Keyboard Keys Specifications

Mandra Saptak : *s *r *g *m *p *d *n

Madhya Saptak : s r g m p d n

Taar Saptak : s* r* g* m* p* d* n*

Sharp Notes in Madhya Saptak : R G M D N

Sharp Notes in Mandra Saptak : *R *G *M *D *N

Sharp Notes in Taar Saptak : R* G* M* D* N*

For madhya saptak, notes are given as s, r, g, m, p, d, n for sa re ga ma pa dha ni sa.

For mandra saptak, a star (*) symbol is attached before the note so, notes are presented
for mandra saptak as – *s *r *g *m *p *d *n.

For taar saptak, star symbol is attached after the note, so for taar saptak, notes are given
as : s* r* g* m* p* d* n*.

Notes for black keys or sharp notes are written as capital letters.

Tu Pyar Ka Sagar Hai

Posted on February 24, 2010

For synthesizer key specifications – Click here

Keyboard Notes for Tu Pyar Ka Sagar

Hai
________________________________________________________

g mgr grs r rgm pd Ndp dpm pmg

Tu pyaar_ka saagar hai teri ek boond_ke pyaase hum

gmg rg rsr rgm pdNd pdpm pmg

Lauta_jo diya tune chale jaayenge jahaan_se hum

g mgr grs r rgm pd Ndp dpm pmg

Tu pyaar_ka saagar hai teri ek boond_ke pyaase hum

Music – *d *N *d mgrR *d *N *d pmgr *d *N *d Nd

dr* s* Ndp dNs* N dd mmp ds* Nd

Ghaayal mann_ka paagal panchhi udne_ko beqaraar

dr* r* s ndpp dNs* N ddd

Pankh_hai komal aankh_hai dhundli

mmp ds* Nd d g* r* Npmg pmgr r

jaana_hai sagar paar aa jaana_hai sagar par

gg mg rg rsr gm pdNd pdpm p mg

Ab tu_hi isse samjha raah bhoole the kahan_se hum…

g mgr grs r rgm pd Ndp dpm pmg

Tu pyaar_ka saagar hai teri ek boond_ke pyaase hum

r* r* Npp dNs* Ndd

Idhar_jhoomti gaaye zindagi

mmm mpd Nd pNpmg ggm pd Nd

Udhar_hai maut khadi ~~~ udhar_hai maut khadi

r* r* s* Ndp dNs* N dd
Koi_kya jaane kahan_hai seema
mmmm mpd Nd g* r* Nppm gp mgr
Uljhan aan padi ~~ Uljhan aan padi

g mgr grs r rgm pd Ndp dpm pmg

Tu pyaar_ka saagar hai teri ek boond_ke pyaase hum

_______________________________________________________

Movie : Seema
Singer : Manna Dey
Music Director : Shankar Jaikishan
Lyricists: Shailendra

http://www.hitxp.com/keyboard-music-notes/hindi-songs/tu-pyar-ka-sagar-hai-seema-
keyboard-music-notations/

http://www.synthesizernotes.com/devotional-songs/tu_pyar_ka_sagar.html

Harmonium is a keyboard, and so these lessons apply equally to the harmo

to the electronic synthesizer keyboard. The important difference is that you can - a
electronic keyboard with your LEFT hand also; but for harmonium, your left hand is
pumping the bellows to force air under pressure into the inside of the harmonium.
left hand is used for chords. An ordinary keyboard is sufficient to master all the les
follow. If you already have a keyboard, you do not need to buy anything else as of
performances, you can use a synthesizer keyboard or a harmonium, depending up
convenience and availability. Harmonium traditionally suits better for accompanime
performance of Ghazals, Thumri, Indo Pakistani classical music, and some other
music. For accompaniment to movie songs, and all varieties of songs, the synthes
is the preferred choice. Keyboard offer a wide variety of instrument sounds. Types
are given below:

Chordophones Aerophones Electrophones

 Clavichord  Accordion  Electroni

 Electric piano  Harmonium keyboard
 Piano  Pipe organ  Electroni
 Clavinet  Reed organ  Music
workstati
 Harpsichord  Pipe organ  Synthesiz

 Sampler
In a keyboard the instrument sound you choose is called a voice. Before you play a song, choose
a voice that you like. Practice selecting different voices, and remember the setting for the ones
you prefer. Look your keyboard owner's manual to help you. When you play the songs you can
use any sound you wish. The rhythm controls provide drum beats to play along with. These
rhythm beats are also called styles. The drum rhythms or kits can be changed to suit the kind of
song. If you have a keyboard equipped with floppy drive or flash usb media then you may copy
rhythm styles in your keyboard which can be played using user style button. Melody keys are
used to play the tune by right hand. The chord keys are used to play along with the melody with
your left hand. Chords make the song sound full and harmonic. If you do not know how to play
chords then you may use auto chord accompaniment.

