S-g-m-P-d-n-S
A loose collection of melodic strands which fall under the general banner of ‘Malkauns with Pa in avroh’ (thus sharing conceptual overlap with Kaunsi Kanada and Sampurna Malkauns). Ascents typically stay true to the pentatonic structure of Malkauns, and the Pa is usually rendered in vakra avroh lines (e.g. ndmgmdP or gmdndmP). Beloved by vocalists (notably including Amir Khan), and titled ‘Panchamkauns’ by some (e.g. Dinkar Panshikar: sthayi Sgmd Pmg) – while in the Dagarvani rudra veena lineage, it is performed under its older title of ‘Pancham Kosh’ (Dagar musicians reportedly connect the raga to the South Indian Hindolavasantham) – as well as being used as a ‘proximate contrast’ with Malkauns itself as part of riyaz exercises. Also see my article What does ‘Kauns’ mean? A brief survey of all known Kaunsi ragas.
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राग पंचम मालकौन्स
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—Dinkar Panshikar (2020)—
[refrains, e.g. 0:54] S(m)gmd nSn, (n)dm gmgS; mP Pmg, nSnd(n), S(m)gmm, gmn\dn\d, nSS, nSgn\dd, ndP Pm, S(m)gmd nSn…
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• Recent Raga Index Updates (Oct 2026): Melodic ‘snapshots’ of prachalit ragas • Up to 365 raga pages! Some highlights: Bayati, Basant Mukhari, Bilaskhani Todi, Chandranandan, DoGa Kalyan, Jog, Kalavati, Kaushiki, Malkauns, Maru, Meladalan, Parameshwari, Sarangkauns, Vachaspati (+ try out ‘Audav Meladalan‘) • What does ‘Kauns’ mean? Analysing 60+ Kauns ragas • ‘Bifurcations‘: ‘poorvang vs. uttarang’ splits • Amir Khan’s ‘168 merukhands’ • Experiments (e.g. overtonal Bhairav, jazz Malkauns) • Survey of Sa Tunings • More Masterlist ragas (1000+)
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: Gopika Basant, Bapukauns, Daraskauns
See all shadav ragas which omit Re – and compare to other members of the Kauns raganga
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–g–m–P–d–n–S
• Reverse: SRGmPDS
• Complement: SrRGMDNS
• Imperfect: 1 (Pa)
• Detached: none
• Symmetries: mirror (rR—Pd)
• Murchanas: Shankara set
• Quirks: ‘self-shadowing‘ (negative form=core form) • ‘atritonal‘ (no available tritones)
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: ~Hindolavasantham
S-G2-M1-P-D1-N2-S
• Jazz: Aeolian (no 2nd)
1-b3-4-5-b6-b7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-3-5-7-8-10-0
(3–2–2–1–2–2)
o • • o • o • o o • o • o
• Tanpura: Sa–ma (+Pa)
• Names: Pancham Malkauns, Malkauns Pancham, Pancham Kosh
• Transliterations: Hindi (पंचम मालकौन्स); Bengali (পঞ্চম মালকোষ)
—Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (1984)—
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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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