Music Theory

1. Śruti

Śruti 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.

The Shruti or Śruti is the smallest interval of pitch that the human ear can detect and a singer or musical instrument can produce. The Swara differs from the Shruti; the Shruti is the smallest gradation of pitch available, while a Swara is the selected pitches from which the musician constructs the scales, melodies and ragas. 

2. Sthayi

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.

3. Swara

Swara is a word that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave or Saptaka. More comprehensively, it is the ancient Indian concept about the complete dimension of musical pitch. Most of the time a swara is identified as both musical note and tone, but a tone is a precise substitute for sur, related to tunefulness. Traditionally, Indians have just seven swaras/notes with short names, e.g. saa, re/ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni which Indian musicians collectively designate as saptak or saptaka. It is one of the reasons why Swara is considered a symbolic expression for the number seven.

These notes, or swaras, are Shadjam, Rishabham, Gandharaam, Madhyamam, Panchamam, Dhaivatam and Nishadam. When singing these become Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, and Sargam stands for "Sa-Ri-Ga-Ma". Only these syllables are sung, and further designations are never vocalized. When writing these become, S, R, G, M, P, D, N. The technique of this classification is called Sargam (from Sa-Ri-Ga-Ma) technique. 

The keys for playing Sargam in Harmonium or Piano are as follows:  

4. Rāga

A rāgam prescribes a set of rules for building a melody - very similar to the Western concept of mode. Different combination of Swaras and Swara phrases form different rāgams.

A rāga is not a tune, because the same rāga can yield an infinite number of tunes. A rāga is not a scale, because many rāgas can be based on the same scale. A rāga is best conceptualized as a "unique array of melodic features, mapped to and organized for a unique aesthetic sentiment in the listener". The goal of a rāga and its artist is to create rasa (essence, feeling, atmosphere) with music, as classical Indian dance does with performance arts. In the Indian tradition, classical dances are performed with music set to various rāgas. 

Ārōhanam - Ārōhanam of a ragam is the ascending scale of the rāgam. It describes the rules for singing ascending notes of a rāgam, including the Swarams to use and Swaram patterns that form the rāgam.

Avarōhanam - Avarōhanam of a rāgam is the descending scale of the rāgam. It describes the rules for singing descending notes of a rāgam.

Melakartā - A Melakartā rāgam is one which has all seven Swarams, namely, Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni (sampoorna rāgam). The ārōhanam and avarōhanam of a melakartā ragam are strictly ascending and descending scales. It is also known as Janaka rāgam (parent rāgam), because other rāgams are derived from it.

Asampūrna Melakartā - One of the 72 parent rāgams 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 - A chakra consists of a group of 6 Melakartā rāgams, which differ from each other only in the Dhaivatham and Nishadham.

Janya - A Janya rāgam is one which is derived from a Melakartā rāgam. It may have (a) a subset of the seven Swarams Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni (varjya rāgam), (b) an external Swaram (anya Swaram) not found in its parent or (c) vakra prayōgam of Swarams in Ārōhanam or Avarōhanam (zig-zag sequence of notes, instead of strictly ascending or descending scales).

5. Tālam

A Tala literally means a 'clap, tapping one's hand on one's arm, a musical measure'. The measure is typically established by hand clapping, waving, touching fingers on thigh or the other hand, verbally, striking of small cymbals, or a percussion instrument in the Indian subcontinental traditions. Along with raga which forms the fabric of a melodic structure, the tala forms the life cycle and thereby constitutes one of the two foundational elements of Indian music. 

The Tala as the time cycle, and the Raga as the melodic framework, are the two foundational elements of classical Indian music. The Raga gives an artist the ingredients palette to build the melody from sounds, while the Tala provides her with a creative framework for rhythmic improvisation using time. 

In Carnatic music, there are Seven basic Talams that are often used.

Dhruva - Consists of Laghu | Drutham | Laghu | Laghu and is represented by the notation I O I I. 

