About indian classical raagas (hINDUSATNI)

What is a Rāga? How do we distinguish between different Rāgas?

What is a Raga?
Overview:
A Raga is the basic melodic form used in Indian Classical Music, both Hindustani and Carnatic styles. It is a complex idea that can be dealt with at various levels from philosophical to technical. As a musical entity, it can be described as having certain characteristics and following certain rules. However, it is much more than just the sum of those characteristics.

At the most simple level, a Raga can be said to be a melodic form having a fixed set of musical notes (swaras) that are used in an ascending (aaroha) and descending (avaroha) scale. However, by itself this is insufficient to define a Raga.

Definition:
The definition of a Raga as given by ancient texts and explained by Pt. V. N. Bhatkhande is:

योऽयं ध्वनि-विशेषस्तु स्वर-वर्ण-विभूषित: ।
रंजको जनचित्तानां सः रागः कथितो बुधै: ।।
"Yoyam Dhwani Visheshastu Swarvarna Vibhushitah
Ranjako Janchittanam Sah Ragah Kathito Budhaih"

A composition of sound which pleases people's hearts and which is ornamented by swaras and varnas, such a composition is called a Raga by the wise.

Here, swaras mean musical notes. Varnas are described as melodic movement of one of the following types:
  • Sthaayi Varna - in which a swara is repeated or keeps coming back to a swara after moving to adjecent or nearby swaras.
  • Aarohi Varna - ascending movement
  • Avarohi Varna - descending movement
  • Sanchari Varna - a combination of aarohi and avarohi varnas
Rules and Characteristics:
The widely accepted rules for a Raga are:
It must use at least 5 swaras.
  1. One of these must be the base swara Sa.
  2. At least one swara from each of the following pairs must be used - Re & Ga, Ma & Pa, Dha & Ni.
  3. Both variants of a swara, i.e. natural (shudhha) and flat (komal) / sharp (teevra), cannot be used consecutively.
  4. It must have an aesthetic appeal.
Beyond these rules, Ragas generally have the following characteristics:
Swaras:
  1. One swara, called vaadi, which is more predominant than other swaras in the Raga.
  2. Another swara, called samvaadi, which is more predominant than other swaras but less than the vaadi. (For completeness, the other swaras used in the raga are called anuvaadi, while the swaras not used are called vivaadi.)
  3. A few swaras, called nyaasa swaras, which can be elongated or rested upon during performance (i.e. performed for a longer duration).
Melodic movement:
  1. The ascending movement, called aaroha, which uses either 5, 6 or 7 swaras. The movement may use swaras in a serial ascending order or involve a short descending movement before ascending again.
  2. Similarly, the descending movement, called avaroha, which uses either 5, 6 or 7 swaras. The movement may use swaras in a serial descending order or involve a short ascending movement before descending again. Number of swaras in avaroha need not be the same as in aaroha.
  3. A characteristic phrase, called pakad, which is frequently repeated.
Other characteristics:
  1. A Raga may use predominantly first half of the octave (purvaanga pradhaan) or second half (uttaraanga pradhaan).
  2. A Raga is generally associated with a time of the day in Hindustani music. However, this is not so in Carnatic music.
It must be noted that though these rules and characteristics are generally accepted in theory, there are many exceptions and differences of opinion between musicians when these are applied to actual Ragas. Perhaps this is because the Ragas came first and the theory came later in an attempt to define and characterise them.
How to distinguish between different Ragas?
Based on the above, it should be possible to identify and distinguish between different Ragas if one knows the swaras and other characteristics of those Ragas.
In practice, however, this is not always so. This is because:
  1. More than one Raga may have the same swaras.
  2. Many musicians differ on which swaras are the vaadi / samvaadi of a Raga. Some musicians, mostly from the more traditional Dhrupad form of ICM, do not even accept the existence of vaadi / samvaadi swaras.
  3. In an actual performance, the performer may choose not to give too much predominance to the vaadi / samvaadi swaras.
  4. The pakad is not defined for many Ragas.
  5. Even where defined, the performer may choose not to repeat the pakad frequently. In some cases, the pakad is not even present in a composition.
  6. Versatile performers occassionally use vivaadi swaras in a Raga performance to demonstrate how it is possible to use these swaras without harming the character of the Raga.
Subtle variations:
Although there are 12 swaras in an octave, sound is not limited to these 12 frequencies. There are an infinite number possible microtones between these swaras. However, the human ear cannot make out very subtle differences between sounds of different frequencies, and not all such sounds are musically usefull.
ICM defines 22 such musically usefull sounds, called Shrutis, in each octave (saptak).
Traditional musicians often refer to Swar Bhed, by which they mean very subtle shades of a swara. These subtle differences go well beyond Shrutis; according to some musicians there are 84 such shades in a saptak (i.e. 7 shades per swara). However, it requires a trained ear to be able to differentiate between such subtle differences.
