Sangeet Aarohee: An Essential Study of Hindustani Classical Music

Chapter 1: Definitions

Aadi: Singing or playing instrument at a laya which is 1.5 times more than the original or normal laya is called aadi. e.g., if a counting of 60 is there in the original laya and instead, a counting of 90 is done in the same duration, it is called aadilaya. In other words, if three lines of a song are sung in two avartans of the original laya, then it is called aadi laya.

Aalap: The process of singing swaras over a longer period of time is called aalap. It can be anibaddh – where it is not bound by taal or nibaddh – where it is bound by taal.

Aaroh: The process of singing or playing the swaras in ascending order is called aaroh. E.g.,

Akshiptika: A composition created with the help of words, swaras and taal is known as akshiptika. E.g., khayal, dhrupad, dhamar etc are examples of nibaddh akshiptika.

Alankar: A composition of swaras in sequential order and in taal is called alankar.

Antara:The second part of the song is called antara, in which the swar vistara is done in madhya and taar saptak.

Anuwadi Swar: The swaras in the raga apart from the vadi and samwadi swaras are called anuwadi swaras.

Avartan: The process of traversing the distance between the first and the last matra of a taal and coming back to the first matra is called avartan.

Avroh: The process of singing or playing the swaras in descending order is called avroh. E.g.

Bhajan: A devotional song is called a bhajan. Compositions of Meerabai, Narsinh Mehta and Kabir are sung traditionally as bhajans. Bhakti ras pradhan ragars are used for these compositions. The taals employed usually are Deepchandi, Kerwa, Hinch and Dhumali.

Bol (theka): The experts of yore had created words to represent the sounds produced from a tabla or mridang which are known as bol or theka.

Boltaan: The process of singing the words of a cheez or song instead of swaras rapidly and within the bounds of the taal is called boltan.

Chalan: In the language of music, the chalan of a raga can be shown by demonstrating its major characteristics. Purvang pradhan ragas are elaborated (vistar is done) in mandra and madhya saptak while uttrang pradhan ragas are elaborated in madhya and taar saptaks. Also, in chalan, vaadi swar, samwadi swar, vakra swar, durbal swar, aroh, avroh and pakad have to be demonstrated.

Chhayalagatva: If the chhaya or influence of one raga is seen over another raga or a raga has traits of two ragas or is formed by the combination of two ragas, then such a raga is called a chhayalagatva raga. E.g., Bageshree-Bahar is a chhayalagatva raga of Bageshree and Bahar ragas.

Dhwani: Dhwani is a sensation or sound that can be heard with the ear, is pleasant to hear and joyful to the mind.

Dugun: The laya which is twice the speed of madhyalaya is called dugun.

Gamak: When swaras are vibrated and uttered deliberately and slowly, this process is known as gamak.

Gayak-gayaki: Though all students may learn from the same guru in a similar manner, yet each one will present the same composition in one’s own characteristic way depending on one’s voice, imagination, and capability. One will try to infuse individuality into the performance by using various taans and harkats, depending on one’s imagination, adding to the melodiousness of the compostion. Such a person is known as a gayak and his or her art is known as gayaki.

Ghoghant: A sound of irregular frequency which is not melodious and not useful in music is known as ghoghant.

Grah: The swar with which the songs of a particular raga are begun is called the grah swar. In modern age, grah and nyas swar are not given much importance.

Janakmel: ‘Janak’ means father and ‘mel’ means thaat. The group of swaras from which all the ragas of thaat are created is called janakmel.

Jati-gayan: Before raga singing became prevalent, jati-gayan was the singing style in norm. It finds mention even in Ramayana. It is basically a melodious flow of swaras which follows various shastriya rules like grah, ansh, nyas. With time, the lok sangeet of different regions mixed with the jati-gayan to form different ragas. Both loksangeet and raga sangeet emerged from jatigayan but while loksangeet was never bound by shastriya rules, raga sangeet always remained within the bounds of shastriya laws.

Khali: The places in a taal where clapping is not done and instead, the hand is waved in the air, is called khali.

Lakshan geet: A song which gives the shastriya information of a raga like vadi, samwadi, varjit swar, gayan samay, prakriti, jati, etc is called lakshan geet.

Laya: The regular rhythm of time in music is called laya. The regular interval between one matra to another in taal is called laya.

Lokgeet: The songs that are commonly sung by people in general at social events like births, deaths and marriages and during festivals or season related events like harvesting, sowing etc. are called lokgeet. These are heard all over the country.

Matra: In music, time is measured by a device called matra. The counting of beats at regular intervals is called matra.

Meend: While singing or playing instruments, if one goes from one swara to another swara while stressing all the swaras that fall inbetween the two swaras in a smoothly flowing manner, then this action is called a meend. It is denoted by drawing an arc over the two swaras. e.g.

Mukhchaalan: The process of singing or playing with the use of raga appropriate gamak and alankars is called mukhchaalan.

Music: Singing, instrument playing & dancing– these three art forms and their groups are classified as music

Naad: A sound which is melodious and useful in music is known as naad.