Learning Keyboard in Desi Style

The article here is to teach you keyboard in Desi Style and in the end you will be able to play
Indian and Pakistani raga based film songs. Harmonium, keyboard and synthesizer keyboard are
taken to mean the same thing, and are called simply the "keyboard". The notations are used to
describe the keys on the keyboard: In our lessons for convenience, the reference note, called the
tonic or the Sa, is assumed to be the first black key, indicated by the letter "S". If you want to
sing-along music then you may assign any key as "Sa", according to your voice scale.

In this article the fingering system of keyboard and harmonium is kept same so, that we will be
able to play both instruments. Most people who play harmonium find keyboard difficult due to
different finger assignments. Some musicians use first white key as starting or reference note
(Sa) but we will use first black key as our starting reference note for quick learning..

Keyboard And Computer Music

Music can be defined as collection of small pieces of regular sound played at predefined time
interval. It is the small water droplets that make the ocean, likewise music is also an ocean that
is made up of small parts, it is called a “note”. An ingenious collection of these notes played over
a period of time results in a melody which could be a Mehdi Hassan or A . Rahman song.
Hence both western and Indian music has a set of basic notes from which they grow, something
like alphabets. There is new concept evolving called “computer music” where a musician
explores beyond the basic notes that are defined in music. In cubase it is possible to explore
beyond basics. Today almost all the keyboards are computerized and produce MIDI music.
MIDI means musical instruments digital interface. Midi music is editable in computer or in MIDI
keyboards and midi music can be produced with 16 individual tracks of different instruments.

Let us see more on Notes. “Notes” what are they? Note can be technically explained as a sound
frequency. Actually the sound that is produced when you press a key on musical keyboard is
called as “NOTE”. It does not matter if you press the white key or the black key. Each key plays
a predefined frequency. A frequency is number of cycles per second. The note gets its shape by
the amount of time you hold down the key and release it. This is called the note length or
duration. Hence to make a “tune” or a “melody” or “song” you should play a bunch of these
notes at proper duration and length.

Western Music Notes Verses Indian

Indian classical music has 7 basic notes (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni), with five interspersed half-
notes, resulting in a 12-note scale. Unlike the 12-note scale in Western music, the base
frequency of the scale is not fixed, and inter-tonal gaps may also vary. Before we can learn how
to play scales chords and various progressions it is vital that we learn the notes on keyboard
or harmonium and how they relate to each other. The best way to describe the notes on the
keyboard is by comparing them to the notes of the alphabets. The first seven notes of the
keyboard are ( A - B - C - D -E - F - G ). Each note differ with each other in sound. Notice that
the seven notes of keyboard repeat themselves over and over again. The notes sounds the
same but the pitch differs. For example if you play C and move to the right until you find the
next C, you will notice that if you play them simultaneously, both notes sounds the same but
one is higher than the other. It is a well-known fact that Indian music is based on melody and
Western Music on Harmony. This does not mean that Western Music does not include melody. In
western music, the harmonizing effect of different instruments and voices given to a certain
melody plays the important role. In a similar manner in Indian music the melody has an upper
hand. Usually, it is said and believed that harmony doesn’t play a role in Indian music. But, to my
way of understanding, harmony is equally important in Indian classical music performance
though, not the way it is used in western music. In Indian music the harmony effect is a steady
continuous drone effect created usually by a ‘Taanpura’.

Please read carefully:

Middle C marks the center of the keyboard. As you will notice the C major is the easiest and
simplest scale of the twelve. It consists all the white keys from any starting C to the next
octave C.

A standard semi professional music keyboard has 48 keys. You will see 4 sets of 12 keys.
This 12 set of notes is technically called an octave. Why 12, why not 13?, Good question.
The aim of this article is to keep it simple; Western is based on logarithmic division. You can
start playing Indian or Pakistani song from any note and starting note will always become our
reference note or Sa. Remaining notes will be arranged according to thaat or scale of the song.
It is more easy to start our Hindi scale or thaat from first black key. In western music also, fifth
note from C is as 5th . In Indian music “Sa” note is based on your reference note or the key you
selected for starting point as Sa. We can further go in deep by playing song in raga of that
particular thaat.

