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Raaga
A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, and as a result has no direct translation to concepts in classical European music. Each ''rāga'' is an array of melodic structures with musical motifs, considered in the Indian tradition to have the ability to "colour the mind" and affect the emotions of the audience. Each ''rāga'' provides the musician with a musical framework within which to improvise. Improvisation by the musician involves creating sequences of notes allowed by the ''rāga'' in keeping with rules specific to the ''rāga''. ''Rāga''s range from small ''rāga''s like Bahar and Shahana that are not much more than songs to big ''rāga''s like Malkauns, Darbari and Yaman, which have great scope for improvisation and for which performances can last over an hour. ''Rāga''s may ...
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Darbari
Darbari Kanada, or simply Raga Darbari, (pronounced darbāri kānada), is a raga in the Kanada family, which is thought to have originated in Carnatic music and brought into Hindustani classical music by Miyan Tansen, the legendary 16th-century composer in emperor Akbar's court. This tradition is reflected in the name itself; ''Darbar'' is the Persian derived word in Hindi meaning "court." As the most familiar raga in the Kanada family, it may sometimes also be called Shuddha Kanada or ''pure Kanada''. It belongs to the Asavari thaat. This raag is called raaga Kaanada in Yakshagana Karnataka state dance It is also sometimes written as Durbari and Durbarikanada.''Raganidhi'' by P. Subba Rao, Pub. 1964, The Music Academy of Madras In Hindustani classical music Darbari is a grave raga, played deep into the night, considered to be one of the more difficult to master, and with the potential for profound emotional impact. Darbari is a very serious raga and hence, slow and elab ...
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Malkauns
Malkauns, known also as rag Malkosh, is a raga in Indian classical music. It is one of the oldest ragas of Indian classical music. The equivalent raga in Carnatic music is called Hindolam, not to be confused with the Hindustani Hindol. According to Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj, Malkauns is a raga that is "sung during small hours of the morning, just after midnight." He further adds that the raga has a soothing and intoxicating effect. Etymology The name ''Malkaush'' is derived from the combination of ''Mal'' and ''Kaushik'', which means he who wears serpents like garlands – the god Shiva. However, the ''Malav-Kaushik'' mentioned in classical texts does not appear to be the same as the ''Malkauns'' performed today. The raga is believed to have been created by goddess Parvati to calm lord Shiva, when he was outraged and refused to calm down after Tandav in rage of Sati's sacrifice. In ''Jainism'', it is also stated that the Raga Malkauns is used by the ''Tirthank ...
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Shahana
Sahana (pronounced sahānā) is a popular ragam (musical scale) in Carnatic music. It is a janya rāgam (derived scale) associated with the 28th Melakarta rāgam Harikambhoji. The Hindustani music ragam ''Sahana'' is an upper-tetrachord-dominant Kanada-anga raga, from the Kafi thaat, also allied with Bageshree and Bhimpalasi. The shuddha Dhaivat is an important rest note (nyaas swara). Structure and Lakshana It is a ''Ubhaya Vakra sampoorna ragam''. ''Vakra'' means crooked. ''Ubhaya Vakra'' means that the notes in both ascent and descent follow a zig zag pattern. The notes in ascending and descending scale do not follow a strict progression. Hence the note phrases contain such ''vakra'' phrases, lending a unique beauty to this rāgam. Though it is a ''sampoorna rāgam'' (contains all 7 notes), the ''vakra'' scale means it is not considered a ''melakarta'', as melakarta rāgams must have strictly ascending and descending scales. It is also classified as a ''rakti raga'' (raga ...
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Melakarta
Mēḷakartā is a collection of fundamental musical scales ( ragas) in Carnatic music (South Indian classical music). ''Mēḷakartā'' ragas are parent ragas (hence known as ''janaka'' ragas) from which other ragas may be generated. A ''melakarta'' raga is sometimes referred as ''mela'', ''karta'' or ''sampurna'' as well, though the latter term is inaccurate, as a ''sampurna'' raga need not be a ''melakarta'' (take the raga ''Bhairavi,'' for example). In Hindustani music the ''thaat'' is equivalent of ''Melakartā''. There are 10 ''thaats'' in Hindustani music, though the commonly accepted ''melakarta'' scheme has 72 ragas. Rules for ''Mēḷakarta'' ragas Ragas must contain the following characteristics to be considered ''Melakarta''. *They are ''sampurna ragas'' – they contain all seven ''swaras'' (notes) of the octave in both ascending and descending scale''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications''A practical course in Carnatic musi ...
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Panchama
Pancham is the fifth svara from the seven svaras of Hindustani music and Carnatic music. Pancham is the long form of the syllable प. For simplicity in pronouncing while singing the syllable, Pancham is pronounced as Pa (notation - P). It is also called as पंचम in the Devanagri script. Details The following is the information about Panchama and its importance in Indian classical music : * Pancham is the fifth svara in an octave or Saptak. * Pancham is the immediate next svara of Madhyam (Ma). * The svara of Pancham is never or , it is always in any given raga just like the svara Shadja. * It is said that Shadja is the basic svara from which all the other 6 svaras are produced. When we break the word Shadja then we get, Shad And Ja. It means that Shad is 6 and ja is 'giving birth' in Marathi. So basically the translation is : षड् - 6, ज -जन्म. Therefore it collectively means giving birth to the other six notes of the music. So the svara Pa is formed f ...