Nayak-nayaki: One who is knowledgeable about ancient and modern music and has received training from guru to enable singing or playing compositions bound with taal and laya is known as a nayak and his or her art is nayaki.

Nyas Swar: Nyas means ‘to stop’. While doing raga vistar, the swaras on which there are frequent pauses or halts is/are called the nyas swara(s) of the raga. A raga can have more than one nyas swar. Usually the nyas swaras are the vadi and/or the samwadi swar of the raga. But, sometimes, other important swars of the raga apart from the vadi and samwadi swaras can be the nyas swaras. E.g., in Tilak Kamod, S & P are the vadi and samwadi swaras and also the nyas swaras. In addition, G is also given due importance and is also a nyas swar of this raga.

Pakad: Group of swaras which are characteristic of a raga (ragvachak) is called pakad. It is a group of swaras from which a raga can be identified.

Raga: A melodious composition of swaras which is pleasant to the ear and gives joy on hearing is called raga.

Sam: The first matra of taal at which emphasis is placed is called sam.

Samwadi swar: The swar that is assistant to the vadi swar is called samwadi swar. It is also called Mantri Swar. It is used less than the vadi swar and more than the other swaras of the raga. Samwadi swar is usually used 4 or 5 places down from the vadi swar.

Sankirna raga: A raga formed by a combination of a chhayalagatava raga and a pure raga is called a sankirna raga.

Sanyas: The swar on which the first part (khand) of the composition ends is known as the sanyas.

Saptak: Group of seven swaras is collectively called a saptak.

Shruti: The naad that can be heard and clearly identified as separate from other naads is called shruti. In a saptak, there are innumerable naads. But only 22 naads can be clearly identified separate from each other and these are known as shruti.

Sthay: Small groups of swaras are known as sthay. These groups will be smaller than a pakad but can still elucidate a raga. E.g. the pakad of Raga Bageshree is . However the groups of swaras like or R M D N D M or M G R S are not the whole pakad but they can identify the raga by themselves and are known as sthay. Similarly, for Raga Hamir, sthay is G M DN

Sthayi: The first part of a song is called sthayi. The vistar of swaras in sthayi is in the mandra and madhya saptak.

Swar: A sound with fixed regular frequency which is useful in music is called swar.

Swarmalika: Also known as sargam geet. It is a song of any raga in which instead of words, the swaras of that raga are sung in taal. It has a sthayi and an antara.

Taal: Fixed and regular interval of time in music is called taal.

Taali: The places in a taal where clapping is done.

Taan: The process of singing swaras rapidly and within the bounds of taal is called taan.

Thaat (Mel): The group of swaras from which ragas are created is called that.

Thaaya Laya: The original laya of a song or a taal.

Tihai: The process of repeating any bol thrice while maintaining their exact swaras and taal is called tihai.

Upanyas: The swar on which the singer dwells as if about to end the compostion but is not the end of the composition. This is usually in the midst of one of the khands of the compostion (end of one of the lines of the compostion).

Vadi swar: The main swar of the raga which is used repeatedly in the raga is called vadi swar.

Vaggeykar: ‘Vaggey’ word comes from ‘vak’ and ‘gey’. ‘Vak’ means prose and ‘gey’ means poetry. They are also known as ‘matu’ and ‘dhatu’. Thus a person who is well versed in prose as well as poetry, such an expert musician is known as ‘vaggeykar’. A vaggeykar needs to be an expert in literature as well as music, only then can he or she perform both prose and poetry.

Varjit Swar: The swar that is not used in the raga is called the varjit swar of the raga.

Vibhag (khand): The different parts of a taal are called vibhags.

Vidari: Small parts of compositions or alap are known as vidari. Originally, in the nibaddh compositions, the parts other than udgrah, dhruv, melapak, antara and abhog were known as vidari.

Vinyas: The swar on which the last part (khand) of the composition ends.

Visamwad: When two swaras are sung together which sound discordant and are unpleasant to hear, then, they are said to be producing visamwad. In Hindustani classical music, shrut at a distance of 2 & 20 from each other produces visamwad. It has also been proven scientifically that if swars having visamwad are played or sung together, then sounds with irregular frequencies are produced which are discordant and unpleasant to hear.

Vivadi swar: The swar which cannot be used in a raga according to shastriya niyam but is still used sometimes to add to the melodiousness of the raga is called a vivadi swar. E.g. P in Raga Bageshree

Chapter 2: The fundamentals of sound & music

Vibration (Kampan):

When two objects strike against each other, vibration is produced in each of them. These vibrations can be perceived as sound when their frequency is in the audible range. Thus, when a string of a taanpura is plucked, it starts vibrating. The harder it is plucked, the more is the frequency of its vibrations. Vibration in different objects is different. When the vibration is of regular and definite frequency, the sound produced is useful in music and is called ‘naad’. When the vibration is of irregular frequency and erratic, the sound produced is not useful in music and is called ‘ghoghant’.

Swar: A sound with fixed regular frequency which is useful in music is called swar.

