Practicing Scales or 

Alankaars

The literal meaning of the word Alankaar in hindi is 'ornament'. These are exercises based
on scales and rhythm. Most Indian musicians spends many hours practicing alankaars
everyday. Alankaars are also called paltas.

Alankaars can have varied levels of difficulty. In this lesson we will practice some
simplealankaars. This will help us in getting a better hold of our instrument.

These scales require a lot of patience and practice and can sometimes take many days or
even weeks to master. If you find you cannot play an alankaar, do not go to the next one
till you are confident of the previous one. If you find the tempo of the recorded clips to be
too fast you can start by playing slower and build up speed gradually.

The audio clips accompanying the instructions have been played with a G-medium
bansuri. It is advisable for you to get a bansuri of the same scale if possible.

We will start by playing the sargam but this time we will play each note twice.

Aaroh(ascent): SaSa, ReRe, GaGa, MaMa, PaPa, DhaDha, NiNi, Sa'Sa'.

Liste
Avroh(descent): Sa'Sa', NiNi, DhaDha, PaPa, MaMa, GaGa, ReRe,
n
SaSa.

Similarly you can play each note four times.

Aaroh: SaSaSaSa, ReReReRe, GaGaGaGa, MaMaMaMa, PaPaPaPa, DhaDhaDhaDha, NiNiNiNi,

Sa'Sa'Sa'Sa'. Liste
Avroh: Sa'Sa'Sa'Sa', NiNiNiNi, DhaDhaDhaDha, PaPaPaPa, MaMaMaMa, GaGaGaGa, ReReReRe, n
SaSaSaSa.

Please note that being able to play all the notes in succession is not enough, it is
important to maintain a rhythm while playing. Listen to the audio clips carefully and notice
that there is a fixed rhythm on which the pattern is played. If you can't keep up pace with
the recording you can play at a slower pace.

Now we are ready to begin with our first real alankaar. In this we will play three notes
starting from a particular note (say Sa). Then we will play three notes starting from the
next note(Re) and so on.

Aaroh: SaReGa, ReGaMa, GaMaPa, MaPaDha, PaDhaNi,

DhaNiSa'. Normal Faster
Avroh: Sa'NiDha, NiDhaPa, DhaPaMa, PaMaGa, MaGaRe, pace pace
GaReSa.
Your target should be to be able to play this as in the faster pace audio clip. It is
absolutely normal for you to take a lot of time on this. It can take many days for one to
be able to play this comfortably. Just go at your own pace.

In the next palta that we will practice, we will play alternate notes. We will start with Sa
and then play Ga(instead of Re), then start with Re and play Ma and so on.

Aaroh: SaGa, ReMa, GaPa, MaDha, PaNi,

DhaSa'. Liste
Avroh: Sa'Dha, NiPa, DhaMa, PaGa, MaRe, n
GaSa.

Once you are able to play these paltas you should start feeling confident about the
instrument. And it generally becomes a lot easier learning more advanced stuff after you
overcome this initial hurdle.

I will be posting more alankaars in the next lesson. Till then, Happy flute playing! And all
the best :)

Selecting a Bansuri

At least 29 different sizes of bamboo flutes are used in various forms of Indian music.

If you are going to buy a flute for the first time, it is very important for you to select a
flute with care. Smaller flutes have higher pitch and loudness whereas longer flutes have a
more mellow, bass tone, but could be difficult to grip for beginners.

Your choice could also depend on what you want to play on your flute. It is a general
perception that longer sized, bass flutes are preferred in classical music whereas smaller
flutes are used in folk music and light music.

To help you decide...

Professional flautist Kanchaman Babbar has contributed with a few flute pieces,

portraying different moods, on different sized flutes.

 Folk - Pahadi (C small flute - 10 inches)

 Reflections (C medium flute - 19 inches)
 Devotion (G medium flute - 25 inches)
 Transcendental (D bass flute - 33 inches)
Note: All measurements are approximate
According to Ram Ashish some of the more prominent scales in use are:-

Scale Feature

G Recommended for beginners - medium size, easy to grip, closest to the western flute.

F Allows you to play the western concert scale (C major scale) comfortably.

E (Bass) Used by most Indian classical artists including Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia.

D (Bass) Equivalent to the western bass flute.