Ragas can be classified in lot of different ways, some of which I wrote about earlier. Another way of classification is through “Thaats” (framework) in Hindustani music and “Melas” in Carnatic music. Venkatamakhin’s classification of Ragas and its subsequent development has shaped Carnatic Music. Classification of Ragas was based on the scale used by a Raga and thus, Venkatamakhin classified various scales, called Melas. His system not only classified known Ragas but also introduced several new ones, based on the possibilities that the system of classification he used, threw up. All melas are full scales, having seven notes. Every Mela

Raga can be mistaken for modes or scales of western music but it is neither. A raga is a precise, scientific, and aesthetic melodic form with its own peculiar ascending and descending movement. One way of classifying ragas , is by their Jaati. A raga can contain either all seven notes, or six or five. The number of notes used in ascending and descending order specifies the “Jaati” of the raga. All seven notes would be a “Sampoorna” Jaati , while six becomes “Shadav” and five is “ Audav.” There can be any combination of these. For example, a raga

In my previous post, I described “Raga” the backbone of Indian Classical Music. Today I would like to delve deeper into Notes, Octaves and Scales used in Indian Music. Notes and Octaves: Before we proceed to ragas, let us first examine the most basic notes of Indian Music. The notes used in Indian music are Sa/ Shadaj, Re/ Rishab, Ga/Gandhar, Ma/Madhyam, Pa/Pancham, Dha/Dhaiwat and Ni/Nishad. This corresponds to the western diatonic scale. In Indian music, Sa and Pa (1st and the perfect 5th) have a fixed pitch. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th notes are variables. An octave consists

Indian classical music, be it Hindustani (North Indian) or Carnatic (South Indian), is principally based on melody and rhythm. Raga or Rag or Ragaam is the most essential unit of Indian Music. The Vedic hymns of the Hindu temple are the fundamental source of all Indian music. Thus, the roots of Indian classical music are also religious like western music. Indian music is based on the thought that sound is God- Nada Brahma. Ragas carry us into the spiritual journey. The ancient vedic scriptures teach us about two types of sound. Anahat Nad or unstruck sound and Ahat Nad or