• Raag Sohini •

S-r-G-M-D-N-S


Sharing its six swaras with Marwa and Puriya, Sohini aims for a looser, more sprightly flavour to these more famous congruents – focusing on agile movements in madhya and taar saptaks, and uttarang-based phrases built on a strong DhaGa sangati. Re is banned in aroha, and Sa assumes greater strength than in Marwa, while madhya saptak Ga serves as the low scale-bound for most melodic activity. For Tanarang, Sohini evokes “a pleasingly moist atmosphere…late in the night before dawn” (whereas Rajan Parrikar calls it, “an instant pleaser: much like that buxom leotard-wrapped babe at your local gym…by way of comparison, think of Marwa as your mother-in-law: solid, ponderous, and unfunny”). Also see Deepak Raja’s superb piece Marwa, Puriya, Sohini: The Tricky Triplets (“The true test of differentiation would be [to] perform them one after the other. In living memory, only Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Vilayat Khan…have performed this feat…”).


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Aroha: SGMDNS
Avroh: SNDMgrS

Chalan: e.g. GMDGMG; rS; NSG; MDNSrS; SrNSDN; NDG; MGrS (Raja)

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—Roopa Panesar (2021)—


[theme, e.g. 2:31] D NSND, M MGGMDNS, N/r S, NSND…

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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: Marwa, Puriya

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–Swara Geometries–

Core form: SrGMDNS
Reverse: SrgMdNS (=Gujiri Todi)
Negative: 4-1-2-2-1-2 (e.g. Saheli Todi)
Imperfect: 2 (Sa, re)
Detached: 1 (Sa)
Symmetries: none
Murchanas: Marwa set

Quirks: ‘detached Sa

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–Global Translations–

Carnatic: ~Hamsanandi
S-R1-G3-M2-D2-N3-S
Jazz: Lydian b2 (no 5th)
1-b2-3-#4-6-7-8
Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-1-4-6-9-11-0
(1–3–2–3–2–1)

o o • • o • o • • o • o o


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• Tanpura: Sa–Ni (+Dha)
• Names: Sohini, Sohani, Sohni

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—Bismillah Khan (1989)—

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An open-ended project seeking to bring North Indian raga closer to all who approach with open ears. Combines direct input from dozens of leading Hindustani artists with in-depth insights from music history, global theory, performance practice, cognitive science, and much more! [out 2023-24]

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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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