KARNATIC MUSIC FOR BEGINNERS

karnATik Beginners' notations

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sarali arisai "lesson #$
raagam: maayamaa%aa gow%a
#&th m'lakartha
aar(ha)am: * +# ,3 -# . /# )3 *
aar(ha)am: * )3 /# . -# ,3 +# *
taa%am: aa!i
#.
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n * 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n * 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
2.
s r - s r - 0 s r 0 g m 00
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n * 00
* n - * n - 0 * n 0 ! p 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
3.
s r g - s 0 r g - 0 s r 00
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n * 00
* n ! - s 0 n ! - 0 s n 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s
Sarali varisai
+aga: -ayamalaagowla "#&th -elakartha +agam$
Arohana: * +# ,3 -# . /# )3 *
Aarohana: * )3 /# . -# ,3 +# *
Talam: A!i
)otation Co1rtesy: +ani2 www.karnatic.com an! Chitraeena +ai 3iran's 4ook
Notes from Chitra Veena Ravi Kiran's oo! "#ith some a$$itions%&
,etting *tarte!: *1staining )otes - 3A+5A6
The 7irst step is to hae a tanp1ra or shr1ti 4o82 which will proi!e the 4asic note 9*a9
an! the 7i7th note 7rom it2 which is 9.aa9. :o1 can seek yo1r g1r1's help in !etermining
yo1r i!eal pitch2 which ena4les yo1 to traerse at least two octaes "7rom .aa in the lower
octae to .aa in the higher octae$ com7orta4le oer a perio! o7 time. 6t is e;1ally ital to
learn to t1ne either o7 these instr1ments 7rom one's master. Then listen to it care71lly an!
try to register the notes "sa - pa - sa$ in yo1r min!.
Then try to sing these two constant notes t1ne71lly2 making an e77ort to 1n!erstan! the
relationship 4etween the frequencies that 9*a9 an! 9.a9 are s1ng at. *14se;1ently2 the
teacher will intro!1ce the rest o7 the notes2 an! here again2 yo1 sho1l! try to make
yo1rsel7 aware o7 where "in terms o7 7re;1ency$ they are2 with respect to 9*a9. *inging in
t1ne is the primary so1rce o7 <oy.
)ow the teacher can intro!1ce a raga2 say -ayamalaagowla2 7or the 4asic e8ercises.
-ayamalaagowla is the #&th melakartha with the notes: * +# ,3 -# . /# )3 *.
-ost teachers pre7er to 1se this raga 4eca1se it has !i77erent interals. (nce the st1!ent
achiees s177icient comman! oer these e8ercises2 the same can 4e attempte! in other
melakartha ragas.
(ne sho1l! now try to hol! eery one o7 these notes t1ne71lly as long as possi4le. This
s1stenance o7 a note is calle! 9kaarai.9 Attention sho1l! 4e gie to singing in t1ne2
hol!ing one's 4reath an! releasing it with a goo! tone. This e8ercise is a m1st2 4e7ore the
sarali or other arishais are ta1ght. This sho1l! 4e !one witho1t tala initially2 1ntil the
st1!ents learn to sing or play the notes per7ectly. 3arais are 1se! at all leels in Carnatic
m1sic an! they can create a ery so1l71l2 tran;1il an! eocatie atmosphere. At the ery
71n!amental leel2 they 41il! a scienti7ic approach to the rest o7 the m1sic that st1!ents
will s14se;1ently 4e intro!1ce! to. An artiste m1st 4e a4le to hol! any note stea!ily an!
t1ne71lly 7or at least #0-#& secon!s an! gra!1ally increase this to a min1te.
Additional notes: =hat are the sruti aspects we wo1l! like to learn 7rom sarali swaras> 6
will 1se the wor! 9sr1ti9 to re7er to a note or a tone or a 7re;1ency "eg: e8presse! in swara
7orm as 9sa92 9ri92 9ga92 9ma92 9pa92 9!ha92 9ni9$ an! its relation to a 4ase 7re;1ency "eg:
9sa9 as e8presse! 4y the 4ackgro1n! tam41ra or sr1ti 4o8$. =hen a learner listens to or
sings the sylla4le 9sa92 what sho1l! he/she look 7or>
?irst2 since o1r m1sic is e8presse! with respect to an ar4itrarily chosen sr1ti note "eg: the
tam41ra or sr1ti 4o8$2 the st1!ent sho1l! 7irst %6*T') to the tam41ra or sr1ti 4o82 close
ones eyes an! try to 97eel9 the m1sic o7 the note to get a ro1gh visual i!ea o7 where the
note 9sa9 is "i.e. an 1n!erstan!ing o7 where 9sa9 is asol'tel( locate! in the 9space9 o7
m1sical 7re;1encies$. :o1 can o1twar!ly e8press this 1n!erstan!ing 4y in!icating a leel
with yo1r han!s.
