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to the electronic synthesizer keyboard. The important difference is that you can - and do play the
electronic keyboard with your LEFT hand also; but for harmonium, your left hand is used in
pumping the bellows to force air under pressure into the inside of the harmonium. In keyboard our
left hand is used for chords. An ordinary keyboard is sufficient to master all the lessons that will
follow. If you already have a keyboard, you do not need to buy anything else as of now. For solo
performances, you can use a synthesizer keyboard or a harmonium, depending upon your taste,
convenience and availability. Harmonium traditionally suits better for accompaniment during
performance of Ghazals, Thumri, Indo Pakistani classical music, and some other types of Indian
music. For accompaniment to movie songs, and all varieties of songs, the synthesizer keyboard
is the preferred choice. Keyboard offer a wide variety of instrument sounds. Types of keyboards
are given below:
Chordophones
Aerophones
Clavinet
Harpsichord
Clavichord
Electric piano
Piano
Electrophones
Reed organ
Pipe organ
Accordion
Harmonium
Pipe organ
Electronic keyboard
Electronic piano
Music workstation
Synthesizer
Sampler
In a keyboard the instrument sound you choose is called a voice. Before you play a song, choose a voice that you like. Practice selecting
different voices, and remember the setting for the ones you prefer. Look your keyboard owner's manual to help you. When you play the
songs you can use any sound you wish. The rhythm controls provide drum beats to play along with. These rhythm beats are also called
styles. The drum rhythms or kits can be changed to suit the kind of song. If you have a keyboard equipped with floppy drive or flash usb
media then you may copy rhythm styles in your keyboard which can be played using user style button. Melody keys are used to play the
tune by right hand. The chord keys are used to play along with the melody with your left hand. Chords make the song sound full and
harmonic. If you do not know how to play chords then you may use auto chord accompaniment.
instruments.
Let us see more on Notes. Notes what are they? Note can be technically explained as a sound frequency. Actually the sound that is
produced when you press a key on musical keyboard is called as NOTE. It does not matter if you press the white key or the black
key. Each key plays a predefined frequency. A frequency is number of cycles per second. The note gets its shape by the amount of time
you hold down the key and release it. This is called the note length or duration. Hence to make a tune or a melody or song you
should play a bunch of these notes at proper duration and length.
in a scale is called as modes in western classical music. Experts believe proper training is required to play ragas fluently. This comes by
good practice and understanding of note usage. A western trained first-rate musician will be able play a phrase of 1/64 note at a good
speed but will find it difficult to play raga without proper training. It is the reason that western music is fast. Indian music is melodic in
nature while western music is harmonic in nature. Chords produce harmony. Now you will be ready to believe that it is not possible to
play Indian songs with only western training. Desi Style music lessons is the mixture of Western & Indian system.
Diagram 1
Diagram
'S
'r
'R
'g
'd
'D
'n
'N
Note Numbers
10 11
S
1
r
2
R
3
g
4
m M
5 6
P
7
d
8
D
9
n N
10 11
S'
1
r'
2
R'
3
g'
4
d'
8
D'
9
n' N'
10 11
Diagram 2
There may be five saptak in a keyboard. The saptak to the left of the keyboard is for playing chords and to the extreme right is one more
taar saptak but with very sharp voice. We can also play melody in chords saptak but the sound of melody will show base sound. The
chords saptak and extra taar saptak to the right side is not perfect for playing melody. In a complete saptak there are 12 notes which are
seven white keys and five black keys. So, in a harmonium mostly there are three saptak and 36 keys but in a professional keyboard
there are four to five saptak and 48-60 keys. It should be noted that in both instruments while playing songs you will usually deal with
three saptak. In keyboards you will also use chords saptak which is located to the extreme left of keyboard. In keyboards or harmonium
most of the songs begin from madh or middle saptak.
To summarize:
Achal or Qyme Swar: These notes are notated as S and P (the swar without saathi swar)
Komal or Flat Swar: These notes are notated as r, g,m, d, n & are shown in small letters.
Tiver or Sharp Swar: These notes are noted as R,G,M,D,N and shown in capital letters.
