If we used Sa, Ri, Ga, Pa, Ni, Sa then we get Ragam Hamsadhwani.
If we used Sa, Ri, Ma, Pa, Dha, Sa then we get Ragam Suddha Saveri. (The Hindustani equivalent for this scale is Rag Durga)
If you have a keyboard try to play just these keys and see if you can get a feel for the identities of these Ragams. For example, in Mohanam, the jump from Ga to Pa or for that matter Dha to upper Sa is quite characteristic. Besides Karnatic and Hindustani music, a lot of Oriental tunes are based on the scale of Mohanam!
(3) The five note scale, such as Mohanam, is called a Pentatonic Ragam. The Indian equivalent term is 'Oudava Ragam'. Similary, the six note Ragam is called Shadva Ragam in India or Sextatonic in Western terminology. And the seven note Ragam is called Septatonic or Sampoorna. While the Ragam Mohanam is pentatonic with an implicit assumption that Arohanam and Avarohanam are reverses of each other, other asymmetric possibilities are allowed.
A ragam can have five notes on the way up (in Arohanam) and seven on the way down. (Avarohanam) For example, you can have a ragam which is exactly Mohanam in terms of Arohanam (Sa ri ga pa dha sa) but is Kalyani (Sa ni dha pa ma 2 ga ri sa) on the way down. This oudava - sampoorna Ragam is called Mohanakalyani. So you can have oudava-oudava, oudava-sampoorna, sampoorna-shadva etc. combinations. (Melakarta Ragams are of course, Sampoorna-Sampoorna) Also, the Avarohanam need not be the reverse of the Arohanam. For example, you can have a ragam that goes Sa-ri1-ma1-dha1-ni2-Sa (Arohanam) and Sa-ni1-dha2-pa-ma2-ga2-Sa. (Avarohanam) A good lot of ragams are however symmetric. (The same keys used to go up the octave or down the octave)
Once you have chosen the keys, you are restricted to play only those keys, however you can play them any way you want. You can compose a phrase that goes Sa-ma1-ma1-dha1-Sa-dha2-dha2-ga2. You can skip notes if you wish.
Showing posts with label hindustani songs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hindustani songs. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2009
RAGAM
WHAT IS A 'RAGAM'? Now that we have studied the Melakarta scheme inside and out, let us go on to generate the secondary or 'janya' or derived Ragams (the rest of the Ragams, that is) based on some simple guidelines. These are only guidelines and are not hard and fast rules:
(1) A Ragam should use at least five keys in an octave and utmost seven keys in the Arohanam as well as the Avarohanam.
(2) The Arohanam or ascending order of the notes (or Avarohanam or descending order, for that matter) is obtained by simply taking a Melakarta scale and omitting none or one note or two notes. (Remember, the Melakarta scale has seven notes and so we can end up with seven or six or five notes in the derived scale)
For example, let us (yet again !) take Ragam Shankarabharanam. If we omit the keys 'Ma' and 'Ni' and use only the five white keys Sa, Ri, Ga, Pa, Dha then we obtain a famous Ragam called Mohanam. (Hindustani equivalent is Bhoop or Bhopali)
(Usually, the the next octave's Sa is also included for completion and hence the Arohanam will be more correctly given as Sa-ri-ga-pa-dha-Sa. Similarly, the Avarohanam is given by Sa dha pa ga ri sa. You will notice that almost all ragams start with the key Sa. Also, from now on, we will omit saying 'Ri 1' or 'Ri 2' etc. IF THERE IS NO AMBIGUITY AS TO WHICH KEY WE ARE USING.
(1) A Ragam should use at least five keys in an octave and utmost seven keys in the Arohanam as well as the Avarohanam.
