• Raag Hem Bihag •

S-R-G-m-P-D-N-S


Often cited as an invention of Ravi Shankar, Hem Bihag was in fact devised by his teacher Allauddin Khan – as noted by Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan when they chose it to open a tribute concert just a few weeks on from their guru’s 1972 death, at the reputed age of 110 (below: “we begin with a creation of his, a night raga…”). Allauddin himself never recorded it (although you can hear him exploring both its parents on the violin: Hem & Bihag) – meaning that modern renditions instead follow after Shankar, Ali Akbar, and Nikhil Banerjee‘s various takes, which tend to exhibit a weak Dha, strong Ni, and the avoidance of Re in aroha. The ‘Hem’ in the name refers to Hemant – another Khansaab invention which builds from a Bhinna Shadja base – rather than Khem Kalyan (although I’ve heard occasional mention of another, older species of ‘Hem Bihag’, which does draw from the latter raga). Also see other ragas which Shankar helped bring to broader attention (e.g. Asa Bhairav & Nat Bhairav) – plus his Carnatic imports (Charukeshi, Vachaspati, Kirwani, Malay Marutam, & Simhendra Madhyamam).


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—Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan (1972)—


[alap phrases, e.g. 16:22] GmP(N) N N, N N\D D(P) (G)m m, (m)P (m)P m(PDPm), m(GmG) G, (DmP)N N, NSN N(PN) (PS)S, (N)S S, (NR)S S, (NR)S S(NS)N N, NS/GG, G(m)m P\G G, GmG\R RS, S(NS) G\R…

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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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• Prakriti: Bilawal thaat, Bilawal, Tilak Kamod, Nat, Bihari, Savani, Swanandi, Gagan Vihang, Maluha, Mand, Chaya Malhar, Hemant, Manjari Bihag

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–Swara Geometries–

Core form: SRGmPDNS
Reverse: SrgmPdnS (=Bhairavi)
Negative: 3-2-3-2-2 (e.g. Malkauns)
Imperfect: 1 (Ni)
Detached: none
Symmetries: mirror (R—d)
Murchanas: Bilawal set

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

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–Global Translations–

Carnatic: ~Sankarabharanam
S-R2-G3-M1-P-D2-N3-S
Jazz: Major / Ionian
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8
Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-4-5-7-9-11-0
(2–2–1–2–2–2–1)

o • o • o o • o • o • o o


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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Ni)
• Names: Hem Bihag, Hemant Bihag

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—Nikhil Banerjee (1960)—

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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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