Achal, Komal, Tiver Swar: By combining achal, komal and tiver swar we get 12 notes of a complete saptak. S r R g G m M P d D n N
Achal swar Sa and Pa are also shown in capital letters. All notes belong to madh-saptak by default and have no sign of apostrophe.
Notes of Mandar saptak are preceded by ( ' ) sign of apostrophe, and notes of Taar-saptak are succeeded by ( ' ) sign apostrophe.
Lastly, a comma ( , ) represents a pause between notes. It is important that you learn achal, komal and tiver system of 12 music notes of
any saptak.
Note:
This arrangement is also for keyboard in which you use your both hands but you use right hand in playing harmonium.
As mentioned earlier in Fig 1, we have assumed the first white key to be the Sa (S), for convenience. But from now we will use black key as our first
starting point for Sa (S). You will find that there are sets of 5 black keys on the keyboard. Each set of those 5 black keys is made up of 2 + 3 black
keys. The first white key is that white key which lies immediately to the left of the first black key. Since there are several sets of 5 black keys, there will
also be several "first white" keys. In a saptak there are total 12 keys which consists of 5 black keys and seven white keys as mentioned below:
You are going to use only your right hand to play melody on harmonium/keyboard. The right hand fingers are numbered as follows:
The thumb is numbered 1
The index finger is 2
The middle finger is 3
The ring finger is 4
The little finger is numbered 5.
Fingers:
In western system there are 12 scales while in desi system there are ten thaat. A thaat is the ascending and descending movements from S R G M P
D N S', and back that is, S' N D P M G R S. All the 8 notes are always included, in that order, in a or thaat. In these lessons thaat uses only " first
black" key as starting point, that is, natural. We will always fix our first note from first black key in madh saptak which is easier for sargam practice
and playing songs. Sargam means seven notes in ascending and descending order. For a complete sargam we also include 8th note of the next
saptak which is Sa'.
Re
Ga
Ma
Dha
Ni
Sa and Pa are not included in the above mentioned five swar. The reason is this that their saathi swars do not exist. These swar are called achal
swar. These achal swar are not komal nor tiver. To
with capital lettesr as given below:
Re
Ga
Ma
Dha
Dha
-----------------------------------------
r
g
m
d
n
-----------------------------------------
R
G
M
D
N
S and P
We can also write the whole sargam by combining achal komal and tiver as S r R g G m M P d D n N S. (here S and P is called achal or qyme swar
and without komal and tiver saathi swar). When all the swar are tiver in a Sargam then it will become the sargam of Raga Aiman or Kalyan. Raga
aiman or kalyan is same. In the Sargam of Raga Aiman all swar will be tiver along with Sa and Pa which are achal or qyme swar. These tiver and
achal swar are represented here as under:-
R,
G,
M,
Achal
D,
N
S,
P,
Here ACH = Achal Swars, TIV = Tiver Swars, KOM = Komal Swars
Here starting from first white key as our Sa the arrangement of notes will be as given below:Note : The first note or key just attached after Sa is always Komal Ray, then Tiver Ray, then Komal Ga Then Tiver Ga, then Komal Ma then Tiver
Ma, Achal Pa Then Komal Dha, Tiver Dha, Komal Ni Tiver Ni, Then Achal Sa.
Thaat or Scales
The set of Seven Notes which can produce a Raga is called a Thaat in Urdu or Hindi and ragas produce melodious songs. The system of
classification for the raga in different groups is called a thaat. There are again several systems of classification of the raga. If you want to learn
keyboard or harmonium the practice of thaat is important. If you want to sing-along music notes then sargam and raga practice is important. If you
learn thaat then you can learn raga and can play many songs. Beauty in playing a song appears when you use ragas. One can play song in a thaat
but there are very few songs for a particular thaat. Ragas can produce many songs. Thaat have fix seven notes where in ragas notes can vary. There
are certain rules for these thaat. Thaat is a desi scale of seven notes. For harmonium beginners tent thaat practice is essential. First try to learn ten
thaat and try to play only thaat based songs. Without practice of thaat based songs never try to play raga based songs.
1. A Thaat must have seven notes out of the twelve notes placed in an ascending or descending order. Both the forms of the notes can be used.
2. Thaat has only an Arohi.
3. Thaats are not to be sung and are for only playing music songs but the ragas produced from the thaat are sung. We can play music of song with a
thaat but beauty will only come if we play music with ragas.
