Important Elements of Carnatic Music

Sruti

The Sruti mainly refers to musical pitch. It is same as a tonic (or less precisely a key) in Western music; it is the note from which all others are resultant; this is also used in the sense of classified pitches in an octave. While there are infinite numbers of sounds fallings within a scale (or raga) in Carnatic music, the number which can be separated by the auditory insight is in twenty-two (while over the years, many of them have converged). In this manner, while sruti is determined by auditory insight, it is also a feeling in the listener’s mind.

Swara

The Swara means a kind of musical sound that is single note, which defines a relative (higher or lower) position of a note, rather than a clear frequency. Swara also mean the solfege of Carnatic music, which consist of seven notes, sa-ri-ga-ma-pa-pda-ni (compare to the Hindustani sargam: sa-re-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni or western do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti). These names are abbreviations of the music systems, every member of the solfege (called as sawara) has the three variants. The exceptions are the drone notes shadja and panchama (which is also known as the tonic and the dominant), that have only one way; and madhyama (the subdominant) which has two ways. The 7^th century stone writing in Kudumiyan Malai in Tamil Nadu demonstrate vowel changes to solfege symbols with ra,ri, ru, etc to show the higher quarter-tones. In one scale, or raga, there is usually only one variant which each one note the present. Exemptions exist in light ragas in which for artistic effect, there are two - one ascending (in the arohanam) and other decending (the avarohanam).

Raga System

The Raga in the Carnatic music is seen as a set of rules for building a melody which is very similar to that of that of the western concept of mode. It specifies rules for moving up (aarohanam) and down (avarohanam) which the scale notes should point more and the notes that should be used more carefully, which notes may be sung with the gamaka (ornamentation), which phrases should be used or avoided. In that vein, it is a series of compulsory musical events that must be noted, either absolutely or with a particular incident.

The Carnatic music, the sampoorna ragas (those with all the seven notes in their scales) are grouped into a system known as the melakarta, which groups them according to the types pf notes they are. There are seventy-two melakarta ragas, which thirty six are madhyama (subdominant) is sadharana (perfect fourth from the tonic), and the rest thirty six are madhyama (subdominant) is prati (an augmented fourth from the tonic). The ragas are classified into six sets known as the chakras (wheels, though actually parts in the conventional representation) grouped according to the supertonic and median scale degrees. This system is known as the katapayadi sankhya to determine the names of melakarta ragas.

Ragas may be divided into two kinds: janaka ragas (which are the melakarta or parent ragas) and janya ragas (descendant ragas of a particular janaka raga). Janya ragas are the sub classified into different categories.

Tala System

Tala means fixed time cycle or metre set for a particular compositions, which is built from classification of beats. Talas have cycles of a defined number of beats and rarely change within a song, they have specific parts and the combinations can give rise to the variety to exist over 108, allowing various compositions to have various rhythms.

The Carnatic music singers keep the beat by moving their hands up and down in specified ways; using their fingers simultaneously to keep time. Tala is made with three basic patterns (called the angas) as: laghu, dhrtam, and anudhrtam, though difficult talas may have other patterns like plutam, guru, and kaakapaadam. 

There are seven basic tala classes which can formed the laghu, dhrtam, and anudhrtam:

1. ·         Dhruva tala
2. ·         Matya tala
3. ·         Rupaka tala
4. ·         Jhampa tala
5. ·         Triputa tala
6. ·         Ata tala
7. ·         Eka tala

The laghu has five variants (which is known as the jaathis) base on the counting way. Five jaathis times seven tala classes fives thirty-five basic talas, while use of other angas results in a total of 108 talas.

Improvisation

Improvisation in raga is the soul of Indian classical music. Manodharma sangeetham or kalpana sangeetham (music of imagination as it is called in Carnatic music) embraces many varieties of improvisation. The major cultural forms of improvisation in Carnatic music is made up of alapana, niraval, kalpanaswaram, ragam thanam pallavi, and the thani avarthanam.

Raga Alapana

The alapana, also known as ragam is the exposition of a raga or tone with slow improvisation and no rhythm, where the raga acts as the basis of elaboration. While performing alapana, the performers consider each raga as an object that has starting and endings and consists somehow of order of feeling.

The performer will show the ragam and touch on it different nuances, singing in the lower octave first, and then gradually move up to the higher octave, while giving a hint of the song to be performed.

Theoretically, this should to be the easiest kind of improvisation, since the rules are not much, but in fact, it takes much skill to sing an interesting song, and comprehensive (in the sense of giving a feel for the ragam) and main sigificnantly, the original raga alapana.

Niraval
The Niraval is usually performed by the more advanced performers; who sing one or two lines of text of a song repeatedly, but with a series of melodic improvised explanations. While niraval consist of impromptu melodic variations, generally, the main ways of time are maintained with each world in the line of text within their original place (idam) in the tala cycle. The lines are then played at various stages of speed which can include double speed, triple speed, quadruple speed and also the sextuple sped. The improvised explanations are made with a view out outlining the rage, the tempo, and the theme of the composition.

Kalpanaswaram
Kalpanaswaram is also called swarakalpana, and consists of the improvising and rhythmic passage using swaras (solfa syllables). Like niraval, the kalpanaswarams are sung to end on aparticular swara om the raga of the melody and at a specific place in the tala cycle.

Kalpanaswarams have a somewhat expectable rhythmic structure, the swaras are sung to stop on the samam (the first beat of the rhythmical cycle). The swaras can also be sung at the same speed or double the speed of the melody that is being sung, though some artists sing with the triple speed phrases too. Kalpanaswaram is the main elementary kind of improvisation, which is usually taught before any other form of improvisation.

Tanam
The Tanam is one of the main significant forms of improvisation, and it is integral to ragam tanam pallavi. Originally form for the veena, it consists of expanding the raga with syllables such as tha, nam, thom, aa, nom, na etc.

Ragam Tanam Pallavi
Ragam Tanam Pallavi is the principal long form in concerts, and is a composite form of improvisation. As the name suggests, it is made up of the raga alapana, tanam, and a pallavi line. Set to a slow placed tala, the pallavi line is often composed by the performer. In niraval, the performer operates the pallavi line in difficult melodic and rhythmic patterns. The niraval is followed by kalpanaswarams.

Thani Avarthanam
The tani Avartanam which means the extended solo that is played by the drummers in a concert, and is also played after the main composition in a concert. The drummers display the full range of his talents and rhythmic imagination during the solo, which will take from two to twenty minutes.