Another term used by musicians is uchchaaran, which literally means pronunciation. In musical context, it means the manner in which a swara is used in a Raga..Accomplished musicians use these subtle variations to not only ornament a Raga, but also to define and distinguish between different Ragas. It is usually possible to identify most commonly performed Ragas from the first 2 or 3 swaras used by such a musician, based on these subtle variations. However, it requires a certain amount of training to be able to pick up these finer nuances.
Why is a Raga sung during a specific time of the day?
Hindustani music associates Ragas with specific times of the day, although there are many Ragas that are not associated with a specific time. However, Carnatic music does not specify such associations. Therefore it is is said that this association between Raga and specific time of day was not prevalent in earlier times and must have started after the two forms (Hindustani & Carnatic) emerged as separate forms of ICM.
This association probably started when musicians and listeners found that certain Ragas are better performed and give greater pleasure during certain times of the day compared to others. This could have been due to changes that occur in the human body, mind and emotions as the day progresses. The emotions of a farmer getting up early morning after a good night's rest are not the same as that of one returning home after a hard day's work in the field. Since a Raga seeks to give pleasure by acting on human emotions, it stands to reason that the different Ragas would give greater pleasure at certain times.
Over centuries, this became a part of tradition and we are now accustomed to hearing Ragas at specific times. Hence today, when the social and environmental factors have changed substantially, we still associate Ragas with specific times.
Certain rules have been formed which help determine this association. However, these rules seem to be explanations derived from practice instead of being enforced as rules.
Is there anything similar to a Raga in Western Classical Music?
Raga is often referred to as being equivalent to Western music scale or mode. I understand that there are certain similarities between them but they are not really equivalent terms. My lack of knowledge of Western Classical music prevents me going into greater details.
Sometimes, a Raga is also compared as being similar to a tune. However, it is much more than a tune. Many different tunes can be formed within the same Raga. A Raga also goes beyond being a "generalized tune".
Summary:
From the above, we can see that a Raga is a melodic form which has certain characteristics and which follows certain rules and which provides pleasure to the listeners.
However, it is often not possible to recognize a Raga based on these characteristics. That is why a Raga is considered to be a complex idea, an understanding of which can be obtained only by listening often to Raga music.
Probably this is why gurus and musicians give far greater importance to "preparing the ears" by repeatedly and frequently hearing music rather than to the theoretical aspects of what constitutes a Raga.
Understanding a Raga Performance
What is actually happening during a raga performance? What are the different parts of the performance? How can you tell a good performance from a bad one? Where can you find great raga performances? This page addresses questions of this nature and offers classical music appreciation tips as well as resources for new and seasoned audiences.
The Structure of a Raga Performance
In more leisurely times (barely a few decades ago), raga performances were intimate events that would go on for hours on end. In many small towns, where performances are organized in informal settings and private homes, this is still true. Formal concert-hall performances, however, are much shorter these days, even full-length performances lasting only an hour or two.
Raga performances typically start out slow and gradually increase in tempo to reach a breathtakingly rapid climax. The structure of a performance varies from school to school and even from artist to artist. The audience, the occasion, time constraints and other factors also influence how a performance is structured and how much time is devoted to which part of the performance. However, there are some basic elements that are similar across most full-length raga performances.
The first part of a raga performance is usually free improvisation without a composition or tabla accompaniment. This section is called alap (meaning prelude) and can be further divided into vistar, jod and taan (see table below). The alap is followed by the second part, where structured improvisation takes place around compositions (bandish) with tabla accompaniment. Usually, this includes at least two compositions, a medium-tempo composition and a rapid one.
In some schools of Hindustani music, the alap is replaced by elaborate structured improvisation around a slow composition, which takes on the role that would otherwise be played by the vistar, jod, and taan.