(2) The Arohanam or ascending order of the notes (or Avarohanam or descending order, for that matter) is obtained by simply taking a Melakarta scale and omitting none or one note or two notes. (Remember, the Melakarta scale has seven notes and so we can end up with seven or six or five notes in the derived scale)
For example, let us (yet again !) take Ragam Shankarabharanam. If we omit the keys 'Ma' and 'Ni' and use only the five white keys Sa, Ri, Ga, Pa, Dha then we obtain a famous Ragam called Mohanam. (Hindustani equivalent is Bhoop or Bhopali)
(Usually, the the next octave's Sa is also included for completion and hence the Arohanam will be more correctly given as Sa-ri-ga-pa-dha-Sa. Similarly, the Avarohanam is given by Sa dha pa ga ri sa. You will notice that almost all ragams start with the key Sa. Also, from now on, we will omit saying 'Ri 1' or 'Ri 2' etc. IF THERE IS NO AMBIGUITY AS TO WHICH KEY WE ARE USING.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
THE CONCEPT OF A SCALE
LET US MAKE A TUNE! (THE CONCEPT OF A SCALE)
We have learnt about the keyboard, labeled the various keys under the Eastern and Western schemes and even quarreled about whether it should have 12 keys or 22 to an octave. We now know that these keys are like the alphabets in creating music. How then do we compose music?
Before we answer this question, let us see if we can say something about the structure of a 'tune' or the 'melody' itself. If we listen to any musical piece such as 'Jana gana mana' or 'Roop tera mastana', we notice that their second lines and subsequent lines are not just mindless imitation or repetition of the first lines. There is an elaboration of a theme as the song unfolds. You could listen to any line of 'Roop tera mastana' and feel that it is connected to the first line, in a musical sense. If someone played a musical phrase from the song at random, the odds are you would guess that it is from 'Roop tera mastana'. And it may sound trivial, but you also notice that 'Roop tera mastana' does not at all sound like 'Jana gana mana'. There is a character, a structure and an identity to the song, however vague the concept may sound. (note the pun on the word 'sound' !) If you have grasped this abstract concept, you have almost understood the concept of a 'Ragam' (or 'raga' or 'rag') because a Ragam is also an embodiment of a particular musical identity.
For example, if you heard the song 'Vande maataram, Shujalaam shuphalaam...' you can tell that it has its own identity, which is different from the way 'Jana gana mana..' or 'Roop tera mastana ..' sound. This song is in fact, based on a Ragam called 'Desh'.
How do we forge such special musical identities using a keyboard ? The answer lies in choosing just a SUBSET of keys out of the twelve keys available in an octave (instead of all twelve) and sticking to just this subset of keys while making music. If you used all the keys in the keyboard to compose one song, you may not create anything with an identity. (You will see, as you understand more about music that this statement is strictly not true. There are nice-sounding musical compositions where almost all the keys are used)
Let us take an example. Let us choose just all the white keys in an octave - that is, use only seven out of the twelve keys. And let us play the keys in any order, even stay on one key for whatever length of time if we choose to do so. Let us allow ourselves to go to the white keys in the octaves below and above the standard octave as well. After a few minutes, you may sense an 'effect', a 'whole-ness' ('Gestalt'!) or a personality to the sound. If you don't believe me, have your friend play the keyboard with only the white keys. Now close your eyes and ask him (or her) to occassionally hit any black key. You can easily tell whenever the black keys are hit, because you are now sensitive to the 'structure' or 'character' produced by the seven white keys.
Is there a lower limit on how FEW keys we can choose in our subset and still get by ? If we chose a subset of just three keys (say, the first three white keys) in an octave and limit ourselves to those keys, we see that we don't have much variety to the melodies we can produce. It may sound like a drum beating. But is devoid of any special melodic personality. In general, (note that this is not an absolute law) one chooses five or six or seven keys out of the twelve keys available in an octave. More about these selection rules later. Once these keys are selected, the corresponding keys in the other octaves are also automatically selected and used in melody making.
In the context of Indian music, one has an extra degree of freedom. One can choose one set of keys to go up in frequency in the octave and choose an entirely different set to come down the octave, if we so desire. The key sequence to go up is called 'Arohanam' and the key sequence which forms the descending order is called the 'Avarohanam'. More about it later as well ! Let us now stick to 'symmetric' choices while going up or down. At the risk of sounding repetitive, let me say that you can always decide to be a non-conformist and follow none of these so-called rules and conventions. Music is after all, a creative art and the final criterion is whether it sounds pleasing.
