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The ''shruti'' or ''śruti'' is the smallest
interval of
pitch that the
human ear
An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists o ...
can detect and a singer or musical instrument can produce.
[ The concept is found in ancient and medieval Sanskrit texts such as the '']Natya Shastra
The ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary ...
'', the '' Dattilam'', the '' Brihaddeshi'', and the ''Sangita Ratnakara
The ''Sangita-Ratnakara'', सङ्गीतरत्नाकर, (IAST: Saṅgīta ratnākara), literally "Ocean of Music and Dance", is one of the most important musicological texts from India. Composed by Śārṅgadeva (शार्ङ ...
''. ''Chandogya Upanishad
The ''Chandogya Upanishad'' (Sanskrit: , IAST: ''Chāndogyopaniṣad'') is a Sanskrit text embedded in the Chandogya Brahmana of the Sama Veda of Hinduism.Patrick Olivelle (2014), ''The Early Upanishads'', Oxford University Press; , pp. 166-16 ...
'' speaks of the division of the octave in 22 parts.
The ''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 '' ...
'' differs from the ''shruti'': the ''shruti'' is the smallest gradation of pitch available, while a ''swara'' is the selected pitches from which the musician constructs the scales
Scale or scales may refer to:
Mathematics
* Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points
* Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original
* Scale factor, a number w ...
, melodies
A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
and ''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 ...
s''. The ''Natya Shastra'' identifies and discusses twenty two ''shruti'' and seven ''swara'' per octave
In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
.[
It has been used in several contexts throughout the history of ]Indian music
Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed ove ...
. Recent research has more precisely defined the term ''shruti'', its difference from ''nada'' and ''swara'', and identified positions on a string to play 22 shrutis.
The most well-known example of shrutis is probably the use of the ati-komal (extra flat) gandhar in 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 ...
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-c ...
. Others include the rishabh in Bhairav, the nishad in Bhimpalasi and Miya Malhar, and the gandhar in Todi.
Meaning
The meaning of ''shruti'' varies in different systems.[Ramanathan, N. ''Sruti in Ancient, Medieval and Modern Contexts'', an article fro]
musicresearch.in
/ref>
Grama system
Bharata Muni uses shruti to mean the interval between two notes such that the difference between them is perceptible.
Controversy
In the current practice of 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 ...
, ''shruti'' has several meanings.[Krishnaswamy A. ''Inflexions and Microtonality in South Indian Classical Music''. Frontiers of Research on Speech and Music, 2004.]
In certain 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 ...
s, due to inflexions or gamakas on some of those 12 notes, listeners perceive a sharpened or flattened version of an existing note.[Krishnaswamy A. ''On the twelve basic intervals in South Indian classical music''. AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY. 2003]
Some scientific evidence shows that these intermediate tones perceived in the contemporary rendition of a raga do not hint at the existence of 22 shrutis. The number 22 is not practically significant in the current performance of Carnatic and Hindustani music traditions, partly because different musicians use slightly different "shrutis" when performing the same raga, an example being the ati-komal (extra flat) gandhar in 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-c ...
. The phenomenon of intermediate tones is pursued as an active area of research in Indian Musicology, which says the number of perceptible intermediate tones may be less or more than 22.
An Indian monograph about shruti claims various opinions about the number of shrutis. In recent times the number is broadly agreed upon to be 22. Recognizing the controversy over the number and the exact ratios of shruti intervals, it also says that not all ''shruti'' intervals are equal and known as ''pramana shruti'' (22%), ''nyuna shruti'' (70%) and ''purana shruti'' (90%). Еach ''shruti'' may be approximated in the 53EDO system.
Relationship to , , and
''Shruti'' is linked to the fundamental aspects of . Of the twenty two ''shruti'', veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...
scholars identified the 4th ''shruti'' as the ''sa'' solfege, 7thas ''re'', 9th as ''ga'', 13th as ''ma'', 17th as ''pa'', 20th as ''dha'', and 22nd as ''ni''.
Identification of a ''shruti''
In performance, notes identified as one of the 12 universal pitch classes of the chromatic scale (''swara''-''prakara'') are the ''shrutis'', and connected unidentified notes between them are ''nadas''. The human ear takes about 20–45 msec to identify a note within the range of the human voice—from 100 to 1000 Hz. The ear can identify ''shrutis'' played or sung longer than that—but cannot identify ''nadas'' played or sung faster than that limit, but can only hear them. Lack of appreciation of this difference has led to many scientists to opine that because of the meend and the oscillating notes, it is hard to determine the exact numerical frequencies.
Natural existence of 22 ''shrutis'' on a string
In ancient times, ''shruti'' was described in Sanskrit as ''Shruyate iti Shruti'', meaning "What is heard is a shruti". The "understanding" and "learning" part is the natural fact that on 22 specific points on a string, the perception of notes changes.