This 1n!erstan!ing is important 4eca1se2 once yo1 listen to some other note "e8presse!
simply as 9aaaaa92 i.e. as akaaram$2 yo1 sho1l! 4e a4le to say whether that note is higher
than 9sa9 or lower than 9sa9 "i.e. a relatie 1n!erstan!ing o7 notes relative to 9sa9$. :o1
can o1twar!ly e8press this relatie 1n!erstan!ing 4y raising or lowering yo1r han!
relatie to the original leel 7or 9sa.9
The ne8t step is to go !eeper2 an! ask2 9how m1ch is the note higher or lower than sa9>
:o1 can raise or lower yo1r han! proportionately to re7lect yo1r 1n!erstan!ing. (nce yo1
!o this2 yo1 can replace the original sa with another note as the re7erence an! ask i7
another note is higher or lower than it2 an! 4y how m1ch> 6 hae some e8amples o7 this
in the a1!io lesson.
,etting a tr1e an! !eep appreciation o7 note location on the 7re;1ency scale is a non-
triial task an! m1st 4e reisite! oer the long-term. This knowle!ge is calle! 9sruti
jnana9 or knowle!ge o7 sr1ti@ By the way2 in this process yo1 hae also learnt the 4asics
o7 the han!-waing histrionics o7 seeral carnatic m1sic ocal artistes@
The ne8t step is to go 4eyon! listening an! into singing. =hen m1sicians start2 they 7irst
t1ne their oice to the sr1ti 4y singing saa-paa-saa. %ets start with 9saa.9 =hat !oes is
mean to sing 9saa9 correctly when there is no one "41t yo1rsel7@$ to tell yo1 whether yo1
are correct or wrong>
The important point is that when yo1 sing anything2 yo1 hae to keenly %6*T') T(
:(A+*'%? singing@ This is easier sai! than !one2 4eca1se it is ery har! to hae yo1r
min! !o a 4alancing act o7 B(TB the o1tp1t "i.e. singing$ an! the inp1t "listening$. 6
hae also o4sere! that my ears ten! to 4lock a little when 6 am singing an! makes this a
little more har!er. B1t this 97ee!4ack9 is ery important 4eca1se then yo1 can compare
the 7ee!4ack to the re7erence 9saa9 an! as yo1 practice! earlier2 !isting1ish whether what
yo1 are CA%%6), 9saa9 is in!ee! the 7re;1ency o7 9saa9 or i7 it is higher or lower@ :o1
can again !o yo1r act with the han! to <1!ge whether the note yo1 are singing is higher or
lower than the re7erence. (nce yo1 hae esta4lishe! this2 yo1 can try to correct yo1r
o1tp1t online till yo1 reach the correct leel o7 9saa9. 6 m1st say that 6 hae 7o1n! this
step "the st1!ent a4le to recogniCe an! correct the note s1ng to match saa$ to 4e the
4iggest st1m4ling 4lock among 4eginners.
This step a4oe is also an e8ample o7 p1tting a 7ew 4asic i!eas together -- listening to a
7re;1ency2 <1!ging its relatie position an! singing it at the same time. 67 yo1 cannot get
this right2 6 wo1l! s1ggest !ecomposing this an! !oing each piece separately "i.e. !ii!e-
an!-con;1er: listen only2 listenD<1!ge2 sing only2 singDlisten2 singDlistenD<1!ge$. :o1
can skip some o7 these com4inations i7 it comes nat1rally to yo1: yo1 <1st nee! to 4e
aware an! a4le to !o any one o7 these things on !eman!...
The ne8t step is to sharpen these pieces o7 1n!erstan!ing an! pick 1p some relate!
concepts:
Relative )ositions& Try !eli4erately singing the syllable 9sa92 41t s1ng at a higher
or lower frequency than the tam41ra sr1ti. Can yo1 !o it>
Can yo1 listen to yo1rsel7 an! <1!ge where the sylla4le yo1 are singing is relatie
to the re7erence> Can yo1 start higher>
Can yo1 make it come 4ack to the correct 7re;1ency location witho1t taking a
new 4reath2 an! <1st sli!ing to the correct position> /o yo1 know appreciate the
!i77erence 4etween saying the word "saa" in some 7re;1ency s singing it at the
correct 7re;1ency>
RaviKiran Notes "*ont$%&
M'si*al )hrases& ,ra!1ally simple com4inations o7 notes can 4e trie!. Teachers can
intro!1ce small m1sical phrases like ,- 2 - ,-.2 - //.2 - .-,2 - -,+2 - ,-,+*-
an! so on. (er a 7ew sessions2 the phrases can get percepti4ly sophisticate!.