Matya - Consists of Laghu | Drutham | Laghu and is represented by the notation I O I. 

Rupaka - Consists of Drutham | Laghu and is represented by the notation O I. 

Jhampa - Consists of Laghu | Anudhrutam | Drutham and is represented by the notation I U O. 

Triputa - Consists of Laghu | Drutham | Drutham and is represented by the notation I O O. 

Adi thalam is a variety of Triputa Talam with Thrisara Jathi, where the lengh of Laghu is 3. 

Ata - Consists of Laghu | Laghu | Drutham | Drutham and is represented by the notation I I O O. 

Eka - Consists of Laghu. I. 

6. Strokes or Angam 

Talam has six Angams or parts. These are: 

Anudhrutam - Anudhrutam is a single beat and is physically counted as 1 beat/akshara. It is notated using the symbol 'U'.

Dhrutam - Dhrutam is a beat and a wave of the hand and is counted as 2 beats/akshara. It is notated using the symbol "O".

Laghu - Laghu is one beat, followed by counts of the fingers starting from the little finger. It is notated using the symbol "I". The number of finger counts in Laghu varies from three, four, five, seven or nine, depending on the Jathi. 

Guru - Guru is a pattern represented by eight beats/akshara and is notated using the symbol "8". It consists of a downward clap with the palm facing down followed by circling movement of the right hand with closed fingers in the clockwise direction. 

Plutham - Plutham is a pattern of twelve beats/akshara and is notated using the symbol "8'". It consists of a downward clap with the palm facing down followed by counting from little finger to the middle finger, a krishya (waving the hand towards the left hand side four times) and a sarpini (waving the hand towards the right four times). 

Kakapadam - Kakapadam is a pattern of sixteen beats/akshara and is notated using the symbol "+". It consists of a downward clap with the palm facing down followed by counting from little finger to the middle finger, a pathakam (waving the hand upwards four times),a krishya and a sarpini. 

7. Jatis

Jati specifies the length of Laghu in the Thalam. 

Thisra (3) - Laghu has one beat of the palm facing downwards + 2 finger counts (in detain, the finger counts will be- little finger, ring finger). 

Chaturasra (4) - Laghu has one beat of the palm facing downwards + 3 finger counts (in detain, the finger counts will be- little finger, ring finger and middle finger). 

Khanda (5) - Laghu has one beat of the palm facing downwards + 4 finger counts (in detain, the finger counts will be- little finger, ring finger, middle finger and again little finger). 

Misra (7) - Laghu has one beat of the palm facing downwards + 6 finger counts (in detain, the finger counts will be- little finger, ring finger, middle finger again little finger, ring finger and middle finger).

Sankeerna (9) - Laghu has one beat of the palm facing downwards + 8 finger counts (in detain, the finger counts will be- little finger, ring finger, middle finger again little finger, ring finger middle finger, and again little finger and ring finger). 

Each Tala family has a default Jati associated with it; the tala name mentioned without qualification refers to the default Jati. 

Dhruva tala - chaturasra jati 

Matya tala - chaturasra jati 

Rupaka tala - chaturasra jati 

Jhampa tala - misra jati 

Triputa tala - tisra jati (chaturasra jati type is also known as Adi tala) 

Ata tala - kanda jati 

Eka tala  - chaturasra jati 

For all the 72 melakarta Talas and the 108 Talas the Jathi is mostly chatusram. 

8. Ragam Tanam Palavi

Rāgam Tānam Pallavi is a rendition of Carnatic music which lends to total improvisation, in different forms. It consists of Rāgam Ālāpana (rāgam), Tānam and a Pallavi line. The Pallavi line is sung many times in different speeds, different ranges of the rāgam and different octaves. This is usually followed by Kalpanaswarams, sometimes in multiple rāgams (rāgamālika).

