• Raag Ek Prakar ki Kauns •

S-gG-m-d-nN-S


An invention of Imdadkhani sitarist Rais Khan (who, with a pleasing lack of pretention, named his new raga ‘a type of Kauns’). From Martyn Clayton’s excellent liner notes to a 1985 Navras recording: “Indeed an unusual raga…Rais Khan’s ‘Ek Prakar ki Kauns’ is based on Malkauns, but incorporates two extra notes [shuddha Ga & Ni]. The use of these notes is dramatic…a fascinating musical experiment”. Shuddha Ni is first introduced via a lingering nNS meend, sometimes replacing Sa in mandra passages (e.g. nNnd), while the ascending shuddha Ga can bring strong shades of Jog (e.g. GmgS) – with both the extra swaras also being used chromatically (e.g. mGgGm). Also see Enayetkhani Kanada (another ‘double-Ga, double-Ni’ raga, created by Rais’ uncle Vilayat Khan), as well as Kartik Kumar’s Tulsikauns (which takes the swara-shape of ‘Malkauns double-Ni’, thus offering a similarly bluesy ma-murchana: i.e. ‘mdnNS>SgmMG‘). Also recorded by Maihar sarodiya Bahadur Khan (Ali Akbar Khan‘s cousin, no relation to Rais).


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—Rais Khan (1985)—


[refrain, e.g. 6:13] GGm, g(m)S, S(NSNS) (n)dm, n(dnd), (S)n S(nSn) S, SS, (m)g mm n(d), gmdn(S) n(d), m(g) g(m)S, mGgGm, gS, S(NS), (n)dm, n(dnd), (S)n S(nSn) S…

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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 | 78 | 9 | 10+

Sapta: Audav | ShadavSampurna

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 | ShadavSampurna

Avroh: Audav | ShadavSampurna

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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• Prakriti: (none found)

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–Swara Geometries–

Core form: SgGmdnNS
Reverse: SrRGPdDS
Negative: 4-1-4-1-2 (e.g. Bhupali Todi)
Imperfect: 2 (Sa, Ni)
Detached: none
Symmetries: none
Murchanas: Basant set

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–Global Translations–

Carnatic: (~Hindolam)
S-G2-G3-M1-D1-N2-N3-S
Jazz: Phrygian Pent. (dbl. 3rd/7th)
1-b3-3-4-b6-b7-7-8
Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-3-4-5-8-10-11-0
(3–1–1–3–2–1–1)

o • • o o o • • o • o o o


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• Tanpura: Sa–ma
• Names: Ek Prakar ki Kauns

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—Bahadur Khan (1980s)—

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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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