 4th) to yield 72 different combinations. This is the origin of the 72 mela.
VENKATAMUKHI SWAMI'S APPROACH TO SCALES
Lower Tetrachord Upper Tetrachord
Sa Re - - Ga Ma Pa Dha - - Ni Sa
Sa - Re - Ga Ma Pa - Dha - Ni Sa
Sa - Re Ga - Ma Pa - Dha Ni - Sa
Sa Re - Ga - Ma Pa Dha - Ni - Sa
Sa Re Ga - - Ma Pa Dha Ni - - Sa
Sa - - Re Ga Ma Pa - - Dha Ni Sa
This process is very effective in providing a theoretical base for south Indian music. It is clear, scientific and unambiguous. However the situation is a bit different in the North.
Hindustani sangeet has been slow to develop a scientific approach to scales. It would seem easy to simply adopt the 72 melkarta system; unfortunately this is not so easy. We see in the previous illustration that the last two permutations of each group of tetrachords contain chromaticisms which are not possible in the Northern system. Therefore, when the disallowed permutations are removed, we get 32 possible scales instead of 72. This 32 that system seems to be the clearest approach to north Indian scales. Unfortunately it is seldom used.
Most musicians follow the system laid down by V.N. Bhatkhande. To his credit we must say that prior to his work, the theoretical system was even worse. It was dominated by archaic concepts of rag, ragini, putra rags etc. This may have been quaint and colourful, but it was worthless as a scientific system. Bhatkhande was brave enough to abandon the raga-ragini approach and introduce a scientific system of that (i.e., mela). Unfortunately his numbers were off. He seems to have been well aware of the 32 possible modes produced by the previous process, however, he took an unfortunate decision in his treatment of unutilized thats. Whereas Venkatmukhi Swami took the position that he had "discovered" new melas, Bhatkhande took the view that these thats were irrelevant and cast them out. This would have been excusable if he had stopped there, but unfortunately he continued to cast out thats, even some in common usage. Of more than a dozen modes in use during his time, Bhatkhande arbitrarily decided that he would use only ten.
The consequence of this arbitrary decision was unfortunate. Today about 20 modes are in common use, but music teachers go through the futile attempt to cast the rags into 10 scales. Such attempts are arbitrary, unscientific and weaken the theoretical background of the average music student. There is a movement in many places to rectify the situation. It does no great violation to the system to increase the number of thats, and this is exactly what many musicologists are doing. But it may be a long time before this is the norm.
This article has shown how important scales are in Indian music. They may be called scale, that, or mela but conceptually they are all the same. They describe the character of the seven notes. Over the last few millenniua, India has seen numerous approaches to scales, but today India has two. There is the north Indian system based upon 10 thats and the South Indian system based upon 72 melas
THAT (thaat) - THE INDIAN MODES
The that (thaat) is the specification as to which of the alternate forms of swar will be chosen. It has been pointed out elsewhere that several of the swar have alternate forms. The permutations of the various forms give rise to numerous scales with vastly differing intervals. Therefore the concept of that is essentially the same as the Western concept of a mode.
THE TEN THATS (Thaats)
Listen to Bilawal
Listen to Khammaj
Listen to Kafi
Listen to Asawari
Listen to Bhairavi
Listen to Bhairav
Listen to Kalyan
Listen to Marwa
Listen to Purvi
Listen to Todi
Table of Thats (from "Elementary North Indian Vocal")
(note - The above notation has been normalised to the tonic of C. No absolute pitch is implied)
There are problems whenever one is talking about the number of thats. Generally only ten are acknowledged; twenty are in common usage; while 32 are possible given present concepts of scale construction. This has created a lot of confusion in north Indian pedagogy. Three common scales which are not part of the ten thats are Ahir Bhairav, Charukesi, or Kiruvani.
JATI - NUMBER OF NOTES IN THE RAG
The word "jati" or "jaati" literally means a "caste" or "collection; as such it has numerous musical and non-musical usages. In the musical sense it can mean a rhythmic pattern, an ancient musical mode, or the number of notes in a modern mode. It is this latter definition that we will deal with here.
The number of notes in the rag is significant, for not every one uses all seven notes. Normally, a rag will consist of either five, six, or a full seven notes. A five-note rag is said to be an audhav jati; a six note rag is said to be shadav jati; and one of seven notes is said to be sampurna jati. Furthermore, rags may be mixed jatis. That is to say that there may be different jatis for the ascending and the descending structures. For instance, a rag which has only five notes in the ascending, but all seven notes in the descending would be called audhav-sampurna
AROHANA AND AVAROHANA
Arohana and avarohana are the descriptions of how the rag moves. The arohana, also called aroh or arohi, is the pattern in which a rag ascends the scale. The avarohana, also called avaroh or avarohi, describes the way that the rag descends the scale. Both the arohana and avarohana may use certain characteristic twists and turns. Such prescribed twists are referred to as vakra. Such twisted movements are a reflection of the pakad. Furthermore, notes may have different levels of significance; notes may be strong or weak
VADI AND SAMVADI
The different notes (swar) of the rag have different levels of significance. The note which is strongly emphasized is referred to as the vadi. Another note which is strong but only slightly less so is the samavadi. A note which is neither emphasized nor de-emphasized is called anuvadi. Notes which are de-emphasized are referred to as being durbal, while notes which are excluded are called vivadi.
