Carnatic music
terms are briefly described in this page. Major terms have their own separate article pages, while minor terms are defined / described here.
The order of terms is from basic to related terms, rather than alphabetic.
Main terms
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N?da
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N?da
refers to music or musical sound.
[1]
It also refers to the tone of a musical instrument.
[1]
Anahata N?da
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An?hata N?da
refers to the naturally occurring sounds (literally not struck).
[1]
Ahata N?da
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Ahata N?da
refers to generated sounds or sounds made by efforts of man (literally that which is heard). It is of 6 types.
1.shareeraja - it emanates from the human throat. Example: vocal singing
2.Dhanuja - is born from string instruments. Example: Violin,veena etc...
3.Vayuja - us born when air is passed through narrow pipe like instruments.
Example: Flute, nadaswaram etc...
4.Charmaja
5. Lohaja
6.Nakhaja
[1]
?ruti
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?ruti
is musical pitch. It is considered to be equivalent to
tonic
of western music. This is the pitch at which the
drone
is set, which is usually played by a
tambura
.
Sthayi
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In
Carnatic music
,
Sthayi
refers to the octave.
Madhyama sthayi
refers to the middle octave,
Tara sthayi
refers to the upper octave and
Mandra sthayi
refers to the lower octave.
[2]
Swaram
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Swaram
or
Swara
is a single note. Each swaram defines the position of note in relation to the ?ruti.
R?ga
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A
r?gam
prescribes a set of rules for building a
melody
- very similar to the Western concept of
mode
. Different combination of swarams and swaram phrases form different r?gams.
?r?hanam
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?r?hanam
of a ragam is the ascending scale of the r?gam. It describes the rules for singing ascending notes of a r?gam, including the swarams to use and swaram patterns that form the r?gam.
Avar?hanam
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Avar?hanam
of a r?gam is the descending scale of the r?gam. It describes the rules for singing descending notes of a r?gam.
Melakart?
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A
Melakart?
r?gam
is one which has all seven swarams, namely,
Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni
(
sampoorna r?gam
). The ?r?hanam and avar?hanam of a
melakart?
ragam are strictly ascending and descending scales. It is also known as
janaka r?gam
(parent r?gam), because other r?gams are derived from it.
Asamp?rna Melakart?
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One of the 72
parent r?gams
first created by
Venkatamakhin
which did not have strict rules of ascending / descending scales, did not insist on inclusion of all 7 swaras nor disallow
vakra prayogas
(zig zag notes in scale).
Chakra
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A
chakra
consists of a group of 6
Melakart? r?gams
, which differ from each other only in the
Dhaivatham
and
Nishadham
.
Janya
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A
Janya
r?gam
is one which is derived from a
Melakart?
r?gam. It may have (a) a subset of the seven swarams
Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni
(
varjya r?gam
), (b) an external swaram (
anya
swaram) not found in its parent or (c)
vakra pray?gam
of swarams in ?r?hanam or Avar?hanam (zig-zag sequence of notes, instead of strictly ascending or descending scales).
T?lam
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T?lam
refers to the rhythm cycle or beat cycle for a particular song.
?l?pana
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?l?pana
is a preface to a song, which explores the r?gam of the song, without any lyrics. It is a slow improvisation with no
t?lam
(rhythm).
Niraval
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S?hitya viny?sam / Niraval
or
Neraval
is the repeated singing of one or two lines of a song, with improvised exposition in each repetition. S?hitya viny?sam in Tamil language is referred as Neraval.
Kalpanaswaram
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Kalpanaswaram
literally means
imagined swarams
. It is the singing of swarams of the r?gam of a song, following the completion of the song. Though many phrases of the swarams may have been practiced, experienced artists may spontaneously play new phrases within the r?gam's rules - hence the term
Kalpana
. It is an improvisation of the r?gam, by singing the swarams, namely Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni.
T?nam
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T?nam
is rhythmic / rhythm based improvisation of the r?gam. It is done with rhythm based syllables like
tha, nam, thom and na
. It is usually included as second part in a
R?gam T?nam Pallavi
.
R?gam?lika
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R?gam?lika
, which literally means
garland of r?gams
, is a composition that has different verses set to different
r?gams
.
R?gam?lika
swarams refers to singing of
Kalpanaswarams
in different r?gams.