4. Thaats are named after the popular raga of that thaat. For example bhairavi is a popular raga and the thaat of the raga bhairavi is named after the
raga.
5. Out of ten thaat about 80 ragas are developed and performed these days. But for a beginner 30 ragas are sufficient for perfection and practice.
Why Transpose?
The most common reason for changing the key of a piece of music is to put it in the right key for
your vocalists. If your singer or singers are struggling with notes that are too high or low to sing,
changing the key to put the music in their range will result in a much better performance.
Instrumentalists may also find that a piece is easier to play if it is in a different key. Players of
both bowed and plucked strings generally find fingerings and tuning to be easier in sharp keys,
while woodwind and brass players often find flat keys more comfortable and in tune.
Instrumentalists with transposing instruments will usually need any part they play to be properly
transposed before they can play it.
A good electronic keyboard or scale changer harmonium will transpose for you. If your music is
already stored as a computer file, there are several transpose programs that will transpose it for
you and display, play and print it in the new key for your singing or listening.
r
2
X
R
3
R
R
1
g
4
X
G
5
G
G
3
m
M
6
7
m X
m
5
6
P
8
P
P
d
9
X
D
10
D
D
8
n
11
X
N
S'
12 13
N
S'
N
S'
10
12
13
m P
5 6
D
8
1 3
10 12 13
S R G m P D N S
S N D P m G R S
r
2
x
R
3
R
R
g
4
x
G
5
G
G
m
6
m
m
M
7
x
P
8
P
P
d
9
x
D
n
10 11
D
x
D
N
S'
12 13
N
S'
N
S'
Note: Sa is always achal or qyme swar. The first swar or key attached just after Sa is always
komal ray shown with cross (X) and with note no. 2, then tiver ray with capital R, komal Ga,
then tiver Ga, komal Ma then tiver Ma, achal Pa, then komal Dha, tiver Dha, komal Ni, tiver Ni,
then achal Sa as S.
Or we can write whole sargam again as S R G m P D N S
S R G m P D N S
S N D P m G R S
Diagram.3
Now we have selected our first key from 2nd white key for playing a song or harmonium We can
select any key as our Sa and from that position of Sa our key combination will change in each
diagram.
S
1
S
S
r
2
x
R
3
R
R
g
4
x
G
5
G
G
m
6
m
m
M
7
x
P
8
P
P
d
9
x
D
n
10 11
D
x
D
N
S'
12 13
N
S'
N
S'
Note : Sa is always achal or qyme sur. The first Sur or key attached just after Sa is always
Komal Ray shown with cross and with note no. 2 Then Tewar Ray with Capital R, Komal Ga
Then Tewar Ga, Komal Ma then Tewar Ma, Achal Pa Then Komal Dha, Tewar Dha, Komal Ni
Tewar Ni, Then Achal Sa as S. If we do not play notes with cross sign in diagram 5 then it will
also become another Thaat.
Or we can write whole sargam again as S R G m P D
N S
Again Thaat Bilawal sargam in ascending and descending order will be
same.
Arohi : S R G m P D N S
Amrohi: S N D P m G R S
It is proved from above three examples that whatever note is selected as initial note to play
sargam, the corresponding notes will change according to a fixed system of achal, komal and
tiver properties.
notes, then Sharutis and then the Jaties (ragas). Birds have songs, so do the other mammals.
When we say that the songs must have developed after humans were civilized, we are forgetting
something. Look around you. There are songs everywhere.
It is certain that as humans got civilized, their songs got complicated. With the development of
language, the songs became more meaningful. The primal screams evolved into poems of love,
separation, nature, beauty and other things that affected us emotionally. When something said
through conversation does not capture the essence of our feelings, a song erupts in us. That is a
primal instinct. It is not something that is impossible to do without the knowledge of Sharuties. A
villager in India or a Gypsy in Europe cannot stop singing just because they do not know the
difference between just intonation and chromatic intonation. These are afterthoughts.
When the enlightened artists of the ancient world sang the songs, the beauty of changing pitch
compelled them to find more about it. What is it that changing the pitch up and down in certain
ways sounds musical. The first known theory of music in Indian Vedas (Samveda) contains four
notes. Nowadays notes are always mentioned in ascending (such as C D E or Sa Re Ga) order.
