Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

, chitte swara (Sanskrit: चिट्टे स्वर, Kannada: ಚಿಟ್ಟೆ ಸ್ವರ) are a set of solfa passages (

phrases In syntax and grammar, a phrase is a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adjective phrase "very happy". Phrases can consi ...

swara 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). These are sung after the anupallavi and

charanam Charanam (meaning ''foot'') in Carnatic music (South Indian classical music) is usually the end section of a composition which is sung after the anupallavi. There may be multiple ''charanams'' in a composition which make up different stanzas, bu ...

, in the

krithi ''Kriti'' (Sanskrit: कृति, ''kṛti'') is a format of musical composition typical to Carnatic music. ''Kritis'' form the mental backbone of any typical Carnatic music concert and is the longer format of Carnatic song. "Kriti" also means C ...

s which enriches the beauty of the composition. Chitte in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

means butterfly. The swaras enhance the beauty of the song like butterflies.Royal Carpet: Glossary of Carnatic Terms C
Accessed January 17, 2015. This is usually done by the performers and not by the composers and in

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

is an important ''

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

'' aspect (''

manodharma Manodharma is a form of improvised South Indian classical Carnatic music. It is created on the spot during the performance, while remaining within the confines of musical grammar, as codified in the raga and/or the tala. Every Carnatic concert has ...

'' music).

References

Carnatic music Carnatic music terminology {{carnatic-music-stub