R?gam T?nam Palavi
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R?gam T?nam Pallavi
is a rendition of Carnatic music which lends to total improvisation, in different forms. It consists of
R?gam ?l?pana
(r?gam),
T?nam
and a
Pallavi
line. The pallavi line is sung many times in different speeds, different ranges of the r?gam and different octaves. This is usually followed by
Kalpanaswarams
, sometimes in multiple r?gams (
r?gam?lika
).
Ug?bh?ga
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Ug?bh?ga
(in Kannada)
or
Viruttam
(in Tamil)
is a devotional verse or phrase sung (without talam) in an imprompt choice of r?gam or r?gam?lika usually before a song. The r?gam (or last r?gam in case of r?gam?lika) is usually the same as that of the song that follows.
Man?dharma
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Man?dharma
is the concept of imprompt or spontaneous improvisation, which is one of the important aspects of Carnatic music. There are many types of improvisations, like
R?ga ?l?pane
,
T?na
,
S?hityaviny?sa
,
Ug?bh?ga
and
Kalpan?svara
.
Kalpita sangeetam
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Kalpita sangeetam
is music that is already composed, learnt and practiced. It is opposite of
Manodharma sangeetam
, which complements
Kalpita sangeetam
.
Swarams
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The seven swarams in Carnatic music, then followed by other terms related to swaram.
Shadjam
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The first swaram in the scale is
Shadjam
(Sa). It is invariant and is always included in all ragams.
Rishabham
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The second swaram in the scale is
Rishabham
(Ri). It has three pitch possibilities, namely
Suddha
,
Chathusruti
and
Shatsruti
.
Gandhara
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The third swaram in the scale is
G?ndh?ra
(Ga). It has three pitch possibilities, namely ?
uddha
,
S?dh?rana
and
Antara
.
Madhyamam
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The fourth swaram in the scale is
Madhyamam
(Ma). It has two pitch possibilities, namely
Suddha
and
Prati
.
Panchamam
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The fifth swaram in the scale is 'Panchamam' (Pa). It is invariant.
Dhaivatam
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The sixth
swaram
in the scale is
Dhaivatam
(Dha). It has three pitch possibilities, namely
Suddha
,
Chathusruti
and
Shatshruti
.
Nish?dham
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The seventh swaram in the scale is
Nish?dham
(Ni). It has three pitch possibilities, namely
Suddha
,
Kaisiki
and
Kaakali
.
Anya swaram
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Anya swaram
in a
janya
r?gam is a swaram that is not found in its parent r?gam (
melakart?
r?gam).
Anya
means
outside the set/ group
.
Sth?yi
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Sth?yi
refers to an
octave
of music. There are 5
sth?yis
in Carnaatic music, namely,
Anumandara
(lowest),
Mandara
(literally means chant, which means lower),
Madhya
(literally means middle),
Taara
(means higher) and
Athitaara
(meaning very high). Most artists sing over two octaves or two and a half octaves range (within Mandra, Madhya and Taara
sthaayis). Very few can sing well in bigger ranges of 3 or more octaves.
Anga
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Anga
means part. In the context of a r?gam's scale, the terms
poorvaanga
(meaning former part, in this case first-half) and
uttaraanga
(latter part, or second-half) are used.
Sa, Ri, Ga and Ma
notes in a scale are referred are
poorvaanga
, while
Pa, Dha and Ni
are referred as
uttaraanga
Gamaka
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Gamaka
is the term used for variations of the
swarams
in a scale. It can refer to the shake of the note, grace around the note, decoration or embellishment of the swaram. It is an integral part of most r?gams, as it is not arbitrary but is essential part of the structure/ scale.
V?di
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V?di
swaram
in a r?gam is the main/ primary swaram of importance in it. A
v?di
swaram is repeated quite often in a rendition.
Samv?di
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Samv?di swaram
in a r?gam has a concordant effect with the
v?di swaram
. It has a good effect to the ear (melody or pleasing) along with the
v?di
. In Western music it is equivalent of the
consonant
.
Viv?di
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Viv?di
swaram
in a r?gam has a discordant effect with the
v?di swaram
in it. It may not have a pleasing effect when sounded together, but composers use appropriate phrases so that such discordant effect is skipped or avoided. In Western music it is equivalent of the
dissonant
.
Anuv?di
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Anuv?di swaram
in a r?gam has neither concordant nor discordant effect with the
v?di swaram
.
