Indian Music-1

What is RAGA

Till about 3000 years ago our major musical tradition was Sama or Vedic Chants.Gradually ,as artists explored more ,the more complex structure called RAGA emerged.A Raga can be defined by the set of  rules that have to be followed ;

·        A Raga cannot have less than five notes

·        It must be given a unique name

·        It must have a defined set of notes,both ascending(goin higher) and descending (goin lower and deeper)

·        A Raga must be defined as either odava( 5 notes), shadava(having 6 notes) or Sampoorna(7 notes)     -or a combination of these goin up and down.

·        In a Raga,the notes are divided into leaders and followers.Vadi is the main note. Samvadi is 4 or 5 notes away.The followers of the notes are Anuvadi.Those which do not belong in the Raga are Vivadi.

·        A Raga will have a main tempo,to be chosen between vilambit, madhya or druta.

·        The pitch must also be defined, as either mandra(low),  madhya( middle) or Tar (high).

·        Every Raga is connected to a mood . The Rasa theory of the Natyashastra gives us nine basic sentiments to choose for one. Examples

Raga                Rasa                         Mood  

Jogiya              Karuna                      Sorrow

Bahar               Shrinagara                Joy

Darbari           KanadaKaruna         Gravity

Adana             Veera                        Valour