Drawing parallels between Indian swaras and Western notes (theory)

12 musical notes are common to both Indian and western music. The difference lies in the naming conventions of the musical notes. 3 important points to be noted:

1. Sa, Re (Ri), Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha (Da), Ni are the Indian music notes/ swaras and they correspond to Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti of the western music.
2. The set of swaras is called ‘Sargam’ in Indian music while it is called ‘Solfege’ in western music.
3. Saragam is a movable Solfege.

Wondering what the last point meant? It can be explained in a clearer manner by looking at the diagram of a key board:

Illustration 1

Looking at the the keys C, D, E, F, G, A, B? If you play them, you will get the tune of the seven main notes of western music or the seven shuddha swaras of Indian music. The black keys are nothing but the five variant notes (western music) or the five vikrut swaras (Indian music). ‘#’represents sharp while ‘b’ represents flat. So the black key next to C is called C# (C sharp) because it has a sharper/ higher frequency than C, or it is called Db (D flat) because it has a flatter/lower frequency than D. Same logic goes with the naming of the other black notes.

These keys are set in a particular frequency e.g. ‘A’ key is set to the frequency of 440 Hz. In western music, mostly the first note ‘Do’ corresponds to C, ‘Re’ to D, ‘Mi’ to E and so on. The point being that ‘Do’ is fixed to the frequency of ‘C’ key. This makes it ‘fixed Do’ or ‘fixed solfege’.

On the other hand, the Sargam can be called a ‘movable’ solfege because the first note ‘Sa’ does not necessarily have to start at the C key. It could start from F, A, B#, Eb etc. The successive notes would be placed according to the position of Sa.

So in order to get the shuddha swaras of Indian music, the formula is: tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone and again semitone (to get to the upper Sa). [A tone is nothing but two semitones. A semitone is the frequency distance between two adjoining keys. Example: C# key is a semitone distance away from C and D is a tone distance away from C. Similarly E to F or B to C becomes a semitone. ]

Carnatic swaras: How are they similar to/ different from Hindustani swaras:

Musical notes are called ‘swaras’ in both Hindustani and Carnatic music traditions. Basically these are 12 musical sound frequencies/ notes that are interrelated with each other and form the basis of the melodic structure of music.

Carnatic theory of ‘swara’ is different from the Hindustani theory of swara. The Carnatic theory believes that there are '16 swara-designations' but only '12 swara-positions' (swara-sthanas). So how does the calculation go? 12 swara-sthanas are generally represented by 12 swaras (that is why the concept of ‘swara’ and ‘swara-sthana’ coincide with eachother in Hindustani classical music). But in carnatic music, among the 12 swara-sthanas, there are 4 swara-sthanas or ‘frequencies’ that are represented by 2 names/ designations. So we now have 4x2=8 notes plus the remaining 8 notes (represented only by one name/ designation) and thus in total we have 16 swaras and only 12 swara-sthanas. In a particular raga (Indian classical melodic form), one swara-sthan can be designated only by one swara-name. So in a raga, a particular frequency is only called by one name even though it has two names. A western music analogy would be calling a key D# or Eb. So the same note/frequency has 2 different names and only one name is used according to the context.

Observe the following table and check the similarities and differences between the theoretical details about ‘sawara’ in Hindustani and Carnatic system:

Swara Position	Hindustani name	Hindustani pronunciation	Hindustani Notation (Roman)	Carnatic name	Carnatic pronunciation	Carnatic notation
1	Shadja	Saa	S	Shadjam	Saa	S
2	Komal Rishabha	Re	r	Shuddha Rishabham	Ri	R1
3	Shuddha Rishabha	Re	R	Chaturshruti Rishabham or Shuddha Gandharam	Ri or Ga	R2 or G1
4	Komal Gandhara	Ga	g	Shatshruti Rishabham or Sadharan Gandharam	Ri or Ga	R3 or G2
5	Shuddha Gandhara	Ga	G	Antara Gandharam	Ga	G3
6	Shuddha Madhyama	Ma	m	Shuddha Madhyama	Ma	M1
7	Teevra Madhyama	Ma	M	Prati Madhyama	Ma	M2
8	Panchama	Pa	P	Panchamam	Pa	P
9	Komal Dhaivata	Dha	d	Shuddha Dhaivatam	Da or Ni	D1
10	Shuddha Dhaivata	Dha	D	Chaturshruti Dhaivatam or Shuddha  Nishadam	Da or Ni	D2 or N1
11	Komal Nishada	Ni	n	Shatshruti  Dhaivatam or Kaisiki Nishadam	Da or Ni	D3 or N2
12	Shuddha Nishada	ni	N	Kakali Nishadam	Ni	N3

Unlike Carnatic system, the Hindustani system has a particular notation system in the Devanagari script (refer to the video for the details regarding it: )

Note that there are three types each of Rishabham, Gandharam, Dhaivatam and Nishadam in the carnatic theory. Also Sa and Pa are considered to be invariant or stable according to both Hindustani and Carnatic systems. 

Reference: Sangeeta Bala Padam (Part-1)

Indian Culture and Indian Music

India. Bharat. Hindustan. Different names; different ideas but one entity. It is difficult to define what 'Indian' means and what represents it. Is it represented by the snow clad Himalayas? Or by the evergreen forests in the Konkan? Is it the colourful holi festival of Benaras? Or the Rajbhog of Bengal? All these are part of being Indian. 'Indian' isn't a mere adjective; it is a spirit.

Since ages, India has been know for its traditions and rich culture. The Aaryans, the Mughals, the British; all had an influence on this Indian culture. India assimilated different ideas, views and styles and yet remained a unique culture in itself.

A culture of a region is described by the cultural symbols. Language, music, dance forms, architecture, mural art- all these are cultural symbols that define the intricacies of the philosophy and the life-style of that region. With so many different languages and philosophies, what essentially represents the Indian spirit?

Indian culture today has been influenced by global trends. In such a situation, the traditions and historic accounts are said to be the true representatives of the true Indian culture. However, different regions in India have different cultural tradition. However, it is interesting to note that there still lie cross-cutting commonalities between these cultures that unite to form the 'one' Indian Culture. The Indian Music stands as an at example of this.

Indian music has gone a long way from the Samaveda of the Aryans to the fusion music of the globalized Indians. The Indian Classical music is recognized as the traditional or art music of India. The contemplative and spiritual essence of Indian culture is very well represented by the Indian Classical Music.

Indian classical music has evolved with time. It began with the Saamgaan of the Aryans, then was influenced by the Persian airs and the southern culturalities- thus dividing the music into two spheres: Hindustani Shastriya and Carnatic music. These two styles became the classic folk music styles of India, forming the bases of all other music genres that took root in India. Indian classical music has the answer to all the scientific, philosophical and aesthetic aspects of music and so is an independent art form in itself. Understanding Indian Classical music is thus understanding the roots of Indian culture; appreciating Indian Classical music is thus assimilating the traditional philosophies of India.