Janthi r?gams
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Pray?gam
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A musical notes phrase of a r?gam (series of swarams sung in a particular r?gam) is known as
Pray?gam
.
Vishesha Pray?gam
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Vishesha
means
special
. Hence, important phrases of a r?gam are known as
Vishesha Pray?gams
.
Varjya
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Missing swarams in a
janya
r?gam, when derived from a
melakart?
r?gam are referred as
varjya
. For example,
Rishabham
and
Panchamam
are
varjya
in
Hindolam
when derived from
Natabhairavi
.
Vakram
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Swarams are said to be
vakram
in a r?gam, if either the
?r?hanam
,
Avar?hanam
or both, do not follow a strictly
ascending
or
descending
order. They go up and down (example, 2 steps forward one step back). In such a r?gam, these swarams should always use the same order to give the unique melody of the r?gam.
Up?nga
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A
janya r?gam
is
Up?nga
if all the swarams in its scale are strictly derived from its
melakart? r?gam
(parent). There are no
anya
swarams (external swarams).
Bh?sh?nga
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A
janya r?gam
is
Bh?sh?nga
if an
anya
swaram is introduced in its scale, when derived from its
melakart? r?gam
(parent).
Nish?dh?ntya
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A
janya r?gam
is
Nish?dh?ntya
if the highest note that can be played is the
Nish?dham
. The rules for such r?gams are that they should be played or sung within the single octave -
Ni, Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni
. Examples are
Naadanaa makriya
and
Punn?gavar?li
r?gams.
Dhaivat?ntya
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A
janya r?gam
is
Dhaivadh?ntya
if the highest note that can be played is the
Dhaivatam
. The rules for such r?gams are that they should be played or sung within the single octave -
Dha, Ni, Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha
. Example
Kurinji
r?gam.
Pancham?ntya
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A
janya r?gam
is
Pancham?ntya
if the highest note that can be played is the
Panchamam
. The rules for such r?gams are that they should be played or sung within the single octave -
Pa, Dha, Ni, Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa
. Example
Navroj
r?gam.
Madhyama sruti
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Tuning the
sruti
(tonic note) to
Ma
(and also changing
Pa
string of
Tambura
to
Ma
) is called
Madhyama sruti
. It is usually set for
Pancham?ntya
,
Dhaivadh?ntya
and
Nish?dh?ntya
r?gams.
Swaram counts
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The following terms are applicable to ascending scale (?r?hanam) of a r?gam, descending scale (avar?hanam) of a r?gam, or the r?gam as a whole.
Samp?rna r?gam
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Sampurna r?gam
is a r?gam that has all seven swarams, namely,
Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni
.
Sh?dava r?gam
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Sh?dava r?gam
is a r?gam that has only six of the seven swarams in its scale.
Owdava r?gam
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Owdava r?gam
is a r?gam that has only five of the seven swarams in its scale. It is a pentatonic scale.
Svarantara r?gam
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Svaraantara r?agam
is a r?gam that has only four of the seven swarams in its scale.
T?lam components
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Jathi
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Jathi
of a
t?lam
specifies
beat count
of the rhythm cycle. It specifically applies to
laghu
component(s) of the t?lam and not necessarily to the entire t?lam. The different jathis are tisra (three beats in lagu), chathusra (four), khanda (five), misra (seven) and sankeerna (nine).
Gati
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Gati
of a
t?lam
specifies sub-divisions of a beat in a composition. It is also referred as
Nadai
.
Chathusra
gati is the most common (four), followed by
Tisra
(three). Others are
Khanda
,
Misra
and
Sankeerna
.
Laghu
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Laghu
is the component of a
t?lam
which is the variant part. Its beat count is dependent on the
j?ti
of the
t?lam
. The action for counting includes a tap / clap, followed by a count of sub-beats of the full rhythm cycle. Note that a tisra j?ti laghu is actually 1 clap and 2 counts = 3 beats.
Dhrutham
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Dhrutham
is the component of a
t?lam
which is invariant and includes only two beats. Its action includes a tap / clap, followed by a
veechu
(wave).
Anudhrutham
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Anudhrutham
is the component of a
t?lam
which is invariant and includes only one beat. Its action is a tap / clap.
?vartanam
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?vartanam
of a
t?lam
refers to one cycle of the t?lam. Most t?lams have at least 1 laghu, except for the rare t?lams (
see t?lam page
).
