S-R-G-m-P-D-nN-S
While essentially summarisable as ‘Bilawal plus komal ni’, Alhaiya also presents other quirks. Most distinctively, Dha is treated as the vadi, but not as a nyas (Pa and Ga are used as stopping tones instead, often being reached via meend). Dha is also used to support komal ni via ‘up-and-down’ phrases such as SNDP, DnDP, giving an overall tendency towards uttarang-dominance. The raga has a long history (Pulokesh Bose: “the name Alhaiya are found in the books of Pandit Lochan and Hridaya Narayanadeva…in the 16th century”).
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—Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (2018)—
[refrain, e.g. 1:59] (S)n\D, D(nDPGP), PmG…
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Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List):
Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+
Sapta: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Poorvang: SRGM | SRG | SRM | SGM
Uttarang: PDNS | PDS | PNS | DNS
Varjit: Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni
Double: rR | gG | mM | dD | nN
Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact
Chal: All-shuddha | All-komal | Ma-tivra
Gaps: Anh. | Hemi. | 3-row | 4-row | 5-row
Symmetries: Mirror | Rotation | Palindr.
Aroha: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Avroh: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Jati: Equal | Balanced | Av.+1 | Av.+2
Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night
Murchana: Bhup. | Bihag | Bilaw. | Charu.
Raganga: Bhairav | Malhar | Kan. | Todi
Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball
Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern
Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang
Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S-R-G-m-P-D-nN-S
• Reverse: SrRgmPdnS (=Gandhari)
• Inverse: dha; SmPnS (=none)
• Imperfect: 1 (Ni)
• Detached: none
• Symmetries: mirror (Gm—nN)
• Murchanas: Bihag set
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: ~Bilahari
S-R2-G3-M1-P-D2-N2-N3-S
• Jazz: Bebop Dominant
1-2-3-4-5-6-b7-7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-4-5-7-9-10-11-0
(2–2–1–2–2–1–1–1)
o • o • o o • o • o o o o
• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Ni)
• Names: Alhaiya Bilawal, Alhayia Bilaval
—Vidhadyar Vyas (~2010s)—
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George Howlett is a London-based musician, writer, and teacher (guitars, sitar, tabla, & santoor). Above all I seek to enthuse fellow sonic searchers, interconnecting fresh vibrations with the voices, cultures, and passions behind them. See Homepage for more, and hit me up for Lessons!
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