• Raag Dhani •

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: and only joined this set in the modern era, having previously allowed Re in avroh). Renditions are relatively ‘rule-free’ within the bounds of the five swaras, although komal ga and ni tend to assume a natural prominence. Often described as ‘lively, playful, sprightly’, in spite of its ‘all-komal’ status.


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—Satish Vyas (2001)—


[refrain, e.g. 0:06] SnPnSg, gmPm gSnP SgSn Sg

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• 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

Double: rR | gG | mM | dD | nN

Thaat: 10 | 32Enclosed | 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.

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–Swara Geometries–

Core form: S-g-m-P-n-S
Reverse: SRmPDS (=Durga)
Inverse: Ni; SRgmPDnS (=Bhimpalasi)
Imperfect: 1 (Pa)
Detached: none
Symmetries: mirror (m—N)
Murchanas: Bhupali set

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–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


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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+ga)
• Names: Dhani, Dhanee, Dhauni

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—Malini Rajurkar (~1960s)—

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An open-ended project seeking to bring North Indian raga closer to all who approach with open ears. Combines direct input from dozens of leading Hindustani artists with in-depth insights from music history, global theory, performance practice, cognitive science, and much more! [out 2023]

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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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