In the western music system the “C note” itself does not change and “scales” denotes the pitch
changes. Western music system has an “absolute” naming for the keys whereas in Indian the
notation is “relative. Desi music have combined both. In the seven tone-scale the second, third,
fourth, sixth, and seventh notes can be sharp or flat, making up the twelve notes in the
Western scale. However, ragas can specify microtonal changes to this scale: a flatter second, a
sharper seventh, and so forth. Furthermore, such variations can occur between styles, performers
or simply follow the mood of the performer. In Indian music there is no absolute pitch; instead,
each performance simply picks a ground note, and the other scale degrees follow relative to the
ground note.

Note: “Sa” does not “map” always onto “C”. It could start at F and still form a S R G M P D N
scale in which case the corresponding western notes also change. Presently you may relate the
“Sa” of Indian to “C” of Western which is fortunately identical to each other . A scale is a set of 7
notes in a proper order and intervals. Just remember this, a scale is set of 7 notes with predefined
intervals. The distance between each note is called as interval. It is true that scales and ragas
are not same. You will learn about ragas in raga section of our book. Apart from having seven
different notes, there are not many similarities. There is a huge difference between a scale and
raga in tonal quality or the sound density.

Raga has many dimensions to it. First, it has an emotional overtone. Just simply going over Sa
to Sa can be called as a major scale or Cmaj. Though the notes and intervals are just the same. A
raga can have 4 or more notes with intervals. This kind of reduction of notes in a scale is called
as modes in western classical music. Experts believe proper training is required to play ragas
fluently. This comes by good practice and understanding of note usage. A western trained first-
rate musician will be able play a phrase of 1/64 note at a good speed but will find it difficult to play
raga without proper training. It is the reason that western music is fast. Indian music is melodic in
nature while western music is harmonic in nature. Chords produce harmony. Now you will be
ready to believe that it is not possible to play Indian songs with only western training. Desi Style
music lessons is the mixture of Western & Indian system.

Selection of first note

On the keyboard, the area S through N is called a saptak or an octave. There are three octaves:
the Madh (middle), the Mandar (lower), and the Taar (higher/upper). The lower octave is situated
to the left of the middle and is shown with a sign of apostrophe ( ' ) on the left side of the note.
The upper octave is situated to the right of the middle octave and is shown with a sign of
apostrophe ( ' ) on the right side of the note. Again, this is clearly shown in the diagram. Whereas
a note belonging to the middle octave has no sign of apostrophe ( ' ) when represented on the
paper; for example, the P of the middle octave is represented simply as: P. The note belonging to
the lower octave has an apostrophe to its LEFT. Thus, for example, the P in the lower octave is
represented as: 'P. The note belonging to the higher octave has an apostrophe to its RIGHT.
Thus, for example, the P in the higher octave is represented as: P'. The 36 keys represent the
notes in all three octaves e.g.. 12x3=36

*In the following diagram 'S means lower octave note ( left side of middle octave) and S' means
higher octave note of harmonium or keyboard
( right side of middle octave). The rule of achal, komal and tiver will apply to all three diagrams in
this page.

First White Key As Our Sa

Diagram 1

Fourth Black Key Selected As Our Sa

 Diagram

Lower Octave or Mandar Saptak 'S 'r 'R 'g 'm 'M 'P 'd 'D 'n 'N
Note Numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Middle Octave or Madh Saptak S r R g m M P d D n N

Note Numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Higher Octave or Taar Saptak S' r' R' g' m' M' P' d' D' n' N'
Note Numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

First Black Key Selected As Our Sa

Diagram 2
There may be five saptak in a keyboard. The saptak to the left of the keyboard is for playing
chords and to the extreme right is one more taar saptak but with very sharp voice. We can also
play melody in chords saptak but the sound of melody will show base sound. The chords saptak
and extra taar saptak to the right side is not perfect for playing melody. In a complete saptak
there are 12 notes which are seven white keys and five black keys. So, in a harmonium mostly
there are three saptak and 36 keys but in a professional keyboard there are four to five saptak
and 48-60 keys. It should be noted that in both instruments while playing songs you will usually
deal with three saptak. In keyboards you will also use chords saptak which is located to the
extreme left of keyboard. In keyboards or harmonium most of the songs begin from madh or
middle saptak.

