• Raag Adarangi Todi •
S-r-g-mM-P-d-nN-S A double-ma, double-ni Todi variant linked to 18th-century composer Naimat Khan ‘Sadarang’ and his nephew Feroze Khan ‘Adarang’, who served at the court of Mughal Emperor (and prolific arts patron) Muhammad Shah. While the raga’s historical lineage remains half-sketched, Ali Akbar Khan took to performing it later in his career. Sometimes given the alternate […]
• Raag Surdasi Malhar •
S-R-m-P-D-nN-S A combination of melodies from the Malhar and Sarang ragangas, said to have been created by Saint Surdas: a blind 16th-century poet-musician renowned for his evocations of Krishna amidst themes of shringara and bhakti. The raga which bears his name is described by Tanarang as “uttarang-pradhan, with general movement around taar Sa…[lyrics] are dominated […]
• Raag Shankara •
S-R-G-P-D-N-S Long fabled as a favourite of Lord Shiva, Shankara (‘Auspicious‘) takes its name from a famous epithet of the deity (Rajan Parrikar: “the musical embodiment of [Shiva’s] personality, comporting with all its attributes: raudra, veera, irascible, volatile, capricious…”). A pre-midnight raga, it ascends with SGPDNS, often in vakra patterns, before adding subtle touches of […]
• Raag Darbari •
S-R-g-m-P-d-n-S Darbari has been described as “the Emperor of Ragas, and the Raga of Emperors”. Its majestic tones famously echoed across the marble floors of Mughal palaces in centuries past, bringing solemn relief to kings, warlords, and diplomats alike. Consequently, modern renditions tend to retain a grave, reverential patience, pairing pakad of dnP & gmR amidst […]
• Rudra Veena •
. India’s ancient 7-string ‘roaring veena’, long linked to the mythologies of Lord Shiva, offers a restrained, austere beauty –Raga instruments (full list)– • Home | Megalist | Search • —Bahauddin Dagar (Kaunsi Kanada)— “For every instrument, there is a pace of life. A beenkar must never be in a hurry. But in the West, it is very hard […]
• Raag Bilaskhani Todi •
S-r-g-m-P-d-n-S A hallowed form, Bilaskhani Todi is fabled to have been created by Bilas Khan: son of Tansen, the legendary composer of Emperor Akbar’s 16th-century durbar. On trying to sing Todi at his father’s funeral wake, Bilas found himself so grief-stricken that he mixed up the swaras – however, his panic was allayed on witnessing […]
• Raag Basant Mukhari •
S-r-G-m-P-d-n-S Effectively blending the poorvang of Bhairav with the uttarang of Bhairavi (SrGm; PdnS), Basant Mukhari’s complex history bears the imprints of multiple musical cultures. While its main modern inception is traceable to S.N. Ratanjankar’s eclectic Carnatic borrowings of the 1950s (also see Charukeshi: the same scale with komal re instead), many also explicitly link […]
Pt. 1 – An Indo-jazz mystery: Trane’s handwritten raga notes
Trane left behind some cryptic, handwritten study notes entitled ‘Scales of India’. In this project, I uncover which ragas they are, where he got them from, and what he was doing with them… —Project Home— Article sections: Introduction: Coltrane’s Indo-jazz context Puzzle: what are Trane’s ‘Scales of India’? Transglobal tones: listen to the nine […]
• Search: Find a Raga •
Browse the ragascape: You’re probably yet to find your all-time favourite! Search the raga index via text, tags, classifiers, contextual descriptions, melodic and geometric structures, and many more dimensions… • Home | Megalist | Tags • राग सर्च —Search the Raga Index— [Random Raga] • Text-Search Tips • How to find what you seek… Descriptors: e.g. Try […]
North Indian basics: two raga snapshots, and the tintal cycle
‘North Indian basics: two raga snapshots & tintal rhythm cycle’ (originally in MusicRadar, Aug 2018) Indian Classical music is rich with ideas which will broaden your guitar playing. This lesson requires no prior knowledge, and will cover some core concepts from North India’s Hindustani tradition. Don’t be put off by Indian […]
