Oliver Craske - Indian Sun: The Life and Music of Ravi Shankar

In everyday usage, the Indian octave resembles the Western equivalent in being divided into seven principal notes (swaras) or twelve semitones. The seven notes are most commonly known by their abbreviationssa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha and nifrom which they derive their collective name, the sargam.

The Indian sargam is movable in that these names do not stand for absolute pitch values. They are comparable to the terms do, re, me, fa, so, la and ti in Western terminology (where a movable do solfege system is followed).

In Indian musicology the octave is sometimes further subdivided into twenty-two shrutis or microtones, which are said to be the smallest changes in pitch that a human ear can detect.

Ravi Shankars principal sitar was usually tuned so that his sa (the tonic or first note) was C sharp. When he played with Western orchestras he used a sitar tuned to D.

NOTE : 1st

NAME : Sadya

ABBREVIATION : sa

NOTATION : S

EQUIVALENT IN KEY OF C : C

NOTE : flattened 2nd

NAME : komal Rishabh

ABBREVIATION : komal re (or ri)

NOTATION : R

EQUIVALENT IN KEY OF C : C sharp/D flat

NOTE : 2nd

NAME : Rishabh

ABBREVIATION : re (or ri)

NOTATION : R

EQUIVALENT IN KEY OF C : D

NOTE : flattened 3rd

NAME : komal Gandhar

ABBREVIATION : komal ga

NOTATION : G

EQUIVALENT IN KEY OF C : E flat

NOTE : 3rd

NAME : Gandhar

ABBREVIATION : ga

NOTATION : G

EQUIVALENT IN KEY OF C : E

NOTE : 4th

NAME : Madhyam

ABBREVIATION : ma

NOTATION : M

EQUIVALENT IN KEY OF C : F

NOTE : sharp 4th

NAME : teevra Madhyam

ABBREVIATION : teevra ma

NOTATION :

EQUIVALENT IN KEY OF C : F sharp

NOTE : 5th

NAME : Pancham

ABBREVIATION : pa

NOTATION : P

EQUIVALENT IN KEY OF C : G

NOTE : flattened 6th

NAME : komal Dhaivat

ABBREVIATION : komal dha

NOTATION : D

EQUIVALENT IN KEY OF C : A flat

NOTE : 6th

NAME : Dhaivat

ABBREVIATION : dha

NOTATION : D

EQUIVALENT IN KEY OF C : A

NOTE : flattened 7th

NAME : komal Nishad

ABBREVIATION : komal ni

NOTATION : N

EQUIVALENT IN KEY OF C : B flat

NOTE : 7th

NAME : Nishad

ABBREVIATION : ni

NOTATION : N

EQUIVALENT IN KEY OF C : B

Dadra tal: 6 beats, divided 33

Ardha jaital: 6 beats, divided 321

Rupaktal: 7 beats, divided 322

Keherwa tal: 8 beats, divided 44

Mattatal: 9 beats, divided 423

Jhaptal: 10 beats, divided 2323

Sadhe Das: 10 beats, divided 4411

Chartal ki sawari: 11 beats, divided 443

Sadhe Gyarah: 11 beats, divided 4421

Ektal: 12 beats, divided 4422

Jaital: 13 beats, divided 2222212

Dhamar: 14 beats, divided 5234

Ada chautal: 14 beats, divided 2444

Chanchar: 14 beats, divided 3434

Pancham sawari: 15 beats, divided 3444

Teental: 16 beats, divided 4444

Shikhar tal: 17 beats, divided 444212

Why are you writing about me now? You should wait until Im gone, otherwise how can you possibly write a fair and unbiased story?