To summarize:
Achal or Qyme Swar: These notes are notated as S and P (the swar without saathi swar)

Komal or Flat Swar: These notes are notated as r, g,m, d, n & are shown in small letters.

Tiver or Sharp Swar: These notes are noted as R,G,M,D,N and shown in capital letters.

Achal, Komal, Tiver Swar: By combining achal, komal and tiver swar we get 12 notes of a
complete saptak. S r R g G m M P d D n N

Achal swar Sa and Pa are also shown in capital letters. All notes belong to madh-saptak by
default and have no sign of apostrophe. Notes of Mandar saptak are preceded by ( ' ) sign of
apostrophe, and notes of Taar-saptak are succeeded by ( ' ) sign apostrophe. Lastly, a comma

( , ) represents a pause between notes. It is important that you learn achal, kom Note:
This arrangement is also for keyboard in which you use your both hands but you
use right hand in playing harmonium.

As mentioned earlier in Fig 1, we have assumed the first white key to be the Sa
(S), for convenience. But from now we will use black key as our first starting point
for Sa (S). You will find that there are sets of 5 black keys on the keyboard. Each
set of those 5 black keys is made up of 2 + 3 black keys. The first white key is
that white key which lies immediately to the left of the first black key. Since there
are several sets of 5 black keys, there will also be several "first white" keys. In a
saptak there are total 12 keys which consists of 5 black keys and seven white
keys as mentioned below:

You are going to use only your right hand to play melody on
harmonium/keyboard. The right hand fingers are numbered as follows:

The thumb is numbered 1

The index finger is 2
The middle finger is 3
The ring finger is 4
The little finger is numbered 5.

Fingers:
In western system there are 12 scales while in desi system there are ten thaat. A
thaat is the ascending and descending movements from S R G M P D N S', and
back that is, S' N D P M G R S. All the 8 notes are always included, in that order,
in a or thaat. In these lessons thaat uses only " first black" key as starting point,
that is, natural. We will always fix our first note from first black key in madh
saptak which is easier for sargam practice and playing songs. Sargam means
seven notes in ascending and descending order. For a complete sargam we also
include 8th note of the next saptak which is Sa'.

Know Your Swars

In music there are seven notes in a ‘Sur’ which are Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni
There are twelve swar in one saptak because five swar also have their saathi
swar. Only two swar are called achal swar (fixed swars) because they do not
have any saathi swars. The Achal swars are Sa and Pa.

The following five tiver swar have their saathi swars

1. Re
2. Ga
3. Ma
4. Dha
5. Ni

Sa and Pa are not included in the above mentioned five swar. The reason is this
that their saathi swars do not exist. These swar are called achal swar. These
achal swar are not komal nor tiver. To distinguish komal and tiver we will write
komal swar with the small letters and tiver swar with capital lettesr as given
below:

List of Komal Saathi Swar of Re, Ga, Ma, Dha, Ni

Komal Swars are shown in small letters.
Komal Re --------- r
Komal Ga --------- g
Komal Ma --------- m
Komal Dha --------- d
Komal Dha --------- n

List of Tiver Saathi Swar of Re, Ga, Ma, Dha, Ni

Tiver Swars are shown in capital letters.

Tiver Re --------- R
Tiver Ga --------- G
Tiver Ma --------- M
Tiver Dha --------- D
Tiver Ni --------- N
Achal or Qyme Swars

Achal or Qyme Swars are also shown by capital letters.

Achal Swars --------- S and P

We can also write the whole sargam by combining achal komal and tiver as S r R
g G m M P d D n N S. (here S and P is called achal or qyme swar and without
komal and tiver saathi swar). When all the swar are tiver in a Sargam then it will
become the sargam of Raga Aiman or Kalyan. Raga aiman or kalyan is same. In
the Sargam of Raga Aiman all swar will be tiver along with Sa and Pa which are
achal or qyme swar. These tiver and achal swar are represented here as under:-

Tiver Swars or Sharp Swars: R, G, M, D, N

Achal S, P,

There are total 12 notes in one saptak: 5 Komal + 5 Tiver+ 2 Achal = 12

This rule will apply to all three saptak in a harmonium and in all four or five
octaves in a keyboard. In the below given diagram we have shown notes from all
three saptak which are mandar, madh and taar. The below given notes are
shown only for understanding different notes arrangements.