The combination of several notes woven into a composition in a way, which is pleasing to the ear,
is called a Raga. The raga is an Indian scale which utilizes varying ascending and descending
patterns - certain notes on the way up and certain notes on the way down - but always in the set
sequence. The raga never has less than five notes - the minimum required for a tune. Each raga
creates an atmosphere, which is associated with feelings and sentiments. Any stray combination
of notes cannot be called a Raga. At a more academic level, it is a musical composition that
functions within a structure and follows certain rules with relation to the kind of notes used in it.
Raga is the dictator of melody and the "Taal" is the dictator of Rhythm. In addition, melody is the
product of sound and the rhythm is product of time. Therefore, the music is the art of
manipulating the sound through time. The time affects music in two different ways. First through
rhythm is obvious. However, the time is also at work producing the musical sounds that are useful
in melody. The universe is full of sound, but every sound is not musical.
According to the scriptures, sage Narada practiced great austerities for several years and was
honoured by Lord Shiva who taught him the great art of music. It is said that from the sleeping
position (Shayanmudra) of his wife, Goddess Parvati, Lord Shiva created the Rudravina (an
instrument with a form similar to the sitar). From his five mouths, five ragas emerged while a sixth
was created by the goddess Parvati. These ragas were named according to Lord Shiva's
movements to east, west, north, south and towards the sky and were called Bhairav, Hindol,
Megh, Deepak and Shri. Raga Kaushik was created by the Goddess Parvati herself.
Music flourished in India under Muslim rule and was subject to a number of new influences,
including those of the mystic Sufi sect. As a consequence new elements, forms and instruments
came to be introduced into Indian Music. Among the vocal forms, were the Qual which gave rise
to the Qawali and the Tanpura, both of which are heard today. The sitar and the tabla also
belong to this period. The Persian poet Amir Khusrau is believed to have made a major
contribution in the development of the Qawali as well as the Sitar.
Musical patronage reached its zenith under the Mughal emperors Akbar (1555-1605), Jahangir
(1605-1627) and Shahjahan (1628-1658) The legendary composer Tansen (1492-1589) is
believed to have been a member of the court of Akbar. His enchanting music is believed to have
had the power to bring rains and light lamps. Music was also becoming more popular and was no
longer the preserve of the upper classes. Most compositions had initially been in Sanskrit but by
the sixteenth century they were being composed in various dialects of Hindi - Braj Bhasa and
Bhojpuri among them - as well as Persian and Urdu. It was during this phase that two separate
systems emerged as a result of the Islamic influence on the existing system in Northern and
central India while the south remained free from this domination. This led to emergence of two
forms of Indian Music. Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian).
The arrival of British rule saw the violin entering the repertoire of South Indian music in the mideighteenth century. In the time of Bahadur Shah Zafar the last King of Mughal empire, music
development was limited and poetry developed. A significant development was the use of music
to promote nationalism during the Indian freedom struggle. The twentieth century also saw the
arrival of Indian cinema, which further popularized music among common man. The post
independence period saw classical Indian music gaining global recognition. Ravi Shankar, one of
the greatest players of the Sitar, worked with the Beatles while Ali Akbar Khan popularized the
Sarod in the west. The twentieth century also saw collaborations between Indian and western
musicians. such as Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin. This merging of two streams of music is
often referred to as fusion Music.
New generation of artists like Bhimsen Joshi, Amjad Ali Khan and Bismillah Khan brought finest
traditions of Indian music. Film music is however, the most popular music in India and Pakistan
today and popular Indian films are seldom without songs. Urdu Ghazal also got popularity and
populars Ghazal singers like Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Jagjeet and many others emerged with
a new style. Bhajans and Qawali also retain their popularity.
NOTES IN A SAPTAK
The Indian musical scale is said to have evolved from 3 notes to a scale of 7 primary notes, on
the basis of 22 intervals. A scale is divided into 22 shrutis or intervals, and these are the basis of
the musical notes. The 7 notes of the scale are known to musicians as Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da
and Ni. The eighth note is a repetition of the first and is therefore an octave higher. The group of
seven notes is called a saptak. In western music these seven notes are identified as C D E F G A
B. These 7 notes of the scale do not have equal intervals between them. A Saptak is a group of 7
notes, divided by the shrutis or intervals -- A raga is based on the principle of a combination of
notes selected out the 22 note intervals of the octave. Total notes in a single saptak are 12 but
when we practice arohi and amrohi then we also choose next saptak Sa. See below given
diagram.
