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Appendix S1: Understanding Ragas
In studying melody in Indian music, the most
important feature is the raga. Indian music can never be understood without
mentioning the word raga. Ragas are melodic forms which has an
aesthetic value. Thats that
we have studied are merely scales with no aesthetic value. They have no flow or
any special characteristics. Ragas, on the other hand have special flow, signs,
characteristics, mannerisms, and emotions. They even have seasons and times of
day through which they are sung. As aesthetic as it sounds, there are some
rules fixed in order to be considered a raga.
1) A raga
must have a minimum of five notes.
More combinations can be made with at least five
notes. Only two notable exceptions have four note ragas.
2) A raga
may not have two forms of the consecutive note together.
One may not have the different forms of the same
note together. For instance, S r g G g is not allowed as ga has its
pure and flat forms being consecutive. They may be sandwiched however: S r g m
G r g. Of course, there are noteable exceptions to
this rule. Consecutive notes are known as chromatic
forms.
3) A raga
must have Sa
Every musical scale MUST have a tonic. Sa may be used the least, but it must exist in order for the
other notes to function. "Sa" is short for "Sadja"
which means "the origin of six." Without the origin, the other six
cannot function.
4) A raga
must have a Re or Ga, or both.
It would be helpful to think of a raga as a cake.
There must be layers in there. Either Re or Ga can
exist in either form, but a raga cannot be without either of these notes
together.
5) A raga
must have a Ma or Pa, or both.
Pa is the perfect fifth. Perfect fifths imply
stability. Either pa can exist, ma (pure or augmented)
can exist or both can exist.
6) A raga
must have a Dha or Ni, or both.
This is the final layer to the cake. One cannot
climb from the middle of a mountain to the top without the final steps.
7) It must
be able to produce a sound pleasing to the ear.
This is more asthetic than
theoretical. This is the rule what differentiates a scale from a raga.
As strict as it may sound, it is amazing to see how
many ragas have been formed. Within each raga, there are some properties which
are shared.
1) Aroha: The raga
in scale form in an upward direction
2) Avaroha: The
raga in scale form in a downward direction
3) Svarupa (also known as Pakkad): The general flow and catchphrase of the raga
4) Jati: The caste
of the raga. This is determined by the number of notes in the aroha and the avaroha.
Five notes is called audava
Six notes is called sadava
Seven notes is called sampurna
For example, if a raga has five notes in the upward
direction and seven notes in the downward direction, it's called an "audava-sampurna"
5) Vadi: The most
important note in the raga. This can be considered as the sonant.
6) Samvadi: The
second most important note in the raga. This can be considered as the consonant.
It is almost always a fourth or fifth note of the vadi.
7) Bhava: Harmony
between the vadi and samvadi
shown by how they are related. It will not be used too much in the context of
the harmonium.
8) Prahar: The time of day the raga is sung at. Prahars are derived from the twenty-four hours in a day
equally divided into eight sections with three hours a piece. The first prahar is from
Let’s look at a raga and understand its properties.
Raga Bhairava:
Aroha: S G m P m P d N d S’
Avaroha: S’ N S’ d N d P m P d P G
m r S
Svarupa: P G m G r S
Jati: Sadava – Sampurna
Vadi: r
Samvadi: d
Prahar: 2nd Prahar (
Bhava: S to P
Let’s examine this further: This raga follows all of
the rules shown above. The first rule was that it must have at least five
notes. Both the aroha and avaroha
had five notes. They both had Sa and they had at least
a Re or Ga, Ma or Pa, and Dha
or Ni. It does not have any chromatic
forms. Since there are six notes up and seven notes down, it is a sadava-sampurna jati raga. The vadi is r and the samvadi is d.
Since d is a perfect fifth from r, the ratio from r to d is that of S to P.
For more information on ragas, as well as a
comprehensive database of ragas, please visit the KKSongs Ragamala.
UPDATED: June 18, 2009