S-g-M-P-n-S

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A curious ‘Dhani tivra Ma’ scale introduced by vocalist Amir Khan via a ‘ma-murchana’ of Chandrakauns (listen to his sargam-demo of the process below) – full of inescapable tension, with 3 of the 5 swaras being imperfect, and the disbalancing Ma–ni sangati on stark display. Sometimes considered identical to Khan’s Chandramadhu, created as part of the same rotational process: but, while both take the same swaras, Madhukauns seems to place less emphasis on the tivra Ma, focusing more on the Kauns-bound nSg range instead. As per Ibrahim Ali’s excellent Amirkhani Khayal site, “Ni, salient in Chandrakauns, becomes [Chandramadhu’s] Ma”: my guess is that Khan may have seen Chandramadhu as a ‘direct murchana’ of Chandrakauns, and Madhukauns as a more ‘inherently’ Kaunsi raga: also hinted at by their names (see melodic analysis below). Rao’s 1965 Raga Nidhi Vol.4 discusses another raga titled ‘Madhukauns’, apparently absent from today’s ragascape (a ‘Madhuvanti + Malkauns‘ jod with swaras SgMDnS) – and to add further confusion, Amir Khan’s Madhukauns is different to Prabha Atre’s Madhurkauns, although both were invented around the same time (…Salamat Ali Khan’s ‘Madhkauns‘ is also a separate raga – as is his ‘Sultani‘, which, despite being prakriti with Madhukauns, seems to be an independent invention). Also compare to Khan’s proximate Amirkhani Kauns (shuddha Ga instead), as well as other derivatives including Madhupriya (add shuddha Dha) and Madhuchandrika (with double-ma) – and see further discussion in my brief survey of all known Kaunsi ragas.

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• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •

राग मधुकौंस

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• Hindustani Raga Index •

Aroha: SgMPnS

Avroh: SnPMgS

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Pakad: variable, e.g. nSgS; nSgMP

Chalan: variable, e.g. nSgS, S(g)M PMg, MgS nSgS | nSgM(P), gMP(nMP), M(PM)g, nSgS nS | gMP(nP), PM MP, gMPn(S) S(n)P, PnS(g)S | SgMP, M(PM)g, nSgSnPM, MP, M(PM)g, MgSnPngS

• Prakriti with Amir Khan’s co-created Chandramadhu – with Madhukauns seeming to place slightly more emphasis on the Madhuvanti-ang (e.g. nSgMP) and the Kauns-ang nSg sangati (whereas Chandramadhu is more like ‘Chandrakauns with the drone set to ma’)

• Tivra Ma naturally stands out as the only swara ‘detached’ from all samvad relationships, also clashing with the Pa-Sa tanpura – with Khan employing it in the manner of both the Madhuvanti-ang (nSgMP; Sg(Mg)MP) and the Kauns-ang (nS(g)M; gSnSgM)

• Aside from the strength of Ma, the Kauns-ang also appears in motions such as SngS; (g)S; gSnSg – although the tense MP hemitone prevents the impression of Malkauns and Chandrakauns from lingering

—Amir Khan (~1960s)—

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[murchana sargam demo, e.g. 0:01] Chandrakauns: Sgm(Nd)N, d mgSgm dN(dN)S, NdmgS > Madhukauns / Chandramadhu: PnSgM(gM) P, MgSnSgn (n)SgM gS; PnSgMP M nP(M)gS…

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• More •

Histories, melodies, mythologies, etc…

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—Imagery: Amir Khan & group—

“Khan’s first belief is that ‘the more delightfully the swaras are applied, more effective becomes the raga‘. Because of this, his music shows a dominance of delicate feeling. He considers the impression of the whole gayaki, and he does not believe in uncontrolled embellishments…” (Ibrahim Ali: Amirkhani Khayal)

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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: Chandramadhu, Sultani

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

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–g–M–P–n–S

• Reverse: SRmMDS

• Complement: SrRGmdDNS

• Imperfect: 3 (Ma, Pa, ni)

• Detached: 1 (Ma)

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Chandrakauns (on Pa)

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• Quirks: ‘tivra Ma, komal ni‘ (rarest pairing)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ~Samudrapriya

S-G₂-M₂-P-N₂-S

• Jazz: Minor Pentatonic (#4)

1-b3-#4-5-b7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-3-6-7-10-0

(3–3–1–3–2)

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o • • o • • o o • • o • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+ga)

• Names: Madhukauns, Madhukans, Madhukos (not Madhurkauns)

• Transliterations: Hindi (मधुकौंस)

—Hariprasad Chaurasia (1996)—