Sa
Re Ga Ma
Pa
Da
Ni
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Indian classical music has 7 basic notes (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni), with five interspersed half-notes, resulting in a 12-note scale. Unlike the 12-note
scale in Western music, the base frequency of the scale is not fixed, and inter-tonal gaps may also vary. The 22 Srutis are the only notes which can
The first and fifth notes (Sa and Pa) do not alter their positions on this
interval and are fixed. Detailed lessons about saptak and notes are provided in Harmonium Lessons The
other 5 notes can change their positions in the interval due to komal and tiver, leading to different
raga.
be useful for music in an octave.
Raga
The raga forms the backbone of Indian music, and the laws laid down for the ragas have to be
carefully observed to preserve and safeguard their integrity. The following points are required in
the construction of a Raga -1. Thaat or sequence of notes,
2. Jaatis or classification
3. King and Queen relation of the notes, i.e. Vadi and Samvadi
4. The Ascent and Descent of the raga, i.e. Arohi and Amrohi
5. Important group of notes
6. Pitch
7. Speed.
According to Indo Pak ancient theory, the musician's task in exploring mood is made easier if the
performance takes place at the time and in the atmosphere appropriate to the raga. So if a raga which
embodies the atmosphere of spring is played in spring it will be more effective than if it were played in
winter. The right atmosphere responds to the raga as it were, just as the sympathetic strings of a sitar
vibrate to enrich the melody being played on the main strings. This is why particular times and seasons are
deemed suitable for particular ragas.
Play some classical sounding music and try to see if any particular Raga thrills you. Anything that
turns you off completely ? Play instrumental or light classical music at first before getting on a
heavy-duty vocal piece. Is there a piece that moves you ? Puts you in a sublime or inspiring mood
?
Another aspect of the raga is the appropriate distribution in time during the 24 hours of the day for
its performance, i.e. the time of the day denotes the raga sung a particular time. Raga are also
allotted a particular time space in the cycle of the day. These are divided into four types -1. Twilight raga when the notes re and da are used -- such as Raga Marwa, Poorvi.
2. Midday and Midnight ragas which include the notes ga and ni (komal).
3. Ragas for the first quarter of the morning and night which include the notes re, ga, da and
ni (komal).
4. For the last quarter of the day and night, the raga include the notes sa, ma and pa.
All the raga are divided into two groups -- Poorvi Ragas and Uttar Ragas. The Poorvi Raga are
sung between 12 noon and 12 midnight. The Uttar Raga are sung between 12 midnight and 12
noon. The variations on the dominant or ``King" note helps a person to find out why certain raga
are being sung at certain times. This raga classification is about 500 years old.
The beauty of the raga will not be marred by the time of the day it is sung. It is the psychological
association with the time that goes with the mood of the raga. The object of a raga is to express a
certain emotional mood and sentiment without any reference to time and season. For a student of
classical music, this classification may give an idea as to how to base his reasons for the
traditional usage of raga.
4.Shree
5.Maulkauns
From these five ragas, other raga are derived. The first derivatives of the ragas are called
raganis, and each of the five ragas have five raganis under them. There are 25 raganis for the
above five ragas. Each raga contains 5 raganis. Further derivatives from these raga and raginis
resulted in attaching to each principal raga 16 secondary derivatives known as upa-raga and uparaganis.
All the ragas are supposed to have been derived from their thaat. Every raga has a fixed number
of komal (soft) or tewar (sharp) notes, from which the thaat can be recognized. In other words, a
certain arrangement of the 7 notes with the change of shuddh, komal and tewar is called a thaat.
There are several opinions in this matter.
What is a Raga?
The combination of several notes woven into a composition in a way, which is pleasing to the ear,
is called a Raga or Raag. The raga is an Indian scale which utilizes varying ascending and
descending patterns certain notes on the way up and certain notes on the way down but
always in the set sequence. The raga never has less than five notes - the minimum required for a
tune. Each raga creates an atmosphere, which is associated with feelings and sentiments. Any
stray combination of notes cannot be called a Raga. At a more academic level, it is a musical
composition that functions within a structure and follows certain rules with relation to the kind of
notes used in it.
