Section 1 - Raga Introduction
Raga is the melodic component of Hindustani classical music. Melody is so central to music in India that, in its purest form, Hindustani classical music deliberately excludes anything that might come in the way of free melodic exploration - rhythm, lyrics, even sol-fa syllables are excluded. This is called alap, and it forms the introductory section of all raga performances.
It might sound exotic, but the idea of a raga is actually very fundamental to all music. The music of ancient Greece, for instance, was based on modes, which are essentially like ragas. Major scales, minor scales, pentatonic scales, blues scales, any other scale you might be able to think of are all ragas in a manner of speaking. The difference is that a raga has a stronger personality because it is defined in somewhat greater detail than a scale is.
So, how is a raga defined? A raga has rules specifying what notes are used in ascent and what notes are used in descent, down to the level of microtones. Apart from this, there are certain norms as to how the tones in the raga relate to each other. I say "norms" (as opposed to rules) in that second sentence because one of the features of Hindustani classical music is to allow artists a great measure of creative freedom. But there are subtle social checks in place to make sure that this freedom is not misused to introduce short-lived fads that end up transforming a beautiful tradition into something worthless. So, artists who get too radical could be nudged out of the classical tradition by peer disapproval.
I could go on and on trying to describe a raga, but it would be much more effective just to show you. Here is another raga-identification exercise (there's another one on the Introduction page). I have embedded four excerpts from real raga performances, two each in Raag Kedar and Raag Kafi. The first video is Raag Kedar and the second one is Raag Kafi. See if you can use this information to identify the other two.
Socha Samajha Manmeet Piyarava (key C)
Simple composition in Raag Kedar
Chado Chado Chaila Mori Baiya (key C)
Simple composition in Raag Kafi
1. Bol Bol Mose Nand Kuwarava (key C)
Raag Kedar or Raag Kafi?
2. Aaj Khelo Sham Sang Hori (key C)
Raag Kedar or Raag Kafi?
Scroll to bottom of the page for answers.
Grouping and Combining Notes to Form Ragas
Ragas are obtained by grouping and combining notes in various ways. You can group the twelve tones in an octave in hundreds of ways to make five-tone, six-tone, seven-tone, eight-tone, nine-tone, ten-tone...even twelve-tone ragas. You can have ragas that use a certain number of tones in ascent and a different number of tones in descent. You can create variations at the microtonal level. There are other ways in which the same set of tones can be combined in different ways to create melody types that are distinct enough to warrant independent raga status.
There are only a few rules as to how tones can be grouped or combined to create ragas. A raga must comprise a minimum of five tones in an octave (three-tone scales are used in religious chanting, but they are not versatile enough for music. I do know of one four-tone raga, but it is not very widely sung). All ragas must include the root note sa. All ragas must include either one or both of the notes ma (the fourth) and pa (the fifth). A raga may use both the natural and flat/sharp versions of any of the variable tones (re, ga, ma, dha, ni), but not in succession (this rule has a few exceptions). Check out Sections 2, 3 and 4 for numerous examples, simple audio demonstrations and excerpts from real performances of many ragas of different kinds. But first, I would suggest that you read the Rhythm page and take a look at the video demonstrations there for a much better understanding of how melody is structured around rhythm and how artists improvise within a given rhythm structure. And before that, let me tell you about fixed raga compositions and the role they play.
Fixed Raga Compositions (bandish)
Students begin their study of ragas by learning to sing fixed raga compositions called bandish. There are many well-known bandish in each raga. The structure of a bandish is very simple - it has only two stanzas, the first one in the lower register and the second one in the upper. (Some schools within the Hindustani classical tradition use four-stanza compositions, but we will talk about those some other time).
Bandish are composed with specific ragas in mind and set to specific rhythms and tempos. A good bandish paints a brief yet effective aural image of a raga. So, it can be used not just as a learning exercise by students, but also as one of the basic themes in a real raga performance, which an artist can then take and develop in his own style to create something unique and original. Here is an example of a bandish in Raag Yaman, one of the very first ragas taught to students of Hindustani classical music.
Definition of Raag Yaman
Rhythm: Teentaal (16 beats)
Tempo: Fast
First stanza
Piya ki nazariya jaadu bhari
moha liyo mana prema bhari
Second stanza
Kavana jatana ab kari, e aali
naahi pare mohe chaina eka ghari
Bandish in a Real Performance
And now, the same bandish fleshed out and performed in his own signature style by the late Pundit Bhimsen Joshi.
Pundit Bhimsen Joshi
Raag Yaman, Bandish: Piya ki Nazariya
Answers to Identification Exercise:
1. Raag Kedar
2. Raag Kafi