How do we select the 'subset' of keys ? Our ancestors have done quite a bit of research on such selection rules and have come up with algorithms. Let us look at the Western music first. The 'Major' Scale is a very typical selection algorithm. This helps you select seven keys in an octave. The rules are as follows:
We have learnt about the keyboard, labeled the various keys under the Eastern and Western schemes and even quarreled about whether it should have 12 keys or 22 to an octave. We now know that these keys are like the alphabets in creating music. How then do we compose music?
Before we answer this question, let us see if we can say something about the structure of a 'tune' or the 'melody' itself. If we listen to any musical piece such as 'Jana gana mana' or 'Roop tera mastana', we notice that their second lines and subsequent lines are not just mindless imitation or repetition of the first lines. There is an elaboration of a theme as the song unfolds. You could listen to any line of 'Roop tera mastana' and feel that it is connected to the first line, in a musical sense. If someone played a musical phrase from the song at random, the odds are you would guess that it is from 'Roop tera mastana'. And it may sound trivial, but you also notice that 'Roop tera mastana' does not at all sound like 'Jana gana mana'. There is a character, a structure and an identity to the song, however vague the concept may sound. (note the pun on the word 'sound' !) If you have grasped this abstract concept, you have almost understood the concept of a 'Ragam' (or 'raga' or 'rag') because a Ragam is also an embodiment of a particular musical identity.
For example, if you heard the song 'Vande maataram, Shujalaam shuphalaam...' you can tell that it has its own identity, which is different from the way 'Jana gana mana..' or 'Roop tera mastana ..' sound. This song is in fact, based on a Ragam called 'Desh'.
How do we forge such special musical identities using a keyboard ? The answer lies in choosing just a SUBSET of keys out of the twelve keys available in an octave (instead of all twelve) and sticking to just this subset of keys while making music. If you used all the keys in the keyboard to compose one song, you may not create anything with an identity. (You will see, as you understand more about music that this statement is strictly not true. There are nice-sounding musical compositions where almost all the keys are used)
Let us take an example. Let us choose just all the white keys in an octave - that is, use only seven out of the twelve keys. And let us play the keys in any order, even stay on one key for whatever length of time if we choose to do so. Let us allow ourselves to go to the white keys in the octaves below and above the standard octave as well. After a few minutes, you may sense an 'effect', a 'whole-ness' ('Gestalt'!) or a personality to the sound. If you don't believe me, have your friend play the keyboard with only the white keys. Now close your eyes and ask him (or her) to occassionally hit any black key. You can easily tell whenever the black keys are hit, because you are now sensitive to the 'structure' or 'character' produced by the seven white keys.
Is there a lower limit on how FEW keys we can choose in our subset and still get by ? If we chose a subset of just three keys (say, the first three white keys) in an octave and limit ourselves to those keys, we see that we don't have much variety to the melodies we can produce. It may sound like a drum beating. But is devoid of any special melodic personality. In general, (note that this is not an absolute law) one chooses five or six or seven keys out of the twelve keys available in an octave. More about these selection rules later. Once these keys are selected, the corresponding keys in the other octaves are also automatically selected and used in melody making.
In the context of Indian music, one has an extra degree of freedom. One can choose one set of keys to go up in frequency in the octave and choose an entirely different set to come down the octave, if we so desire. The key sequence to go up is called 'Arohanam' and the key sequence which forms the descending order is called the 'Avarohanam'. More about it later as well ! Let us now stick to 'symmetric' choices while going up or down. At the risk of sounding repetitive, let me say that you can always decide to be a non-conformist and follow none of these so-called rules and conventions. Music is after all, a creative art and the final criterion is whether it sounds pleasing.
How do we select the 'subset' of keys ? Our ancestors have done quite a bit of research on such selection rules and have come up with algorithms. Let us look at the Western music first. The 'Major' Scale is a very typical selection algorithm. This helps you select seven keys in an octave. The rules are as follows:
complete names...