Brihaddeshi (Sanskrit) by Pandit Matanga mentions after Shloka 24, in Shrutiprakarana (Chapter on Shrutis) that " ly when the ear understands (the point on the string where perception of the notes changes), does that sound become a Shruti." He further says that these points on the string are very precise, as in Shloka 28, Chapter 1, in Nadaprakarana (Chapter on Nadas) that " aching (the point on the string where the perception of the notes changes), and reverting (from there) results in the precision that is called as 'Shruti.'"
There are 12 universally identifiable musical notes (pitch classes of the chromatic scale or Swara-prakara) in an octave. They indicate "a musical note or scale degree, but Shruti is a more subtle division of the octave".
''Poorna'', ''pramana'' and ''nyuna shrutis''
When the frequency and positions of all 22 ''shrutis'' are calculated, three ratios exist: 256/243 (Pythagorean limma
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically.
It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...
, Pythagorean diatonic semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically.
It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...
, or Pythagorean minor semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically.
It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...
), 25/24 (a type of just chromatic semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically.
It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...
), and 81/80 (syntonic comma
In music theory, the syntonic comma, also known as the chromatic diesis, the Didymean comma, the Ptolemaic comma, or the diatonic comma is a small comma type interval between two musical notes, equal to the frequency ratio 81:80 (= 1.0125) ( ...
). Out of these, 81/80 operates in the 'region' of 10 notes and is called ''pramana'' (, region of the note). The 256/243 ratio is called ''poorna'' (), and 25/24 ''nyuna'' (). ''Poornas'' come between ''shrutis'' 0–1, 4–5, 8–9, 12–13, 13–14, 17–18, and 21–22, ''nyunas'' between ''shrutis'' 2–3, 6–7, 10–11, 15–16, 19–20, and ''pramanas'' between ''shrutis'' 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, 11–12, 14–15, 16–17, 18–19, 20–21.
Gamakas
In any gamaka, only ''shrutis'' and ''nadas'' exist. The threshold of identification of a musical note within the range of human voice of 100–1000 Hz is 20–45 msec. ''Shrutis'' can be identified by the human ear because they are played for this time limit at the fastest. In contrast, connecting ''nadas'' are played faster than this limit, which prevents the human ear from identifying them. The major difference in the two systems is the way they combine shrutis and connect nadas, resulting in characteristically different music between the styles. Many ancient Sanskrit and Tamil works refer to the 22 ''shrutis'' as the foundation of the Indian Music Scale.
Melakarta system
The system of 72 basic types of singing or playing scales (''thaļas'') evolved with specific mathematical combinations of the universal 12 pitch classes. The selection of the 22 ''shrutis'' in each of them depends on the ''rāga'' chosen. The ''shrutis'' in a ''rāga'' should be ideally related to each other, by natural ratios 100:125, 100:133.33, 100:150, and 100:166.66. A ''rāga'' can have a fewer number of notes than in a ''thaļa''.
''Shruti'' value ambiguity
Some suggest that the best way to find the exact positions of shrutis is by analyzing the frequencies players use in actual performances. When different artists performed ''rāga'' ''yaman'' on flute, sarangi, sitar, and voice, pitch accuracy was found to be "relative" and "subjective", and "neither rigidly fixed" "nor randomly varying"; the "same Swara was pitched differently at different times by the same artiste in the same raga", and "different artistes intoned the same swara differently in the same raga".
Ancient treatises on Indian classical music and performing arts
* Natya Shastra
The ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary ...
by Bharata
* Dattilam by Dattila
Dattilam (दत्तिलम्) is an ancient Indian musical text ascribed to the sage (muni) Dattila. It is believed to have been composed shortly after the Natya Shastra of Bharata, and is dated between the 1st and 4th century AD. But Bhar ...
* Brihaddeshi by Matanga Muni
* Abhinavabharati
''Abhinavabharati'' is a commentary on ancient Indian author Bharata Muni's work of dramatic theory, the '' Natyasastra''. It is the oldest commentary available on the treatise. The ''Abhinavabharati'' was written by Abhinavagupta (c. 950–1020 ...
– Abhinava Gupta's commentary on Natya Shastra
* Sangita Ratnakara
The ''Sangita-Ratnakara'', सङ्गीतरत्नाकर, (IAST: Saṅgīta ratnākara), literally "Ocean of Music and Dance", is one of the most important musicological texts from India. Composed by Śārṅgadeva (शार्ङ ...
by Sarangadeva
* Svaramelakalanidhi
''Swaramelakalanidhi'' is a much celebrated musicological treatise of 16th century Vijayanagara. Authored by Ramamatya in the year 1550, the work is counted among the ''sangita shastra navaratnas'' or the nine 'gems' of the theory of Carnatic M ...
by Ramamatya
* Charurdandi Prakashika by Venkatamakhin
Venkatamakhin (; ) or Venkatamakhi, was an Indian poet, musician, and musicologist of Carnatic music. He is renowned for his '' Chaturdandiprakashika'' in which he explicates the melakarta system of classifying ragas. Venkatamakhin composed ...
* Ragavibodha by Somanatha
References
Bibliography
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External links
www.22shruti.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shruti
Carnatic music terminology
Hindustani music terminology
Indian classical music
Intervals (music)