This can be considered as a continuation to my previous post on the western system of notes in music. The following post will help you learn about notes or swaras in indian system of music, and how it compares as well as corresponds to the western system of notes.
In Indian (swara) notation system, there are 12 swaras similar to the above system, forming an octave. The 12 swaras are as follows:
Sa (shadja) - The root note.
Ri/Re-1 and Ri/Re-2 (rishabha - Two kinds)
Ga-1 and Ga-2 (gAndhAra - Two kinds)
Ma-1 and Ma-2 (madhyama - Two kinds)
Pa (panchama - only one kind)
Dha-1 and Dha-2 (dhaivatha - Two kinds - Pronounced as in )
Ni-1 and Ni-2 (nishAda - Two kinds)
These are represented in short form as: s, r1, r2, g1, g2, m1, m2, p, d1, d2, n1, n2 (Like in the western system, this set forms an octave divided into twelve equal intervals or semi-tones)
In lay terms, you can call the 'two kinds' of swaras/notes for Re, Ga, Ma, Da, Ni as 'small' and 'big' - but they do have technical names in the south and north indian systems of music.
The main difference in this (Indian) system of notes is that each of these swaras does not have a constant frequency/pitchor position on a keyboard - this set or octave of 12 notes can fall anywhere on a keyboard. Which means - any key or pitch can become the root note - Sa and the rest of the notes fall in place relative to the Sa.
For example, the first row below shows the Keys/notes/pitches in a keyboard (these positions remain a constant as I said before). The 2nd, 3rd and 4th rows are examples in the Indian system, where the Sa note is chosen according to the singer or instrumentalist's convenience. Thus, the Sa note could fall in any position or key, and the rest of the notes take their positions relative to the Sa.
You can notice that some letters in the Indian notation are in lime/green colored letters, some in normal small letters and some in bold. This is to classify them as low, medium and high areas or sthAyis (in terms of pitch) - or in technical terms: mandhra, madhya and thAra sthAyis. The notes in normal small letters (but not bold) represent the madhya or middle sthAyi. Any note below the madhya sthAyi - Sa fall into the mandhra or lower sthAyi, and are represented in lime/green colored letters. The notes above the madhya sthAyi - Ni are represented in bold and are called the thAra sthAyi notes.
If we take the last row as example, the notes are classified as follows:
... d2, n1, n2 - Lower or mandhra sthAyi
s, r1, r2, ... etc ... up to n2 - Middle or madhya sthAyi
s, r1, r2, etc and above - High or thAra sthAyi
When someone asks you - what pitch is the song in - or - what pitch are you going to sing in - or - what pitch is your instrument tuned to (referring to Indian system of music),
It means they are asking you - What is your chosen 's'?
If you say your pitch for the selected song is G, then the pattern would look like below:
Sa (shadja) - The root note.
Ri/Re-1 and Ri/Re-2 (rishabha - Two kinds)
Ga-1 and Ga-2 (gAndhAra - Two kinds)
Ma-1 and Ma-2 (madhyama - Two kinds)
Pa (panchama - only one kind)
Dha-1 and Dha-2 (dhaivatha - Two kinds - Pronounced as in )
Ni-1 and Ni-2 (nishAda - Two kinds)
These are represented in short form as: s, r1, r2, g1, g2, m1, m2, p, d1, d2, n1, n2 (Like in the western system, this set forms an octave divided into twelve equal intervals or semi-tones)
In lay terms, you can call the 'two kinds' of swaras/notes for Re, Ga, Ma, Da, Ni as 'small' and 'big' - but they do have technical names in the south and north indian systems of music.
The main difference in this (Indian) system of notes is that each of these swaras does not have a constant frequency/pitchor position on a keyboard - this set or octave of 12 notes can fall anywhere on a keyboard. Which means - any key or pitch can become the root note - Sa and the rest of the notes fall in place relative to the Sa.
For example, the first row below shows the Keys/notes/pitches in a keyboard (these positions remain a constant as I said before). The 2nd, 3rd and 4th rows are examples in the Indian system, where the Sa note is chosen according to the singer or instrumentalist's convenience. Thus, the Sa note could fall in any position or key, and the rest of the notes take their positions relative to the Sa.
| C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G |
| s | r1 | r2 | g1 | g2 | m1 | m2 | p | d1 | d2 | n1 | n2 | s | r1 | r2 | g1 | g2 | m1 | m2 | p |
| n2 | s | r1 | r2 | g1 | g2 | m1 | m2 | p | d1 | d2 | n1 | n2 | s | r1 | r2 | g1 | g2 | m1 | m2 |
| d2 | n1 | n2 | s | r1 | r2 | g1 | g2 | m1 | m2 | p | d1 | d2 | n1 | n2 | s | r1 | r2 | g1 | g2 |
You can notice that some letters in the Indian notation are in lime/green colored letters, some in normal small letters and some in bold. This is to classify them as low, medium and high areas or sthAyis (in terms of pitch) - or in technical terms: mandhra, madhya and thAra sthAyis. The notes in normal small letters (but not bold) represent the madhya or middle sthAyi. Any note below the madhya sthAyi - Sa fall into the mandhra or lower sthAyi, and are represented in lime/green colored letters. The notes above the madhya sthAyi - Ni are represented in bold and are called the thAra sthAyi notes.
If we take the last row as example, the notes are classified as follows:
... d2, n1, n2 - Lower or mandhra sthAyi
s, r1, r2, ... etc ... up to n2 - Middle or madhya sthAyi
s, r1, r2, etc and above - High or thAra sthAyi
When someone asks you - what pitch is the song in - or - what pitch are you going to sing in - or - what pitch is your instrument tuned to (referring to Indian system of music),
It means they are asking you - What is your chosen 's'?
If you say your pitch for the selected song is G, then the pattern would look like below:
| D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A |
| p | d1 | d2 | n1 | n2 | s | r1 | r2 | g1 | g2 | m1 | m2 | p | d1 | d2 | n1 | n2 | s | r1 | r2 |
I think we are now almost ready to start with our notations for your favorite songs!
Below is an interesting link for you to check out:
Some music for your listening/viewing
Below is an interesting link for you to check out:
Some music for your listening/viewing
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