A!aaram: A7ter a 7ew s1ch sessions2 the same phrases can 4e ren!ere! 1sing the owel
9a9 as in 9America9. This is calle! 9akaaram9 an! it is a ery integral part o7 Carnatic
m1sic2 with partic1lar re7erence to ocal m1sic. Th1s2 e8pos1re to akarams is ery
essential at this stage2 al4eit in a simple 7orm.
)ra*ti*al E+er*ises& )hase II&
Varishais , Se-'en*es:
The great composer .1ran!ara /asa2 haile! as the ?ather o7 Carnatic m1sic2 create! a set
o7 71n!amental e8ercises nearly &00 years ago2 which are 7ollowe! een to!ay.
There are E main types o7 arishais.
Sarali Varishais& These 71n!amental se;1ences ena4le the st1!ent to get a 7eel o7
melo!y with rhythm. The logic is ;1ite o4io1s here. The #st arishai is a plain ascent
an! !escent o7 the notes o7 the raga. The 2n! arishai 7oc1ses on the secon! note 7rom *2
namely + "in the ascent$ an! ) "in the !escent$. The 3r! arishai centers on the thir! note
", an! /$ in the ascent an! !escent respectiely. The 7o1rth arishai concentrates on the
7o1rth note - an! .. This goes on 1pto the Fth arishai. The last 3 are general e8ercises.
*ome 4ooks hae split the last sarali arishai into & parts2 41t singing it as a single
arishai is more instr1ctie.
.anta Varishais& These are 7orce71l se;1ences2 which 7acilitate the st1!ents to a!!
weight an! ma<esty to their oice. They make 1se o7 a 7orm o7 ornamentation calle!
9sp1ritham9 which is ren!ering a note twice: plain the 7irst time2 an! with 7orce 7rom the
preio1s note "i.e. the note <1st 4elow this note in 7re;1ency$ in the raga the secon! time.
Teachers m1st take care that the concept o7 sph1ritham is ery clearly em4e!!e! in the
st1!ents' min!s. The ten!ency to ren!er it in a 4lan! an! insipi! manner sho1l! 4e
aoi!e!.
Melstha(i Varishais& These are higher octae se;1ences2 which increase the st1!ents'
ocal or instr1mental range. Again2 the logic is easy to 1n!erstan!. The 7irst is the
simplest asn eery s14se;1ent e8ercise a!!s a new phrase to the preio1s one. The
progressiely coer notes 1pto .a in the higher octae.
/hat' Varishais& These are CigCag se;1ences that increase the st1!ents' oerall
comman! o7 notes.
Alan!arams& These are m1lti-tala se;1ences compose! in the 3& talas. B1t 1s1ally F o7
these are selecte! an! ta1ght to the st1!ents.
*t1!ents sho1l! 4e ta1ght to ren!er all these e8ercises in at least 3-E spee!s. (nce they
per7ect this techni;1e2 they co1l! practice most o7 them in the 3r! spee!. 6t is i!eal to
ren!er each arishai twice2 once <1st with the swaras2 an! again2 with akaaram.
S0ee$s in Carnati* m'si*& 6n carnatic m1sic2 spee! is relatie. 6t is meas1re! as the
n1m4er o7 notes per 4eat o7 the tala2 rather than the n1m4er o7 notes per secon! or
min1te.
The 7irst spee! is ren!ering one note per 1nit o7 the tala. The 2n! spee! is e8actly !o14le
o7 this2 i.e. two notes per 1nit. The 3r! spee! is 7o1r notes per 1nit. The Eth is eight notes
per 1nit. The &th is #G notes per 1nits an! Gth spee! is 32 notes per 1nit.
*pee! o7 the tala is rarely arie!H only the spee! o7 the m1sic is. B1t een this is not
accomplishe! in an ar4itrary manner. There is a mathematical precision to it. ?or
instance2 the 2n! spee! is e8actly twice as 7ast an! the thir! is e8actly twice as 7ast as the
secon! an! so 7orth.
A$van*e$ e+er*ises&
*ome selected arishais can 4e repeate! with:
- Akaram2 'e-kaaram2 A-kaaram
- =ith ,amakas2 in !i77erent spee!s
- 6n !i77erent samp1rna ragas: 3alyani2 *hankara4haranam2 3haraharapriya2 Tho!i
- 6n selecte! symmetrical <anya ragas "witho1t tala$: -ohana2 Bamsa!hwani2 *ri ran<ani2
- 6n selecte! asymmetrical <anya ragas: Bilahari2 -ohana 3alyani
- 6n selecte! ia!i ragas: ,anam1rthi2 Chala )atai
- 6n 4hashanga ragas: Bhairai
- 6n !i77erent na!ais: thrishram2 khan!a2 mishra
"this is partic1larly 1se71l 7or instr1mental practice$
Notation hints& "this notation follo#s Rani's notes in ###1!arnati!1*om%
s I sa H r I ri H g I ga H m I ma H p I paH ! I !ha H n I ni H
CapitaliCe! letters are in the higher octae
#. *imple ascent/!escent
%aya pattern: #23E &GFJ
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n * 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
2. ?oc1s on + an! )
%aya pattern: #2-#2-#23E an! #23E &GFJ
s r - s r - 0 s r 0 g m 00
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n * 00
* n - * n - 0 * n 0 ! p 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
3. ?oc1s on , an! /.
