Bilaval or Bilawal () is a

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

and the basis for the eponymous ''

thaat A Thaat () is a "Parent scale" in North Indian or Hindustani music. It is the Hindustani equivalent of the term ''Melakartha raga'' of Carnatic Music. The concept of the ''thaat'' is not exactly equivalent to the western musical scale because t ...

'' (

musical mode In music theory, the term mode or ''modus'' is used in a number of distinct senses, depending on context. Its most common use may be described as a type of musical scale coupled with a set of characteristic melodic and harmonic behaviors. It ...

) in

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

. Raga Bilaval is named after

Veraval Veraval also known as Somnath is a municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is also known for the hub of fishing industries in India. Geography Veraval is located at . It has an average elev ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. Bilaval has been the standard for North Indian music since the early 19th century. Its tonal relationships are comparable to the Western music

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

scale. Bilaval appears in the '' Ragamala'' as a ragini of Bhairav but today it is the head of the Bilaval thaat. The Ragamala names Bilaval as a Putra (son) of Bhairav but no relationship between these two ragas are made today. Bilaval is a morning raga that is intended to be sung with a feeling of deep devotion and repose and is often performed during the hot months. The Bilaval is equivalent to the Carnatic raga

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 ''melak ...

, Sankarabharanam, as well as the Western

Ionian mode Ionian mode is a musical mode or, in modern usage, a diatonic scale also called the major scale. It is the name assigned by Heinrich Glarean in 1547 to his new authentic mode on C (mode 11 in his numbering scheme), which uses the diatonic octav ...

(major scale), and contains the

notes Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * Notes (album), ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) sho ...

S R G M P D N S'. The pitches of Bilaval thaat are all ' (natural). Flat () or sharp () pitches always occur regarding the interval pattern in Bilaval thaat. Bilaval raga is in the

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

tradition of

northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

and is part of the Sikh holy scripture '' Granth'', the

Sri Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the rel ...

. Every raga has a set of strict rules that govern the number of notes that can be used, which notes can be used, and their interplay that must be adhered to for the composition of a tune. Bilaval is the thirty-fourth raga to appear in the series of sixty compositions in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The composition in this raga appears on 64 pages from page numbers 795 to 859. The Indian National Anthem

Jana Gana Mana "" (Sanskrit: जन गण मन) is the national anthem of the Republic of India. It was originally composed as '' Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata'' in Bengali by polymath Rabindranath Tagore. The first stanza of the song ''Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata' ...

is sung in the raga

Gaud Sarang Gaud Sarang is a raga in Hindustani classical music that combines characteristics of Sarang and the now extinct raga named Gaud. Unlike most other members of the Sarang family of ragas, Gaud Sarang is assigned to the Kalyan thaat rather than ...

. It is believed that the National Anthem of India is sung in raga Alhaiya Bilaval but this is not the case. There is a

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 '' ...

that changes the raga of Jana Gana Mana. In the national anthem, the tivra

Madhyam 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 sylla ...

svara is used. Raga Alhaiya Bilaval does not employ the tivra Madhyama svara; raga Alhaiya Bilaval is the raga of all ''Shuddha

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 '' ...

s'' and no other types of svaras. Raga

has the tivra Madhyama svara.

Aroha and avaroha

Arohana Arohana, Arohanam or Aroha, in the context of Indian classical music, is the ascending scale of notes in a raga.''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, ''Glossary'' pages, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications The pitch increases as we ...

/Arohi: Sa, Re, Ga, ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, Sa'

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 ...

/Avarahi: Sa' Ni Dha, Pa, ma Ga, Ma, Re Sa

Vadi and samavadi

Vadi: Dha

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 '' ...

: Ga

Pakad or chalan

#Ga Re, Ga Ma Dha Pa, Ma Ga, Ma Re Sa #Ga Pa Ni Dha Ni Sa #Ga Re Ga Pa, Ni Dha Ni Sa #Sa Ni Dha Pa Ga Ma Re Sa

Samay (time)

Morning: ''First pahar of the day (6-9 AM)''

Film songs in Tamil

Notes

References

* Bor, Joep ''(ed).'' Rao, Suvarnalata; der Meer, Wim van; Harvey, Jane ''(co-authors)'' ''The Raga Guide: A Survey of 74 Hindustani Ragas''. Zenith Media, London: 1999.

External links

SRA on Samay and Ragas
{{Rāgas as per Performance Time Gujarati music Hindustani ragas Ragas in the Guru Granth Sahib