The concept of vadi and samavadi are particularly problematic for the music student. Although certain notes clearly show importance, the "official" vadi and samavadi are sometimes quite different. In many cases this reflects the fact that the theory was laid down quite a few years ago while the performance of the rags has continued to evolve. In other cases it reflects Bhatkhande's failed efforts to develop a cohesive theory about the structure of rags and the time of day that they should be performed. For whatever reasons, the concept and application of the Vadi / Samvadi theory has become so muddled and irrelevant that there is a growing move to just ignore it entirely
PAKAD OR SWARUP
The pakad or swarup, is a defining phrase or a characteristic pattern for a rag. This is often a particular way in which a rag moves; for instance the "Pa M'a Ga Ma Ga" is a tell-tale sign for Rag Bihag, or "Ni Re Ga M'a" is a telltale sign for Yaman. Often the pakad is a natural consequence of the notes of arohana / avarohana (ascending and descending structures). However, sometimes the pakad is unique and not implied by the notes of the arohana /avarohana. It is customary to enfold the pakad into the arohana / avarohana to make the ascending and desending structures more descriptive.
Sometimes the pakad involves a particular ornamentation. A good example is the peculiar andolan (slow shake) that is found in Rag Darbari Kannada. This particular andolan slowly oscillates around a komal Ga which is so low that it is almost a shuddha Re.
Not every rag has a clear pakad. For instance some peculiar rags may be defined simply by their modal characteristics. This seems to be a growing trend, especially for new rags which are coming into Hindustani sangeet from other sources.
SAMAY - THE TIMES OF INDIAN RAGS
Tradition ascribes certain rags to particular times of the day, seasons, or holidays; this is called samay. It is said that appropriate performance may bring harmony, while playing at different times may bring disharmony. It is said that the great Tansen was able to create rain by singing a monsoon rag.
There is not a universal agreement as to the correctness of samay. There are some musicians who argue that a rag must be performed at the time of day that it is assigned; conversely, other musicians argue that one may play a rag at any time if one wishes to evoke the mood of that time. For instance, if one simply wished to evoke the mood of a monsoon day, one could perform Megh Malhar; even in the middle of summer. The concept of samay is complicated by the fact that there are a number of rags that have different times ascribed by different musical traditions (gharanas).
This question is further complicated by an absence of any scientific process to determine samay. The great musicologist Bhatkhande attempted to develop a description of samay which could be explained in terms of the internal structure. Unfortunately, his system is so awkward and there are so many rags that do not fit his system that his efforts must be considered a complete failure. If one is disposed to follow the system of samay, one can only accept that it is merely a question of tradition. Attempts to justify the concept by looking at the internal structure of the rag have failed.
The concept is further weakened by the influx of rags from south Indian music. Many years ago Carnatic musicians and musicologists abandoned the concept of samay. It seems that it did not fit into their rational, scientific system. The result is that when Carnatic rags enter the Hindustani system, they come stripped of any conventionally accepted timings
RAG, RAGINI, PUTRA RAG, ETC.
The concept of "families" of rags is an interesting aspect of Indian music. Over the centuries rags have been ascribed to certain demigods. A natural consequence of such anthropomorphism is that there be a familial relationship between them. Therefore, in the past few centuries there arose a complicated system of rags (male rags), raginis (female rags), putra rags (sons of rags), etc. This was the basis for a system of classification before the advent of modern musicology.
Although this may have been a great inspiration to the painters of the old ragmala tradition, (see example above) it proved to be worthless as a means of musical taxonomy. The obvious problem was that there was no objective way to accommodate the new rags that were coming into existence. Today the that is the basis for the classification of rags
SAPTAK - THE REGISTER
Saptak has two meanings. It may mean the gamut of seven notes, or it may mean the octave being performed (register). Here we will discuss the last meaning because the former has been discussed elsewhere.
Unlike Western music, which has an absolute frame of reference, the North Indian system changes from instrument to instrument. The middle register, referred to as madhya saptak, is whatever is most comfortable for that person or instrument; everything else is reckoned from here. Therefore, one register above this is referred to as tar saptak; and the lower register is referred to as mandra saptak. Additionally, two octaves above the middle is called ati-tar saptak; three octaves is called ati-ati-tar saptak, etc. In a similar manner two octaves below is called ati-mandra saptak; three octaves below is called ati-ati-mandra saptak, etc.
The register is indicated in traditional notation by the presence or absence of dots. If there is no dot, then the middle register (madhya saptak) is presumed. The dot over a swar indicates that it is tar saptak. Two dots over the swar indicate that it is ati-tar saptak. Conversely, a dot below indicates that it is mandra saptak. Two dots below indicate that the swar is ati-mandra saptak.
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