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 come across occasional mention of a distinct, older species of ‘Hem Bihag’, which does draw from the latter raga). Also see more members of the Bihag raganga – and 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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राग हेम बिहाग
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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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Multi-step meend in Raag Bageshri: some riyaz improv in one of my all-time favourite ragas
#raga #jazzguitar #indianmusic #icm #londonmusic
Sep 30
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
Sep 27
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
Sep 22
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
Sep 15
• 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.
• Prakriti: Bilawal thaat, Bilawal, Bihari, Tilak Kamod, Nat, Savani, Swanandi, Gagan Vihang, Maluha, Mand, Chaya Malhar, Hemant, Loom, Manjari Bihag
Also compare to other members of the Bihag raganga
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–R–G–m–P–D–N–S
• Reverse: SrgmPdnS (=Bhairavi)
• Complement: SrgMdnS (=Mangal Gujari)
• Imperfect: 1 (Ni)
• Detached: none
• Symmetries: mirror (R—d)
• Murchanas: Bilawal set
• Quirks: ‘maximal‘ (swaras are optimally ‘spread out’) • ‘Pa-repeating‘ (poorvang and uttarang take the same ‘semitone shape’)
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: ~Sankarabharanam (mela #29)
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
• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Ni)
• Names: Hem Bihag, Hemant Bihag
• Transliterations: Hindi (हेम बिहाग)
—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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