"Ragam" in the context of "Ragam Tanam Pallavi" refers to raga alapana - the first component. In this form of pure melodic improvisation, the musician starts with a refrain to create the mood of raga and lays a foundation for composition to follow. Each Ragam tanam pallavi has at least one raga associated with it.

Tanam is one of the most important forms of the improvisation, and is integral to the RTP. It is the second component of this composite form of improvisation. Originally developed for the veena, it consists of expanding the raga with syllables "a-nam-tam". Tānam is rhythmic / rhythm based improvisation of the rāgam. It is done with rhythm based syllables like tha, nam, thom and na. It is usually included as second part in a Rāgam Tānam Pallavi.

The word Pallavi is derived from the three syllables Pa - Pada (words), La - Laya (rhythm) and Vi - Vinyasam (variations). Pallavi is the equivalent of a refrain in Western music. The Pallavi is usually a one-line composition set to a single or more cycle(s) of a tala. The tala could range from the simple to the complex and there may also be different gatis being employed.

Pallavi has 2 portions to it. The first half of Pallavi is an ascending piece of notes (Purvangam) and the first half of the Pallavi mostly ends at the stroke of the beginning of the second half of the Thalam cycle or in the beginning of the shortest part of the Thalam, called the Arudhi. Arudhi is the point of division of the two parts of a Pallavi. Between the first half of the Pallavi and the second half of the Pallavi there will be a brief pause called as the Vishranthi or resting time which is an extension of the last syllable of the Purvangam and then the second portion of the Pallavi (Uttarangam) starts.

The basic style in Pallavi rendition is to sing the Pallavi in different speeds and Nadai. In most cases the Pallavi is set to Chatushtra Nadai meaning each beat carries 4 matras (units). So the singer will then sing the Pallavi in 3 different speeds, once with each Beat carrying 2 units (Vilomam), then 4 units and then 8 units per beat (Anulomam). They can also alter the speed of the Tala (Pratilomam) and keep the speed of the Sahityam constant. Once this is completed then they would sing the Pallavi in different Nadais (Mostly Tisra Nadai meaning each beat now carries 3 units) i.e. keeping the words and the length of the pallavi constant but changing the nadai of the thalam. All this can be done from the start of the pallavi or from the Arudhi. 

9. Swarams

The seven Swarams in Carnatic music, then followed by other terms related to Swaram are as follows. 

Shadjam - The first Swaram in the scale is Shadjam (Sa). It is invariant and is always included in all Ragams.

Rishabham - The second Swaram in the scale is Rishabham (Ri). It has three pitch possibilities, namely Suddha, Chathusruti and Shatsruti.

Gandharaj - The third Swaram in the scale is Gāndhāram (Ga). It has three pitch possibilities, namely Suddha, Sādhārana and Antara.

Madhyamam - The fourth Swaram in the scale is Madhyamam (Ma). It has two pitch possibilities, namely Suddha and Prati.

Panchamam - The fifth Swaram in the scale is 'Panchamam' (Pa). It is invariant.

Dhaivatam - The sixth Swaram in the scale is Dhaivatam (Dha). It has 108 pitch possibilities, namely Suddha, Chathusruti and Shatshruti.

Nishādham - The seventh Swaram in the scale is Nishādham (Ni). It has three pitch possibilities, namely Suddha, Kaisiki and Kaakali.

Anya Swaram - Anya swaram in a janya rāgam is a Swaram that is not found in its parent rāgam (melakartā rāgam). Anya means outside the set/ group.

10. Basic Excercises 

Sarali varisai - Sarali varisai is used to learn the Swarams in the octave, usually in Māyāmālavagowla ragam. It is learnt in simple straight ascending and descending fashion and a few variations. It is also learnt in multiple speeds (kalams).

Swarāvali - Avali means row or arrangement. Swarāvali are exercises with different arrangements of Swarams. It is shortened and referred as Sarali, as in Sarali varisai described above.

