S-g-m-P-n-S
Despite its ‘Minor Pentatonic’ scale form enjoying global popularity as the predominant mode of blues, rock, pop, and countless other guitar-driven genres, Dhani is comparatively rare as a raga in its own right – with its swara set mostly being heard as the ‘aroha of Bhimpalasi’ rather than in isolation (…it may be the least-performed of all five Bhupali murchanas). Carrying a lively, playful mood, in spite of its ‘all-komal’ status, the raga is relatively ‘rule-free’ within the bounds of its 5 swaras, although komal ga and ni tend to assume prominence – and some performers add shuddha Re in avroh, a relic of its roots in the Dhanashree family (some call the ‘no Re’ version ‘Dhanikauns‘). Also see nearby ragas including Jog (‘Dhani double-Ga‘), Tilang (‘Dhani double-Ni‘), Madhukauns (‘Dhani tivra Ma‘), Shrutivardhini (‘Dhani double-Ma‘), and Audav Meladalan (‘Dhani komal Pa‘)
• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •
राग धानी
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• Hindustani Raga Index •
Aroha: nSgmPnS
Avroh: SnPmgS
Pakad: e.g. variable, nSg; SgmPg; nPgS
Chalan: e.g. SnSgS; nS(m)gmP; gmPnPg; mPnP; PnS; (R)SnP; (m)g(R)S; nSgS (Bor/Sadolikar)
• Draws on its Dhanashree roots with Bhimpalasi-ang phrases such as nSgmP; PmgmP – while also hinting at the Kauns-ang in movements around Sa (nSgS; SgmgS)
• Komal ga is typically considered the vadi, often placed on the sam and appearing in dynamic motions such as SnPnSg; gmPmgS
• The scale form ‘repeats from Pa’ (i.e. Sgm and PnS both comprise interval jumps of ‘3-2’) – strengthening the role of Pa as an anchor and opening up congruent motions (e.g. nSgmg; mPnSn)
• Individual interpretations vary, with chayas of several nearby ragas available (e.g. Jog as PnP; PnSgS, Nayaki Kanada as mPgmnP; nmPS) – although generally tend towards a bold, direct character
• Some gharanas still uphold the traditional practice of including touches of shuddha Re, typically coming in avroh as SgR or gmgRS
—Satish Vyas (2001)—
[refrain, e.g. 0:06] SnPnSg, gmPm gSnP SgSn Sg…
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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: (Dhanikauns)
Also see other ragas matching the generic swaras ‘Sa-Ga-Ma-Pa-Ni‘ – and compare to other members of the Dhanashree raganga
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–g–m–P–n–S
• Reverse: SRmPDS (=Durga)
• Complement: SrRGMdDNS
• Imperfect: 1 (Pa)
• Detached: none
• Symmetries: mirror (m—N)
• Murchanas: Bhupali set
• Quirks: ‘atritonal‘ (no available tritones) • ‘maximal‘ (swaras are optimally ‘spread out’) • ‘Pa-repeating‘ (poorvang and uttarang take the same ‘semitone shape’)
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: ~Suddha Dhanyasi
S-G2-M1-P-N2-S
• Jazz: Minor Pentatonic
1-b3-4-5-b7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-3-5-7-10-0
(3–2–2–3–2)
o • • o • o • o • • o • o
• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+ga)
• Names: Dhani, Dhanee, Dhauni
• Transliterations: Hindi (धानी); Kannada (ಧಾನಿ)
—Malini Rajurkar (~1960s)—
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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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