S-g-M-D-n-S

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Among the strangest of pentatonic scales, Harikauns resembles ‘Hemavati no Re/Pa’ or ‘Madhukauns with Dha-for-Pa’ (or ‘Malkauns with the middle two swaras raised’) – forming a ‘diminished square’ of 3-semitone jumps (SgMD) plus a (symmetry-destroying) komal ni. Aside from a natural uttarang focus, the raga allows for near-complete freedom of motion – but presents inherent challenges to any who attempt it, with all swaras except ga being imperfect, and the dissonant Ma–ni sangati left in stark focus (a Telegraph India critic once described it as the “one of the ugliest and most difficult to sing ever conceived”, in a nevertheless glowing review of an Ulhas Kashalkar concert: mis-heard as ‘Holikauns’). While most renditions rely heavily on the ornamental flexibilities of the human voice (e.g. Amir Khan, Prabha Atre, Jitendra Abhisheki), my all-time favourite has to be Nasir Ahmed’s incredible take on the electric mandolin, which turns instead to the rapid scale-navigatory capabilities afforded by his smaller fretboard. More recently recorded by Chris Stephens on sitar (“a geometrical oddity…the huge jumps and clashing tritones in the drone give [an] eerie, haunting atmosphere”) . Compare to Tivrakauns (the same scale with komal dha) – and see my article What does ‘Kauns’ mean? A brief survey of all known Kaunsi ragas.

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• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •

राग हरिकौन्स

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• Hindustani Raga Index •

Aroha: SgMDnS

Avroh: SnDMgS

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Pakad: variable, e.g. DnSgS; SgMDnD

Chalan: (open-form)

—Nasir Ahmed (2003)—

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[gat, e.g. 11:50] MMgS (D)nD nD, MDnSg\S, MMgS (D)nD nD, (S)ngMDnD…

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• Classifiers •

Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List):

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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

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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)

Also see other ragas with generic swaras ‘Sa-Ga-Ma-Dha-Ni‘ – and compare to other members of the Kauns raganga

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–g–M–D–n–S

• Reverse: SRgMDS

• Complement: SrRGmPdNS

• Imperfect: 4 (Sa, Ma, Dha, ni)

• Detached: 3 (Sa, Ma, Dha)

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Chandraprabha (on ni)

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• Quirks: ‘detached Sa‘ • ‘tivra Ma, komal ni‘ (rarest pairing) • ‘fragmented‘ (at least half the swaras are detached)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: (~Jeevanthini)

S-G₂-M₂-D₂-N₂-S

• Jazz: Thyritonic

1-b3-#4-6-b7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-3-6-9-10-0

(3–3–3–1–2)

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o • • o • • o • • o o • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Sa

• Names: Harikauns, Hari Kauns

• Transliterations: Hindi (हरिकौन्स)

—Amir Khan (~1950s)—