(An aside: The complete names of the Indian notation are as follows: Shadjam for Sa, Rishabham for ri, Gandhaaram for ga, Madhyamam for Ma, Panchamam for pa, Dhaivatam for dha and Nishaadham for ni - This information is provided just so that you don't get too zapped when someone uses these full names)
Even in case of Indian music, we can extend our labeling of the keys to other octaves, much like in the Western system. In Indian music, the main octave is called 'Madhya stayi', the octave above it (higher) is called 'tara stayi' and the octave just below the Madhya stayi is called 'Mandra stayi' (based on the way 'mantras' were chanted in low frequencies in the centuries past). In terms of notation, the keys in the higher octave are labeled with a dot on TOP of the notes. The keys in the Mandra (lower) stayi are identified with dots BELOW the solfege notes.
Many good Indian musicians have voices spanning the entire three octaves, although most Indian compositions use up just the complete Madhya stayi scale and the top half of the Mandra stayi (only half an octave below) and the bottom half of the Tara stayi (just half an octave above the Madhya stayi).
We also see that the twelve keys of the octave divide into two halves. The four keys which are designated as ri and ga are called the 'bottom tetrachord' (in Indian terminology, 'Poorvaangam') and similarly the four keys corresponding to dha and ni are called the 'upper tetrachord' or 'Uttaraangam'. There is some kind of a symmetry between the bottom and the top tetrachords and key label assignment.
Just when you thought you had seen enough of the buzzwords, here is one more ! The starting frequency of your personalized octave relative to a 'standard' octave determines the 'pitch' of your voice. Your signature 'pitch' or 'sruti' (here we are using the word 'sruti' to mean 'the starting frequency of 'your' octave') is measured in a weird sounding unit called 'kattai'. Half a 'kattai' is a semitone and a full kattai is a 'whole tone'. If your octave happens to start at 240 Hz then you have a 'four kattai sruti', by definition. If your voice is very low pitched then you can have lower than four kattai as in case of many males. Women and children are high pitched and can have higher than four (even six) kattai srutis and their octave will start at frequencies higher than 240 Hz. An approximate Western equivalent of this is called 'Register'. In Indian classical music, the octaves are 'free floating', varying from person to person. The starting points are not pegged at 240 Hz.
Even in case of Indian music, we can extend our labeling of the keys to other octaves, much like in the Western system. In Indian music, the main octave is called 'Madhya stayi', the octave above it (higher) is called 'tara stayi' and the octave just below the Madhya stayi is called 'Mandra stayi' (based on the way 'mantras' were chanted in low frequencies in the centuries past). In terms of notation, the keys in the higher octave are labeled with a dot on TOP of the notes. The keys in the Mandra (lower) stayi are identified with dots BELOW the solfege notes.
Many good Indian musicians have voices spanning the entire three octaves, although most Indian compositions use up just the complete Madhya stayi scale and the top half of the Mandra stayi (only half an octave below) and the bottom half of the Tara stayi (just half an octave above the Madhya stayi).
We also see that the twelve keys of the octave divide into two halves. The four keys which are designated as ri and ga are called the 'bottom tetrachord' (in Indian terminology, 'Poorvaangam') and similarly the four keys corresponding to dha and ni are called the 'upper tetrachord' or 'Uttaraangam'. There is some kind of a symmetry between the bottom and the top tetrachords and key label assignment.
Just when you thought you had seen enough of the buzzwords, here is one more ! The starting frequency of your personalized octave relative to a 'standard' octave determines the 'pitch' of your voice. Your signature 'pitch' or 'sruti' (here we are using the word 'sruti' to mean 'the starting frequency of 'your' octave') is measured in a weird sounding unit called 'kattai'. Half a 'kattai' is a semitone and a full kattai is a 'whole tone'. If your octave happens to start at 240 Hz then you have a 'four kattai sruti', by definition. If your voice is very low pitched then you can have lower than four kattai as in case of many males. Women and children are high pitched and can have higher than four (even six) kattai srutis and their octave will start at frequencies higher than 240 Hz. An approximate Western equivalent of this is called 'Register'. In Indian classical music, the octaves are 'free floating', varying from person to person. The starting points are not pegged at 240 Hz.
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