We can ascribe to a raga certain meta-characteristics that define a raga:
Every raga is said to be born of a Thaat which is its parent. Every raga is composed of
notes.
A simple combination of notes is not a raga unless it sounds good. As mentioned earlier
though, it is difficult to accurately define what sounds good. In another article we will
attempt to describe what this means in terms of harmonies and melodies.
A minimum of five notes are necessary in a raga. Therefore a raga can have five, six or
seven notes.
There cannot be two notes that are adjacent on the octave in the same raga. But this is
not strictly true as we shall see in case of certain ragas like Lalit where there are two
madhyms together.
Every raga has a Arohi and a Amrohi. The base note Sa cannot be absent from a raga.
The notes Ma and Pa cannot be absent from a raga at the same time.
A raag is also identified by a Vadi ( main note ) and a Samvadi ( second main note). The
Vadi is a note that is stressed the most in the raga. The Samvadi is stressed after that.
Two ragas can have the same set of notes but differing vadis and samvadis which then
make them different ragas. For instance both the ragas Bhupali and Deshkar have the
same set of notes and the same arohi and amrohi but they have differing pakads and
also different vadis and samvadis which make them different ragas.Bhupali has a vadi ga
and samvadi da but deshkar has a vadi da and samvadi ga.
It has been said earlier that a raga can have five, six or seven notes in the arohi and the
amrohi. Based upon this a raag can be classified in to categories. A raga sequence
( arohi or amrohi ) with five notes is said to be Odho ( five ). A Raga sequence with six
notes is called Shadav or Khado (six) and a raga sequence with seven notes is called
Sampoorn since seven notes is the maximum number that the raga sequence can have.
Now to another point of confusion. There are twelve notes in the chromatic scale. The
seven notes that make up the thaat are picked from these twelve notes.
Raga is the basis of classical music. A raga is based on the principle of a combination of
notes selected out the 22 note intervals of the octave. A performer with sufficient training
and knowledge alone can create the desired emotions, through the combination of
notes. Every raga is derived from some Thaat or scale. Or raga' belong to certain
classes or categories called thaats. A thaat is defined as that set of seven notes from
which a raga can be made.
Raga Melody:
Melody is based on our ability to hear and perceive changes in frequencies. Although it is more
than just the pitch going up and down, but as the frequency goes higher, the note is sharper. In
any octave, the highest note always vibrates at the double rate from the lowest note. So an
octave is the interval between one musical note and another with half or double its frequency.
After the unison, (two things vibrating at the same rate), the octave is the simplest interval in
music. The human ear tends to hear both notes (upper and lower) as being essentially the
same. For this reason, notes an octave apart are given the same name in Indian music. The
same is true for Western Music. And just like in western notation system, Northern Indian music
recognizes 12 places in one octave as notes. Most musicians use the same notes as we see
them on a guitars fret or on a piano. But it hasnt been always like this. In ancient times, Indian
music was based on the Sharuti system. The intervals were measured with sharuties.
Melody of Northern Indian Music is based on the Thaat (parent Scale) and Raga theory. Ragas have their minimum requirements of five notes in an
octave. Based on that principle, 484 Ragas can be created mathematically from Thaat. Every raga has its own personality. There are many special
things about every raga, which makes it possible to separate one raga from another.
listened to hundreds of songs composed in C or E major. They still sound different from one another. That is because music we hear affect us in
phrases, not scales.
This theory (music in phrases) was the origin of ragas. Ragas start with thaat in mind and grow from there. To learn a raga you have to learn its
ascending or descending etc., but you also must know its flow and important phrases. There are thousands of available lists of hundreds of ragas
everywhere, but they have no practical value as one will never know how to proceed from there. A raga description without its phrases and flow is
useless. Nisar Bazmi as a working music composer giving you the only information that is essential to know and play Indian music in the real world.
You will find yourself improvising in a certain raga in no time by mixing and shuffling its phrases and flow.
Diagram.1
Thaat Asavari is C Minor Scale in Western Starting from first white key.
