50 Evergreen ragas of carnatic music

Publisher : Skanda Publications

Author : Vidhya Bhavani Suresh

Book Description :

The subject of Ragas of Carnatic music is a very interesting one. The two core features of Carnatic music are Raga and Thala. Thala deals with the metre. We may call it the foundation on which compositions are built. The rhythmic combination of a song and the pace at which it is sung etc. come within the scope of thala. The musicality of a song is determined by the raga in which it is set. In short, the raga is the basic melodic structure. Every raga has a formula. This formula tells us the notes that comprise this raga. In fact, this would be putting it too simply. The formula actually throws light on many things, namely:

1. The notes present:

There are seven notes in Carnatic Music. Five notes, namely, RGM DN have variants, while S and P are constant.

2. The arrangement in which they are present: The notes can be orderly or disorderly.

3. The direction in which they are present: There are two directions - the ascent and descent.

Notes not featuring in the formula are notes that should not be included when that particular raga is being handled.

These four points are the base on which a raga is elaborated. Any deviation from the formula takes the presentation outside the raga, which is not permitted in Carnatic music.

Most people are familiar with many raga names. For many, the familiarity stops there. They are very keen to go beyond this and understand the ragas better. This book has been prepared with this goal in mind.