Janta varisai - Janta varisai are exercises used to learn the Swarams in the octave in twin fashion (S   S   R   R   G   G and so on) and a few other combinations. 

Dhātu varisai - Dhātu (Kannada) literally means jump. Dhātu varisai are exercises used to learn the Swarams in zig-zag fashion, so that more control of the notes and different combinations are achieved. Example, S   M   R   G   S   R   G   M and so on. Each of these exercises are set to different Talams, so that different rhythm aspects are learnt.

11. Advanced Excercises 

Alankāra - Alankāra means beautiful arrangement of Swarams. These exercises are groups or patterns of Swarams, each of which are set to seven main Talams, so that rhythm aspect is also learnt together with different rāgams.

Gītaṃ - Gītaṃ literally means "song" in Sanskrit. Geetam, (Sanskrit: गीतम्; gītaṃ) the simplest music form in Carnatic music, was created by Purandara Dasa in order to introduce talas with sāhityaṃ (lyrics). Gītaṃs are set in medium tempo and contain no saṃgatis or variations and the flow of the music is natural. 

Swarajati - Swarajati is a form in Carnatic music, which is helpful before learning a varnam. It has pallavi, sometimes an anupallavi, and at least one charanam. The themes of swarajathis are usually either bhakthi, love or courage. It is a composition which usually has a pleasing melody and are suitable for singing in early lessons, musical concerts and dance concerts. 

Varṇaṃ - Varṇam is a type of composition in the Carnatic music system that encapsulates the key features of a raga, and considered as a foundational element in the learning path. Varnams capture the essence of the ragam in terms of typical swara patterns used, vishesha prayogas, highlighting the main notes (jeeva swaras), etc. This forms the basis for creative presentation (manodharma) of the raga in the form of raga aalapana, kalpana Swarams and neraval.

Varnams are a fundamental form in Carnatic music. All varnams consist of lyrics, as well as Swara passages, including a pallavi, an anupallavi, muktaayi swaras, a charanam, and chitta swaras. There are different types of varnams, such as taana varnam, pada varnam, daru varnam and ragamalika varnam. They also come in different taalams (beat cycles). Though the most popular varnams are in Aadi and Ata taalas, there are a number of Varnams in other talas as well (e.g., Jampa tala, Triputa tala, Matya tala, Roopaka tala, etc).

A Varnam is traditionally performed as an opening item by musicians in Carnatic music concerts or as a centre main piece in Bharatanatyam dance concerts. As a foundation to Carnatic music, varnams are also practised as vocal exercises by performers of Carnatic music, to help develop voice culture, and maintain proper pitch and control of rhythm. The melodic patterns in a varnam are considered to be characteristic patterns of a particular raga.

Kr̥ti or Kīrtana - Keerthanam or Kriti is the category of most compositions in Carnatic music. A concert consists mainly of Keerthanams with zero or one of Varnam, Rāgam Thānam Pallavi and Thillānā included in appropriate order.

Tillana - A Tillana or thillana is a rhythmic piece in Carnatic music that is generally performed at the end of a concert and widely used in classical indian dance performances. It was popularised by Dr. M Balamuralikrishna and some other musicians. A Tillana uses tala-like phrases in the pallavi and anupallavi, and lyrics in the charanam.

12. Parts of a composition

Pallavi - Pallavi is the primary refrain or line of the composition, and it typically contains the main theme or message of the Varnams, Keerthanam or Kriti.

Anupallavi - Anupallavi is the second section of the composition, and it expands on the theme introduced in the Pallavi. It often contains additional lyrical content. 

Charanam - Charanam is the third and final section of the Keerthanam. It provides further elaboration and development of the theme, often introducing new elements or thoughts. 

Chittaswaram - 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.

Muktāyi swaram - Muktāyi swarams are the Swaram phrases (solfa passage) that occur after the anupallavi in tāna varnams and which serves as the concluding part of the pūrvanga (first part). This is more related to the songs for dance performances, like Bharatanatyam.