Graham
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Graham
or
Eduppu
(in Tamil) means
start
. Eduppu denotes the point within the
?vartanam
of a
t?lam
when a composition or stanza in a composition begins.
Onru
(one beat later, meaning second beat),
Onrarai
(one and half beat later, meaning between 2nd and 3rd beat) are common, other than
Samam
(meaning equal) which starts in synchronization with the beginning of a
t?lam
.
T?lams
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R?paka t?lam
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R?paka t?lam
refers to the group of
t?lams
that consist of 1 dhrutam, followed by 1 lagu.
R?paka t?lam
also refers to
chathusra-jathi r?paka t?lam
as a default (2 + 4 = 6 beats in an ?vartanam).
Triputa t?lam
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Triputa t?lam
refers to the group of
t?lams
that consist of 1 laghu, followed by 2 dhrutams.
Triputa t?lam
also refers to
tisra-jathi triputa t?lam
as a default (3 + 2 + 2 = 7 beats in an ?vartanam).
Dhruva t?lam
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Dhruva t?lam
refers to the group of
t?lams
that consist of 1 lagu, followed by 1 dhrutam, followed by two lagus.
Dhruva t?lam
also refers to
chathusra-jathi dhruva t?lam
as a default (4 + 2 + 4 + 4 = 14 beats in an ?vartanam), unless a different jathi is specified.
Matya t?lam
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Matya t?lam
refers to the group of
t?lams
that consist of 1 lagu, followed by 1 dhrutam, followed by 1 lagu.
Matya t?lam
also refers to
chathusra-jathi matya t?lam
as a default (4 + 2 + 4 = 10 beats in an ?vartanam).
Jhampa t?lam
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Jhampa t?lam
refers to the group of
t?lams
that consist of 1 lagu, followed by 1 anudhrutam, followed by 1 dhrutam.
Jhampa t?lam
also refers to
misra-jathi jhampa t?lam
as a default (7 + 1 + 2 = 10 beats in an ?vartanam).
Ata t?lam
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Ata t?lam
refers to the group of
t?lams
that consist of 2 lagus, followed by 2 dhrutams.
Ata t?lam
also refers to
khanda-jathi ata t?lam
as a default (5 + 5 + 2 + 2 = 14 beats in an ?vartanam).
Eka t?lam
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Eka t?lam
refers to the group of
t?lams
that consist of 1 lagu only.
Eka t?lam
also refers to
chathusra-jathi eka t?lam
as a default (4 beats in an ?vartanam).
?dhi t?lam
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?dhi t?lam
refers to
chathusra-jathi triputa t?lam
(4 + 2 + 2 = 8 beats in an ?vartanam), which is very common in Carnatic music. This is the equivalent of 8 beat / 16 beat of Western music.
Khanda ch?pu t?lam
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]
Khanda ch?pu
refers to a t?lam with 10 beat ?vartanam (Khanda literally means 5) which does not fit into above classification of t?lams.
Misra ch?pu t?lam
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]
Misra ch?pu
refers to a t?lam with 14 beat ?vartanam (Misra literally means 7) which does not fit into above classification of t?lams.
Des?dhi t?lam
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]
Des?dhi
refers to
?dhi t?lam
with (8 beat
?vartanam
), where the
eduppu
is one and a half beats from beginning of
?varatanam
(
onrarai
).
Lay?
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]
Lay?
is the tempo or speed of a song. Carnatic music does not define a fixed lay? to songs, but traditionally some songs have been sung fast or slow and hence are categorised that way. Typical classification of lay? includes Vilambitha (delayed or slow), Madhyama (medium) and Dhuritha (fast). The term Chowka is also used to denote an extra slow tempo and Adi-Dhuritha is used to denote an extra fast one.
K?la
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]
K?la
refers to the change of tempo during a rendition of song, typically doubling up the speed. Onnaam kaalam is 1st speed, Irandaam kaalam is 2nd speed and so on. Irandaam kaalam fits in twice the number of aksharaas (notes) into the same beat, thus doubling the tempo. Sometimes, K?la is also used similar to Lay?, for example Madhyama K?lam or Chowka K?lam.
Learning exercises
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Learning Carnatic music involves most of the following exercises, mostly in the order listed below.
Sara?e varase
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]
Sara?e varase
is used to learn the swarams in the octave, usually in
M?y?m?lavagowla
ragam. It is learnt in simple straight ascending and descending fashion and a few variations. It is also learnt in multiple speeds (kalas).
