Gayakapriya (pronounced gāyakapriya) 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 ...
m in
Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 13th ''
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 ...
'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music.
It is called Geyahejjujji in
Muthuswami Dikshitar school of Carnatic music.
[''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications][''Raganidhi'' by P. Subba Rao, Pub. 1964, The Music Academy of Madras]
Structure and Lakshana
It is the 1st rāgam in the 3rd ''chakra Agni''. The mnemonic name is ''Agni-Pa''. The mnemonic phrase is ''sa ra gu ma pa dha na''.
Its structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows (see ''
swaras in Carnatic music'' for details on below notation and terms):
*
:
*
:
(the notes used in this scale are ''shuddha rishabham, antara gandharam, shuddha madhyamam, shuddha dhaivatham, shuddha nishadham'')
As it is a ''melakarta'' rāgam, by definition it is a
''sampoorna'' rāgam (has all seven notes in ascending and descending scale). It is the ''shuddha madhyamam'' equivalent of ''
Dhavalambari'', which is the 49th ''melakarta''.
Asampurna Melakarta
Geyahejjujji is the 13th ''Melakarta'' in the original list compiled by
Venkatamakhin. The notes used in the scale are the same, but the ascending scale is different and ''vakra'' (zig-zag usage of notes in phrases of the scale). It is an ''shadava-sampurna'' raga (6 notes in ascending scale, while full 7 are used in descending scale).
[Shree Muthuswami Dikshitar Keerthanaigal, by A Sundaram Iyer, Music Book Publishers, Mylapore, Chennai]
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''Janya'' rāgams
''Gayakapriya'' has a few minor ''
janya'' rāgams (derived scales) associated with it, of which ''Kalagada'' is heard occasionally in concerts. See
List of ''janya'' rāgams to see all the rāgams associated with ''Gayakapriya''.
Compositions
Here are a few common compositions sung in concerts, set to ''Gayakapriya''.
*''Nada nilai'' by
Koteeswara Iyer
*''Sri Mahavishnum'' by Dr.
M. Balamuralikrishna
Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna (6 July 1930 – 22 November 2016) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer, and character actor. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in ...
Muthuswami Dikshitar's composition ''Ramachandra bhakthum'' is set to ''Geyahejjujji'' rāgam.
Related rāgams
This section covers the theoretical and scientific aspect of this rāgam.
''Gayakapriya's'' notes when shifted using ''
Graha bhedam
''Graha Bhedam'' in Carnatic music is the process (or result of the process) of shifting the Tonic note (''śruti'') to another note in the rāgam and arriving at a different rāgam. Its equivalent in Hindustani classical music is called a ''mur ...
'', yields a minor ''melakarta'' rāgam ''
Dhatuvardani''. ''Graha bhedam'' is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the ''shadjam'' to the next note in the rāgam. For further details and an illustration refer ''
Graha bhedam on Gayakapriya''.
Notes
References
{{Janya, state=collapsed
Melakarta ragas