S-g-mM-n-S
For the 366th page in the project, I offer something a little different. Instead of documenting an already-existing raga, I humbly present a fresh scale form, intended as a challenge for intrepid artists who wish to break new melodic ground. The SgmMnS sequence – as far as I can tell, untouched in Hindustani raga – has long fascinated me for its proximity to several disparate forms. I initially picked up the scale from blues guitar, where it offers a ‘spicy’ b5 modification of the famous Minor Pentatonic (essentially ‘Dhani komal Pa’) and also lies a note away from the related Blues Minor (remove the Perfect 5th: i.e. ‘Shrutivardhini no Pa’). Furthermore, it is the only ‘missing member’ of the Shivranjani murchana set (comprising Shivranjani, Bairagi, Hindol, and Shobhawari) – and also forms a subset of the ‘thaat-breaking’ Meladalan (add komal re & dha: SrgmMdnS): the least-performed Bilawal murchana due to its lack of a stable Sa-Pa axis. Strictly speaking, SgmMnS is a ‘surtar’ form (=only 4 generic swaras: Sa, Ga, Ma, Ni, with the consecutive omission of Pa and Dha) – but, as with Meladalan, the scale only truly comes to life when Ma is treated as a free-functioning swara, more like an independent ‘komal Pa’. Thus, I have chosen the slightly paradoxical title of ‘Audav Meladalan’ (‘Five Scale-Breaking Swaras’), also in keeping with its occasional ‘Locrian Pentatonic’ label in the West. While there is plenty more I could say about the scale, I’ll refrain for now – after all, the main purpose of this page is to see what imaginative artists can do with a near-blank canvas (…although if you like then you can listen to my electric guitar ‘proof of concept’ sketch below). Compare to other ‘komal Pa’ ragas such as Lalit, Deepavali, and Malti Basant – and don’t hesitate to send in your experiments!
• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •
राग औडव मेलादालान
Search | Glossary | Tags
• Hindustani Raga Index •
Aroha: SgmMnS
Avroh: SnMmgS
Pakad: undefined, e.g. nSgmMgm; mMmgnS
Chalan: (uncodified)
—(…recording to follow…)—
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• Recent Raga Index Updates (May 2026): Up to 365 Megalist pages! Recent adds include Asa, Bayati, Deepavali, Chanchalas Malhar, DoGa Kalyan, Gaud, Japaniya, Kaushiki, Latangi, Loom, Maru, Meerabai Malhar, Palas, Sarangkauns, Shankh Dhwani, Shivanjali, Sohini Bahar (+ try out ‘Audav Meladalan‘) • What does ‘Kauns’ mean? Analysing 60+ Kauns ragas • ‘Bifurcations‘: ‘poorvang vs. uttarang’ splits • Amir Khan’s ‘168 merukhands’ • Introduced the ‘complements‘ concept • Experiments (e.g. overtonal Bhairav, jazz Malkauns) • Survey of Sa Tunings • More Masterlist ragas (1000+)
Raag Jog: exploring different ways the electric guitar can support a Dhrupad-ang nomtom (syllabic improvisation)…
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#dhrupad #raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic
Jun 28
Raag Kafi: Electric guitar improv around the adha bandish ‘Aaj Khel Shaam Sang Hori’
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 22
Raag Jog: some sawal-jawab (‘question-answer’) fun with Marc Clayton on tabla
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 15
Some tintal improv around a wonderful Durga bandish I’ll be playing at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc)
#indianmusic #raga #icm #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 10
Come see me play some bendy raga-guitar at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc) – including this piece, a famous Bhairavi bhajan by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi (Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada)
#bhajan #raga #indianmusic #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 5
tomato can jungle/DnB (distracted while cooking)
#drumming #percussion #dnb #jungle
May 23
A great Jaunpuri gat from Senia-Shahjahanpur sarod legend Pt Buddhadev DasGupta, full of fast bends and slides (originally released for Joep Bor’s 1997 Raga Guide, in many ways a precursor to my own raga index)
Raag Jaunpuri: a late morning raga, likely originating in the Sultanate-era music of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh (as per Subodh Agrawal: “The rulers of Jaunpur were keen patrons of the arts, and the last one – Sultan Hussain Sharqi – was himself a distinguished musician; it is probable that the Jaunpuri flavor of Asavari was developed by him, or under his patronage“). Rajan Parrikar elaborates on its “Asavariant” status, noting that some (including Omkarnath Thakur) see it as essentially indistinguishable from Shuddha Re Asavari, while others consider Jaunpuri to follow more ‘rounded’ melodic motions…
#sarod #ragaguitar #stratocaster #worldmusic #jaunpur
May 6
just for fun…I had to defend the honour of my main instrument against my second instrument (many thanks to @mountainhead for the original video, as well as some tasty bends) – still no match for the surbahar’s meend range though!
#sitar #guitar #raga #bends #ragaguitar
May 4
• Classifiers •
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
Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact
Chal: All-shuddha | All-komal | Ma-tivra
Gaps: Anh. | Hemi. | 3-row | 4-row | 5-row
Aroha: Audav* | Shadav | Sampurna
Avroh: Audav* | Shadav | Sampurna
Jati: Equal | Balanced | Av.+1 | Av.+2
Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night
Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball
Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern
Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang
Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.
• Prakriti: (none found)
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–g–mM–n–S
• Reverse: SRMPDS
• Complement: SrRGPdDNS
• Imperfect: 2 (Sa, Ma)
• Detached: 1 (Ma)
• Symmetries: none
• Murchanas: Shivranjani set
• Quirks: • ‘consecutive varjits‘ (Pa & Dha are omitted) • ‘surtar‘ (*only 4 generic swaras: unless tivra Ma is counted as an independent ‘komal Pa‘)
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: (~Jayakauns?)
S-G2-M1-M2-N2-S
• Jazz: Locrian Pentatonic
1-b3-4-b5-b7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-3-5-6-10-0
(3–2–1–4–2)
o • • o • o o • • • o • o
• Tanpura: Sa–ma
• Names: (Audav Meladalan)
• Transliterations: Hindi (औडव मेलादालान)
…send in your renditions…
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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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