C D Eb F G Ab Bb
RgRS RS 'nS
Antra
Taal Dadra
gR 'nSS gRS
Antra
Antra
Asthayee
Asthayee
S'S' nP
Pmg mPdn
Taal Kehrva
PmPS' ndndp
Taal Kehrva
S PPP d n d PP
Antra
P m P S' S'
Antra
1
0
1
1
1
2
1
3
1
4
1
5
1
6
1
7
1
8
1
9
2
0
Asthayee
Asthayee
Asthayee
Taal Kehrva
SS RR m m PPP
Antra
S g P mg mg RS
Antra
R g R S n'd'n' RS
Antra
Taaal Kehrva
Antra
Oh dunya ke rakhwale
'n 'd 'n SSSRS 'n SRg
Antra
SRgRS 'nSgRR
Antra
S g P PP dn dPm
Antra
S 'n SR SRRR
Antra
Antra
SRgP dndP
Antra
R S 'nS RSRgg
Antra
PdP mgmPndP
Taal Kehrva
PPP d P mm
Taal Dadra
Pn S' S' dPd S'S'S'
Taal Kehrva
PPd PdPm
'nSSS 'nRS 'nd
Antra
Antra
PS'
Taal Kehrva
Asthayee
Aitabar nahi karna
Asthayee
Ham chale to hamare sang sang nizare chale
Asthayee
Anokha ladla khelene ko maange chaand
Antra
We lageeyn di laj rakh ley kadhi bhul na jaween
Asthayee
Yeh ejaaz hai husan e awargi ka
Asthayee
g R S g RS 'n'd 'd'nRS
Asthayee
Apno ne gham die to mujhe yaad
Asthayee
Antra
Asthayee
mmPPPdndndP
Asthayee
PP nnn S'S'S'
Taal Dadra
mmPP
Taal Kehrva
Antra
ddd dd Pdnn dP
Jaunpuri
Desi
Asavari
Adana
Darbari Kanhada
Arohi: S R g m P D n - S
Amrohi: S n D P m g R S
Thaat Kafi is C Dorian Scale in Western starting from first white key.
C D Eb F G A Bb
You can also play thaat Kafi songs in C Dorian Scale Of Western
Interlude or middle music of songs is also based on thaat kafi
Mandr, left octave as ('S)-Madh or middle as (S)-Taar or right octave (S')
Taal Kehrva
SRRgRS
Antra
'P'n S SR S 'n
Antra
gmPmgPmm
Taal Dadra
mP 'S'S'S 'n SS
Taal Kehrva
Antra
gmPmg Pmm
Taal Kehrva
PP m g mP S' Pm
Antra
n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'
Taal Kehrva
SR Pmg
Asthayee
Rim jhim rim jhim pere phawar tera mera nit ka pyar
1
0
1
1
1
2
1
3
1
4
1
5
1
6
1
7
Antra
mSRS
Taal Kehrva
Antra
Antra
Pmgg
Antra
Antra
SSgmPP mgR
Antra
gRSR mg
Antra
g R S 'n'n SS
Taal, Kehrva
madh-mandr
gmmPPP
Taal Kehrva
S'S'S' R'nDP
Taal Dadra
g mPPP nDP
Taal Kehrva
S' nP S'S'
Taal Kehrva
mDDnD mDDnD
Taal Kehrva
Asthayee
S' nD nS'
Taal Kehrva
Asthayee
Asthayee
S'S' nDD
Taal Kehrva
'nRRRgm gRS
Asthayee
Antra
PPPm Pmg
Taal Kehrva
S, PPm PDnD
Asthayee
Antra
PPPm Pmg
Taal Dadra
SS SSSS SS SS RgP SS
Antra
'S'S'S'S'S'S' 'R'R'R'
Malhar
Bhimpalasi
Patdeep
Chandrakauns
Kafi
Piloo
Bahar
Bageshri
Megh
Indian music is melodic and western music is harmonic so chords and chord progressions
accompany the melodic lines, therefore the music sounds fuller. It is important that we
learn the fundamentals of chords as used in Indian film music.