S – Shadaj

R – Rishabh

G – Gandhar

M – Madhyam

P – Pancham

D – Dhaivat

N – Nishadh

Types of Swar: There are three types of swaras:

1. Shudh swar: Swaras sung or played at a fixed predetermined frequency are called shudh swaras.

2. Komal swar: Swaras sung or played at a slightly lower frequency than the shudh swaras are call komal swaras. These can be R, G, D, N and to show komal swaras, a horizontal line is drawn under them, e.g. R

3. Tivra Swar: Swaras sung or played at a slightly higher frequency than shudh swaras are called tivra swar. M can be a tivra swar. Tivra swaras are denoted by a vertical bar over them, e.g.

Andolan:

A rapidly moving or vibrating object is said to have completed one anodolan when it moves to one side from its original position, goes to the other side for an equal distance and then comes back to its original position.

Thus, when a taar (string) of a taanpura is struck, it moves up and down an equal distance from its original position to complete one andolan. The number of vibrations produced by a string per second is called the ‘andolan sankhya’ (frequency) of the string.

Ancient musicians had fixed the andolan sankhya of the swaras of the saptak relative to the andolan sankhya of the shadaj (first note) of that saptak. As the frequency/andolan sankhya of the naad increases, it becomes higher. Thus, if the frequency of S is fixed at 240, a swara with andolan sankhya of 270 will be higher than S and a swar with andolan sankhya of 200 will be lower than S. Scientists have shown that the lowest detectable sound has a frequency of 16 and the highest has a frequency of 38000. This frequency is heard in the 11th saptak from the madhya saptak.

To know the andolan sankhya of any given swar, the following three things should be known:

1. The length of the string producing the swar.

2. The length of the string of the shadaj of that saptak.

3. The andolan sankhya of the shadaj of that saptak.

Dhwani (sound) and its origination:

Definition: A feeling or sensation which can be easily perceived by our ear.

Origin: When a metallic object is struck, vibrations are produced from it. These vibrations produce sound, which is sensed by our ears. But each vibration is not heard by our ear. There is only definite range of frequency (number of vibrations per second) which can be heard by the ear, in the form of dhwani. This is called the Limit of Audability. This limit ranges from 20 vibrations per second to 20000 vibrations per second. Only sounds produced by the vibrations in this range (20-20,000 vibrations/sec) can be heard by the ear as dhwani. Vibrations with frequency lower than 20/sec are called Infrasonic, while those with frequency higher than 20,000/sec are called Ultrasonic. Though these vibrations are not heard by our ears, they are widely used in the field of science, e.g. to measure the depth of sea, to kill minute germs, for imaging internal organs of body, etc.

Dhwani requires a medium for travelling, among which air is the main medium. But just like light, dhwani can also pass through mediums like gas, liquids and solids. Thus, we can also hear the sound through a string, water, and gas. Sound travels in the form of waves, called as sound waves. The movement of sound waves is of two different types:

1. Periodic Motion (‘Avarta Gati’): When an object in motion returns to its original position after a definite period of time, it is said to be in periodic motion. For e.g., the rotation of earth around the sun.

2. Simple Harmonic Motion (‘Saral Avarta Gati’): It is further divided into two sub-types:

a. Linear Simple Harmonic Motion (‘Raikhik Saral Avarta Gati’): In this type of motion, the object in motion travels equal distance on both the sides of its mean position in a straight line. It also travels equal distance in equal time from its mean position. Thus, after a definite time period, the object comes back to its mean position. e.g. movement of a string of a musical instrument on being plucked.

b. Angular Simple Harmonic Motion (‘Koniya saral avarta gati’): In this type of motion, the object in motion travels around its mean positon in a circular path. Thus the object in motion takes an equal period of time, to make a similar angle on both the sides of its mean position. Thus, after a definite time period, the object comes back to its mean positon. e.g. movement of a pendulum.

Dhvani is of two types:

1. That which is useful in music, called ‘naad’. It has regular frequency and is pleasant to the ear.

2. That which is not useful in music – called ‘ghonghat’. It has irregular frequency and is unpleasant to hear.

Naad and its three characteristics:

Sound is produced by vibration of air molecules. In music, this vibration may be produced by the movement of a singer’s vocal cords or the movement of strings in instruments like sitar or tanpura or the membrane of percussion instruments like tabla or pakhavaj.

When the vibration of a sound is of the same uniform intensity, the sound is said to be of regular frequency.

When the vibration of a sound persists or remains continuous with the same intensity over a period of time, it is said to be of a constant frequency.

Sound of regular and constant frequency that is useful in music is called naad. Sound of irregular &/or inconstant frequency is not useful in music and is called ‘ghonghat.’

Naad has the following 3 characteristics:

1. Loudness and softness of naad:

The softness or loudness, i.e. volume of naad depends on the range of the vibration producing it. Thus, the naad produced by a swara uttered slowly or a tanpura string plucked gently is softer than the naad produced if the swar is uttered loudly or if the string is plucked forcefully. This is demonstrated in the following figure.

In the above figure, A-B is the