Svar?va?i
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]
Ava?i
means
row
or
arrangement
.
Svar?va?i
are exercises with different arrangements of swarams. It is shortened and referred as
Sara?e
, as in
Sara?e varise
described above.
Ja??i varase
[
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]
Ja??i varase
are exercises used to learn the swarams in the octave in twin fashion (sa sa ri ri ga ga and so on) and a few other combinations. It is also usually learnt in.There are total of 7-8 swarams.
M?y?m?lavagowla
r?gam.
D??u varase
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]
D??u
(in Kannada) literally means to jump or to skip.
D??u varase
are exercises used to learn the swarams in zig-zag fashion, so that more control of the notes and different combinations are achieved. Example,
sa ma ri ga, sa ri ga ma
, and so on. Each of these exercises are set to different
t?lams
, so that different rhythm aspects are learnt.
Ala?k?ra
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]
Alank?ra
means
beautiful arrangement of swarams
. These exercises are groups or patterns of swarams, each of which are set to seven main
t?lams
, so that rhythm aspect is also learnt together with different r?gams.
Types of composition
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Geetham
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]
Geetham
means
song
or
melody
. Geethams are the first songs that are learnt. They are very short and are the first exercises where singing
lyrics
along with their swaram patterns are learnt.
Swarajati
[
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]
Swarajati
lead to learning bigger songs / compositions after learning
Geethams
. They are set to different r?gams and lead towards learning
varnams
and
kritis
.
Varnam
[
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]
Varnam
is a type of composition which is suited for vocal exercises of a wide variety of Carnatic music aspects, including slow and fast tempo of singing, both lyrics and swarams. It is the most complex of vocal exercises. In modern carnatic concerts, it is usually sung as a first song and is supposed to help warm-up.
Keerthanam
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]
Keerthanam
or
Kriti
is the category of most compositions in Carnatic music. A concert consists mainly of Keerthanams with zero or one of
Varnam
,
R?gam Th?nam Pallavi
and
Thill?n?
included in appropriate order.
Kriti
[
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]
For
Kriti
, see
Keerthanam
above.
Thillana
[
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]
Thill?n?
is a composition consisting of
rhythm
syllables, like
Dheem, thom, tarana and thaani
in first two stanzas, followed by a one or two line lyric. In instrumental performances, it is a melodic rhythmic piece.
Parts of a composition
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Pallavi
[
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]
Pallavi
is the first verse in a composition, especially varnams,
Keerthanams
or
Kritis
.
Anupallavi
[
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]
Anupallavi
is an optional verse that follows the
pallavi
in a composition, especially
keerthanams
or
kritis
.
Charanam
[
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]
Charanams
are the verse(s) that follow the
pallavi
or
anupallavi
(if present).
Chittaswaram
[
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]
Chittaswarams
are set swaram phrases (solfa passages), in a composition, usually a
kriti
, appended to enrich its beauty. It is sung at the end of the
anupallavi
and
charanam
.
Mukt?yi swaram
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]
Mukt?yi swarams
are the swaram phrases (solfa passage) that occur after the
anupallavi
in
t?na varnams
and which serves as the concluding part of the
p?rvanga
(first part). This is more related to the songs for dance performances, like
Bharatanatyam
.
Other
[
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]
Tani avartanam
[
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]
Tani avartanam
refers to the extended solo that is played by the percussionists in a concert.
Tukkada
[
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]
Tukkadaas
are compositions played towards the end of Carnatic concerts.
Avadhana Pallavi
[
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]
Avadhana Pallavi
is a classical form of performing a composition set to two different talas.
Konnakol
[
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]
Konnakol
is the art of performing percussion syllables vocally.
References
[
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]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Prof. P Sambamoorthy (2005),
South Indian Music - Vol I
, Chennai, India: The Indian Music Publishing House, pp. 51?62
- ^
"Chinmaya Swaranjali |"
.
- A practical course in Carnatic music
by Prof. P. Sambamurthy, 15th edition published 1998, The Indian Music publishing house
- Ragas in Carnatic music
by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications
- Raganidhi
by P. Subba Rao, Pub. 1964, The Music Academy of Madras
- South Indian music
, Books I, II and III, by Prof. P. Sambamurthy, 18th edition published 2005, The Indian Music publishing house
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