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Svara
Svara or swara (Devanagari: स्वर, generally pronounced as ''swar'') is a Sanskrit word that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave or ''saptaka''. More comprehensively, it is the ancient Indian concept about the complete dimension of musical pitch. Most of the time a ''svara'' is identified as both musical note and tone, but a tone is a precise substitute for sur, related to tunefulness. Traditionally, Indians have just seven ''svara''s/notes with short names, e.g. saa, re/ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni which Indian musicians collectively designate as ''saptak'' or ''saptaka''. It is one of the reasons why ''svara'' is considered a symbolic expression for the number seven. Origins and history Etymology The word ''swara'' or ''svara'' (Sanskrit: स्वर) is derived from the root ''svr'' which means "to sound". To be precise, the ''svara'' is defined in the Sanskrit ''nirukt ...
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Shadja
Shadja is the first svara out of the seven svaras of Hindustani music and Carnatic music. Shadja is the long form of the syllable सा. For simplicity in pronouncing while singing the syllable, Shadja is pronounced as Sa (notation - S). It is also called as षड्ज in the Devanagri script. Details The following is the information about Shadja and its importance in Indian classical music : * Shadja is the first svara in an octave or Saptak. * Shadja is also the first and the main svara in a raga. (Not always but mostly it is. ) * The svara that is played on the Tanpura for the singer is Shadja. It is played to know that one is singing on the right pitch and octave. * Shadja is the base or basic svara. It is a very fundamental svara in Classical music. * It is fascinating to know that after one raga is sung or played, and when one more raga is to be performed, then the svara Sa is played so that there is no confusion in mixing of svaras in both the ragas that are performed. ...
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Saptak
Saptak means "gamut" or "the series of eight notes". It denotes the set of swaras i.e. Ṣaḍja (Sa), Ṛiṣabha (Re), Gāndhāra (Ga), Madhyama (Ma), Panchama (Pa), Dhaivat (Dha), Niṣāda (Ni), Sadja (Sa) which comprise a musical scale in Indian classical music. In Sanskrit, saptak literally means "containing seven" and is derived from the Sanskrit word ''Sapta'' which means "seven". The Saptak comprises the Sapta Svaras, i.e. the seven svaras or the seven notes of classical music. The basic saptak is called the Madhya Saptak (Devanagari: मध्य सप्तक). For notes with lower frequencies, the artist may use the Mandra Saptak (Devanagari: मंद्र सप्तक)', which is an octave lower than the Madhya Saptak. For notes with higher frequencies, the Taar Saptak (Devanagari: तार सप्तक), which is an octave above the Madhya Saptak, is used. The usual scale of Indian music spans from Sa in the Madhya Saptak to Sa in the higher, Taar Saptak ...
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Madhyama (music)
Madhyam is the fourth svara from the seven svaras of Hindustani music and Carnatic music. This article is written from the Hindustani perspective. Madhyam is the long form of the syllable म. For simplicity in pronouncing while singing the syllable, Madhyam is pronounced as Ma (notation - M). It is also called as मध्यम in the Devanagri script. Details The following is the information about Madhyam and its importance in Indian classical music : * Madhyam is the fourth svara in an octave or Saptak. * Ma is the immediate next svara of Gandhar (Ga). * The svara of Madhyam is and . In fact Madhyam is the only svara in the Saptak. * It is said that Shadja is the basic svara from which all the other six svaras are produced. Breaking the word Shadja yields Shad And Ja. It means that Shad is six and ja is 'giving birth' in Marathi. So basically the translation is : षड् - 6, ज -जन्म . Therefore, it collectively means giving birth to the other six notes of th ...
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Vadi (music)
Vadi, in both Hindustani classical music and Carnatic music, is the tonic (root) swara (musical note) of a given raga (musical scale). "Vadi is the most sonant or most important note of a Raga."Nad Understanding Raga Music, Bagchee, Sandeep It does not refer to the most played note but it rather refers to a note of special significance. It is usually the swara which is repeated the greatest number of times, and often it is the swara on which the singer can pause for a significant time. Vadi swara in a raga is like a king in a kingdom. The specialty of any raaga depends on vadi swara and because of this, the vadi swara is also called the ''Jeeva swara'' or the ''Ansha swara''. A good artist uses vadi swara in different ways like singing vaadi swara again and again, starting a raga with vadi swara, to end a raaga with vadi swara, singing vadi swara many times in important places with different swaras or sometime singing vadi swara for a longer time in one breath. ''Vadi'' swara is al ...
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Samavadi
The Samavadi is the second-most prominent (though not necessarily second-most played) note of a raga in Indian classical music. The primary note of the raga is the '' vadi''; the vadi and samvadi are in most cases a fourth or fifth apart. A ''samavadi'' is a note of special significance. It is like the ministry to the monarch. A performer will typically try to emphasize the ''samvadi'' along with the vadi when improvising on a certain raga. The ''vadi'' and ''samvadi'' can be crucial in defining the raga at hand, and in some cases two ragas with the same arohana and avrohana An Avarohana, Avarohanam or Avaroha, in the context of Indian classical music, is the descending scale of any raga.''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, ''Glossary'' pages, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications The notes descend in pitc ... can be distinguished only by the prominence of their sonant and consonant notes. References {{reflist Hindustani music terminology Carnatic music termino ...
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