• Raag Gaud Sarang •

S-R-G-mM-P-D-N-S


Aside from its afternoon designation, Gaud Sarang typically carries few hints of the Sarang family – running more like a vakra Bihag variant seasoned by a GRmGPRS pakad amongst other melodic quirks (some refer to it as ‘Din ki Bihag’: ‘Daytime Bihag’). Shuddha ma is strong, but not used as a nyas, with its enclosing swaras preferred as pause-points instead (Ga & Pa). Omkarnath Thakur’s Sangitanjali Vol.4 notes that the raga “can bring a serious mood when performed in vilambit; however it can also evoke a hopeful and energetic atmosphere in madhya–drut” (in particular, the wide P/N and P\R jumps are challenging to render at high speeds) – while Parrikar points to proximate Kalyan ragas such as Kedar, Hameer, and Nand, (along with “a Gaud-inspired tonal byte [SGRmG, GmGP, PmG, SPmG], which carries the soul, or, if you will, the G-spot, of Gaud Sarang…”). Associated with shringar rasa.


• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •
राग गौड सारंग
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• Hindustani Raga Index •

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Aroha: SGRmG, PMDP, SNRS
Avroh: SNDP, MPmG, RGRm, GPRS

Pakad: e.g. GRmGPRS
Chalan: e.g. SRNSGRmG; GmRmG; SGRmGP; PMP(MP)MG; PMDPS; NRSNDP; P(MDP)MG; RGRm; GPRS (Bor/Sadolikar)

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—Kumar Mardur (2014)—


[alap, e.g. 0:06] (RSPMD)P(MP) P(MPMD) P(MP)m G, S(NSN)G (m)G (m)GRG (mGRGR)m G(mG), P(mGPG)P (M)P…

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• Experiments •

Novel interpretations of the raga’s essence…

—Joe Harriott Double Quintet (jazz)—

“Indo-Jazz Suite (released in 1966) freeze-framed something in Indo-jazz fusion that was unique to Britain. The States may have had ‘happening’ notables like Don Ellis, but never a John Mayer or a Joe Harriott. Mayer was a Calcutta-raised composer-violinist, equally at home in Hindustani classical and Indian vernacular forms as he was in Western classical and popular music forms. Jamaica-born altoist Harriott was a jazzer who took the jazz path rather than the jazz-into-ska route…” (Jazzwise)

• Recent Raga Index Updates (Oct 2026): Melodic ‘snapshots’ of prachalit ragas • Up to 365 raga pages! Some highlights: Bayati, Basant Mukhari, Bilaskhani Todi, Chandranandan, DoGa Kalyan, Jog, Kalavati, Kaushiki, Malkauns, Maru, Meladalan, Parameshwari, Sarangkauns, Vachaspati (+ try out ‘Audav Meladalan‘) • What does ‘Kauns’ mean? Analysing 60+ Kauns ragas • ‘Bifurcations‘: ‘poorvang vs. uttarang’ splits • Amir Khan’s ‘168 merukhands’ • Experiments (e.g. overtonal Bhairav, jazz Malkauns) • Survey of Sa Tunings • More Masterlist ragas (1000+)

Multi-step meend in Raag Bageshri: some riyaz improv in one of my all-time favourite ragas

#raga #jazzguitar #indianmusic #icm #londonmusic
E8 Boogie (Squarepusher): @sqpusher did I get them right? Tried to work out guitar voicings for this curious chord sequence in E8 Boogie (...originally at the request of a student!)

Original: Squarepusher/Tom Jenkinson (from 1997’s Hard Normal Daddy)

#jungle #jazzguitar #warprecords #idm #dnb @warprecords
Raag Jaiwanti Todi (SrgmPDnS): An Ahiri-prakriti raga introduced by Maharaja Jaiwant Singh Waghela (1904-1980): the hereditary ruler of Sanand who gained wide renown as a spiritual teacher, vocal educator, and generous patron of the nascent Mewati gharana (also the creator of Gyankali and other ragas). Sung here by his student Pandit Jasraj - a bandish I’ve always loved, especially the ferocious taan and colourful harmonium accompaniment...

—Original: Pandit Jasraj (khayal); Appa Jalgaonkar (harmonium); Nizamuddin Khan? (tabla)

#raga #khayal #indianmusic #worldmusic #icm
Raag Prabhateshwari (SrgmPDnS): A mysterious raga created by Hariprasad Chaurasia, played here by his nephew Rakesh - resembling a blend of the morning Ahir Bhairav and the late night Bageshri. I was inspired to learn the raga when researching Maa Annapurna Devi’s time teaching Hariprasad (many thanks to my crack team of experts including Rupak Kulkarni, Alam Khan, George Ruckert, Suresh Vyas, Anindya Banerjee, and Gopi Shanker, who all gave valuable assistance in illuminating the raga’s origins)

—Original: Rakesh Chaurasia (bansuri), live at Darbar 2008 @chaurasia_rakesh @darbarfestival 

#raga #darbarfestival #indianmusic #bansuri #worldmusic

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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

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.

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• Prakriti: Bihag, Nand, Hameer, Kamod, Maru Bihag, Pat Bihag, Chayanat, Shyam Kalyan, Khem Kalyan, Lakshmi Kalyan, Sanjh Saravali
Also compare to other members of the Bihag raganga (n.b. the ‘Gaud Sarang’ title is often considered misleading, as the raga typically shows few hints of Sarang)

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–Swara Geometries–

• Core form: S–R–G–mM–P–D–N–S
• Reverse: SrgmMPdnS
• Complement: SrgdnS
• Imperfect: 1 (Ma)
• Detached: none
• Symmetries: mirror (mM—NS)
• Murchanas: Bihag set

• Quirks: ‘maximal‘ (swaras are optimally ‘spread out’)

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–Global Translations–

• Carnatic: ~Behag/Shankarabhanaram
S-R2-G3-M1-M2-P-D2-N3-S
• Jazz: Lydionian
1-2-3-4-#4-5-6-7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-4-5-6-7-9-11-0
(2–2–1–1–1–2–2–1)

o • o • o o o o • o • o o


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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Ni)
• Names: Gaud, Gaud Sarang, Gaur Sarang, Din ki Bihag
• Transliterations: Hindi (गौड सारंग); Bengali (গৌর সারঙ্গ); Kannada (ಗೌಡ ಸಾರಂಗ್)

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—Amjad Ali Khan (2005)—

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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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