Harmonium major chords, or any chord for that matter, are formed by combining
two or more notes. Now, when you from S major chord, it is recommended you
form them using the 2nd,1st and 5th fingers of your right hand. Your thumb is the
first finger index finger is the 2nd and pinky is the 5th finger. A chord is a
combination of three (or more) notes played at the same time. All major chords
are formed by playing simultaneously three notes, according to definite rules.
In keyboards chords are played mostly with left hand. Since we are learning
harmonium so, your left hand will be busy in pumping bellows. In this situation we
will play chord and melody with the right hand only.
As we have already defined in our previous lessons that any key can become a
Sa or our starting note; but in our lessons we have assumed the first black key to
be the Sa (S), for convenience and simplicity. Please see diagram above. There
are a number of chords in western music but In harmonium lessons we will only
use only major and minor chords. A major chord is formed when we
simultaneously play three notes S-G-P or you will play numbers numbers 1-5-8.
we will name this chord as SV. Harmonium chords are also called desi chords.
Harmonium komal and tiver notes with their numbers are given below as shown
in the above diagram.
Sa S
Komal r
Tiver R
Komal g
Tiver G
Komal m
Tiver M
----- P
Komal d
Komal D
Komal n'
Komal N'
----- S'
Komal r'
Tiver R'
Komal g'
Tiver G'
Komal m'
Tiver M'
----- P'
as key number 1.
as key number 2.
as key number 3.
as key number 4.
as key number 5.
as key number 6.
as key number 7.
as key number 8.
as key number 9.
as key number 10.
as key number 11.
as key number 12.
as key number 13.
as key number 14.
as key number 15.
as key number 16.
as key number 17.
as key number 18.
as key number 19.
as key number 20.
S key number: 1
r key number: 1
R key number: 1
g key number: 1
G key number: 1
m key number: 1
M key number: 1
P key number: 1
d key number: 1
D key number: 1
n key number: 1
N key number: 1
S' key number: 1
r' key number: 1
R' key number: 1
g' key number: 1
G' key number: 1
m' key number: 1
M' key number: 1
P' key number: 1
Now to play the major chord S-G-P e.g.. we will play key numbers 1-5-8. This
major chord is called S major. We will use the symbol 'V' for a major chord. Now
the S major chord will be written as SV and as on.
Similarly, the major chord "rV" will be formed as: r-m-d and can be shown by
numbers 2-6-9.
Below given is the complete list of major harmonium chords:
S major chord, symbol SV,
r major chord, symbol rV,
R major chord, symbol RV,
g major chord, symbol gV,
G major chord, symbol GV,
m major chord, symbol mV,
M major chord, symbol MV,
P major chord, symbol PV,
d major chord, symbol dV,
key
nos. 15-8,
key
nos.26-9,
key
nos. 37-10,
key
nos. 48-11,
key
nos.59-12,
key
nos. 610-13
key
nos. 711-14,
key
nos. 812-15,
key
nos. 913-16,
key
nos.
10-1417,
key
nos.
11-1518,
notes S-G-P
notes r-m-d
notes R-M-D
notes g-P-n
notes G-d-N
notes m-D-S'
notes M-n-r'
notes P-N-R'
notes d-S'-g'
notes D-r'-G'
notes n-R'-m'
key
nos.
N major chord, symbol NV,
notes N-g'-M'
12-1619,
We have shown madh saptak chords and similar sets of notes will apply in
mandar and taar saptak.
key
nos. 14-8,
key
nos. 25-9,
key
nos. 36-10,
key
nos. 47-11,
key
nos. 58-12,
key
nos. 69-13,
key
nos. 710-14,
key
notes S-g-P
notes r-G-d
notes R-m-D
notes g-M-n
notes G-P-N
notes m-d-S'
notes M-D-r'
notes P-n-R'
nos. 811-15,
key
nos. 912-16,
key
nos.
10-1317,
key
nos.
11-1418,
key
nos.
12-1519,
notes d-N-g'
notes D-S'-G'
notes n-r'-m'
notes N-R'-M'
How to play Indian songs with harmonium major and minor chords
First of all break down the song into several very small phrases and try to play
the various major and minor chords given above with each small segment of the
song line. Then you should check which chord sounds better with the word. You
can partly mechanize this process by first playing the small segment of the song
on the harmonium. Slowly you will be able to use or able to fill melody with
harmony of chords.