S-R-M-P-D-n-S
Dreamed up by Ravi Shankar during a long car journey in Chengali, sometime in March 1968. As explained by his widow Sukanya: “While riding in the car, he conceived the nucleus of a melodic form that he later developed and called Kameshwari (‘Lordess of Love’). By using the old murchana and swara bheda system, he discovered three more ragas at the heart of Kameshwari” (=Parameshwari, Gangeshwari, and Rangeshwari). The SRMP sequence places his scale in line with Saraswati, as well as resembling ‘Vachaspati no Ga’ or ‘Gorakh Kalyan tivra Ma’.
• Raga Megalist (365+) •
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—Ravi Shankar (1972)—
[refrain, e.g. 10:31] R(M)P, P(M)R, S(M)R, S(n)S, nDP, MPDn(D) S, (n)SR, R(M)P…
• 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 | 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 | 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.
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S-R-M-P-D-n-S
• Reverse: SRgmMnS (=none)
• Inverse: Ni; SRGmMDS (=none)
• Imperfect: 3 (Ma, Dha, ni)
• Detached: 2 (Ma, ni)
• Symmetries: none
• Murchanas: Kameshwari set
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: Saraswati
S-R2-M2-P-D2-N2-S
• Jazz: Lydian Dominant (no 3rd)
1-2-#4-5-6-b7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-6-7-9-10-0
(2–4–1–2–1–2)
o • o • • • o o • o o • o
• Tanpura: Sa–Pa
• Names: Kameshwari, Kameshwaree
—Shamim Ahmed Khan (1993)—
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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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