%aya pattern: #23-#23-#2 an! #23E &GFJ
s r g - s 0 r g - 0 s r 00
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n * 00
* n ! - s 0 n ! - 0 s n 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
E. ?oc1s on - an! .
%aya pattern: #23E-#23E an! #23E &GFJ
s r g m - 0 s r 0 g m - 00
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n s 00
* n ! p - 0 * n 0 ! p - 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
&. ?oc1s on . an! - "!heergam$H an! +2 )
%aya pattern: #23E &G-#2 an! #23E &GFJ
s r g m 0 p 2 - 0 s r 00
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n * 00
* n ! p 0 m 2 - 0 * n 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
G. ?oc1s on , an! /
%aya pattern: #23E &G-#2 an! #23E &GFJ
s r g m 0 p ! - 0 s r 00
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n * 00
* n ! p 0 m g - 0 * n 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
F. ?oc1s on ) an! + "!heergam$
%aya pattern: #23E &G-F2 an! #23E &GFJ
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n 2 00
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n * 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r 2 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
J. Kig Kag with ?oc1s on 9pmgr9 an! 9mp!n9
%aya pattern: #23E -E32# an! #23E &GFJ
s r g m 0 p m 0 g r 00
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n * 00
* n ! p 0 m p 0 ! n 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
L. Kig Kag with ?oc1s on 9pm!p9 an! 9mpgm9
%aya pattern: #23E -E32# an! #23E &GFJ
s r g m 0 p m 0 ! p 00
s r g m 0 p ! 0 n * 00
* n ! p 0 m p 0 g m 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
#0. ?oc1s on . "!heergam$ an! the region 4etween , an! )H
an! practicing resting on , "nyaasa swaram$
%aya pattern: #23E &G-#2 an! # 2 2 2 # 2 2 2 an!
#23E - E32# an! #23E &GFJ
s r g m 0 p 2 0 g m 00
p 2 2 2 0 p 2 0 2 2 00
g m p ! 0 n ! 0 p m 00
g m p - g 0 m g 0 r s 00
##. ?oc1s on !heergams at *2 )2 /2 ..
*imple patterns: 9*n!92 9)!p92 9/pm9
an! the region 4etween , an! ) "7inishing phrases$
Manta at p2 p2
* 2 n ! 0 n 2 0 ! p 00
! 2 p m 0 p 2 0 p 2 00
g m p ! 0 n ! 0 p m 00
g m p - g 0 m g 0 r s 00
#2. .reiew o7 Manta "sph1ritam$ concept: 9**92 9nn92 9!!92 9pp9.
*imple patterns: 9**n!92 9nn!p92 9!!pm9
/heergam at 9paa9
an! the region 4etween , an! ) "7inishing phrases$
* * n ! 0 n n 0 ! p 00
! ! p m 0 p 2 0 p 2 00
g m p ! 0 n ! 0 p m 00
g m p - g 0 m g 0 r s 00
#3. KigKag .atterns: 9srgr ,92 9gmpm.92
/heergam ?oc1s: ,2 .2 /
an! the region 4etween - an! ) "with a lot o7 emphasis on CigCag an! /-notes$
s r g r 0 g 2 - 0 g m 00
p m p 2 - 0 ! p 0 ! 2 00
m p ! p 0 ! n 0 ! p 00
m p ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
#E. /heergam at . an! *.
Mantas at / an! -
s r g m 0 p 2 0 p 2 00
! ! p 2 0 m m 0 p 2 00
! n * 2 0 * n 0 ! p 00
* n ! p 0 m g 0 r s 00
222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222
Sarali Varishai in fo'r s0ee$s&
?irst spee! - one note per unit
# 0 2 0 3 0 E 0 & 0 G 0 F 0 J 0
s r g m p ! n *
*econ! spee! - two notes per unit
# 0 2 0 3 0 E 0 & 0 G 0 F 0 J 0
sr gm p! n* *n !p mg rs
Thir! spee! - four notes per unit
# 0 2 0 3 0 E 0 & 0 G 0 F 0 J 0
srgm p!n* *n!p mgrs srgm p!n* *n!p mgrs
?o1rth spee! - eight notes per unit listen
# 0 2 0 3 0 E 0
srgmp!n* *n!pmgrs srgmp!n* *n!pmgrs
& 0 G 0 F 0 J 0
srgmp!n* *n!pmgrs srgmp!n* *n!pmgrs
222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222