Introducing Yourself to Indian Classical Music 8-The Saptaswaras or Saptak and What Lies in Between
The names of the notes are slightly different in the North and the South, though if you use the basic seven names listed in the previous post, they will be understood both in the North and the South .
As was mentioned at the end of the last post, Sa and Pa are constant notes but there is more than one variety of Re/Ri, Ga, Ma, Dha and Ni.
Names of the Notes in the North Indian Hindustani System:
1.Shadja=Sa
2.Komal Rishabh=Re
3.Shuddha Rishabh=Re
4.Komal Gandhar=Ga
5.Shuddha Gandhar=Ga
6.Shuddha Madhyam=Ma
7.Tivra Madhyam=Ma
8.Pancham=Pa
9.Komal Dhaivat=Dha
10.Shuddha Dhaivat=Dha
11.Komal Nishad=Ni
12.Shuddha Nishad=Ni
You will note from the above that the seven notes have now further been sub-divided into 12. Sa and Pa remain the same, but the rest of the five notes have more than one variety.
The melodic interval between two successive notes is called a semitone (sometimes people call them “half-notes”) and that between alternate notes is referred to as tone.
So, for example, between the two tones Sa and Re, we have a semi-tone, i.e. Komal Re.
Re, Ga, Dha, and Ni are either natural (shuddha) or flat/soft (komal). Madhyam (Ma) is either natural or sharp (tivra).
Several musical systems have divided an octave into twelve parts, including the Western music system.
Unlike in Western music, in Indian music the intervals between the tones are not equal. However, one can use the western instrument, the keyboard, to understand the concept of tones and semi-tones in general as in the video below:
ये एक अच्छी पहल है।
Shukriya
This entire series is very informative for any beginner.
An interesting link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXnV5HzS7nA&feature=player_embedded
Hi Buddy,
That’s a very nice video. I wouldn’t call a raga a “tune” or even a “recognisable tune,” but apart from that quibble enjoyed it.
true, I think it is a populist definition as opposed to an academic one
Like musical instruments, can the human voice bring alive tones and semi-tones?
Yes, certainly. The human voice, in the case of Indian music is much better than the keyboard in bringing them out.