Playing arrangement (1) from first white key

 Here ACH = Achal Swars, TIV = Tiver Swars, KOM = Komal Swars

Here starting from first white key as our Sa the arrangement of notes will be as
given below:-

Note : The first note or key just attached after Sa is always Komal Ray, then
Tiver Ray, then Komal Ga Then Tiver Ga, then Komal Ma then Tiver Ma, Achal
Pa Then Komal Dha, Tiver Dha, Komal Ni Tiver Ni, Then Achal Sa.

Or we can write whole sargam as S r R g G m M P d D n N S

In the Diagram.2 we are starting from left side and from first white key. The
immediate key just attached to Sa is r with key number 2. With r the next
immediate key just attached is R with key number 3 and with R the next key just
attached is g with key number 4 and so on . . . . .The keys attached with each
other are show by numbering 1,2,3,4,5……36.

We can also explain in another way: After Achal Sa there will be Komal note then
Tiver, and so on…………. Pa is also Achal and after Pa then there will be Komal
Dha, Tiver Dha and so on If you will recognize komal and tiver Swars then you
will be able to understand thaat, scale, ragas and song notation which will help
you play a song. Many old and new song are composed in a particular Raga.

Saptk: A saptak is the complete set of five komal and five tiver swars along with
two achal swar which are Sa and Pa. So there are total twelve swars in a
complete sargam.
Actual playing arrangement (2) from first black key in desi
style

Our actual playing arrangement for further lessons

Here starting from first black key as our Sa the arrangement of notes will be
same as mentioned in playing arrangement (1) above.
Note: The first note or key attached just after Sa is always Komal Ray Then
Tiver Ray, Komal Ga Then Tiver Ga, Komal Ma then Tiver Ma, Achal Pa Then
Komal Dha, Tiver Dha, Komal Ni Tiver Ni, Then Achal Sa.

Or we can write whole sargam as S r R g G m M P d D n N S

In the Diagram arrangement (1) above we are starting from left side and from
first white key. The immediate key just attached to Sa is komal r with key number
2. With komal r the next immediate key just attached is tiver R with key number
3 and with again with tiver R the next key just attached is komal g with key
number 4 and so on . . . . .The keys attached with each other are shown by
numbering 1,2,3,4,5……35 for your understanding only.

Thaat or Scales

The set of Seven Notes which can produce a Raga is called a Thaat in Urdu or
Hindi and ragas produce melodious songs. The system of classification for the
raga in different groups is called a thaat. There are again several systems of
classification of the raga. If you want to learn keyboard or harmonium the
practice of thaat is important. If you want to sing-along music notes then sargam
and raga practice is important. If you learn thaat then you can learn raga and can
play many songs. Beauty in playing a song appears when you use ragas. One
can play song in a thaat but there are very few songs for a particular thaat.
Ragas can produce many songs. Thaat have fix seven notes where in ragas
notes can vary. There are certain rules for these thaat. Thaat is a desi scale of
seven notes. For harmonium beginners tent thaat practice is essential. First try to
learn ten thaat and try to play only thaat based songs. Without practice of thaat
based songs never try to play raga based songs.

1. A Thaat must have seven notes out of the twelve notes placed in an ascending
or descending order. Both the forms of the notes can be used.

2. Thaat has only an Arohi.

3. Thaats are not to be sung and are for only playing music songs but the ragas
produced from the thaat are sung. We can play music of song with a thaat but
beauty will only come if we play music with ragas.

4. Thaats are named after the popular raga of that thaat. For example bhairavi is
a popular raga and the thaat of the raga bhairavi is named after the raga.

5. Out of ten thaat about 80 ragas are developed and performed these days. But
for a beginner 30 ragas are sufficient for perfection and practice.
Transposing Or Scale Changing
Note:
Transposing option in keyboards or Scale Changing option in harmonium is
same.

Transposition: Changing Keys

Transposition, or changing the key of a piece of music, can be useful and is sometimes
necessary to make music more sing able or playable. Music is transposed by raising or lowering
every note by the same interval. Changing the key of a piece of music is called transposing the
music. There are many reasons why you might want a piece to be in a different key. There are
also some ways to avoid having to do the transposition yourself, but learning to transpose can be
very useful for performers/singers, composers, and arrangers

Why Transpose?
The most common reason for changing the key of a piece of music is to put it in the right key for
your vocalists. If your singer or singers are struggling with notes that are too high or low to sing,
changing the key to put the music in their range will result in a much better performance.
Instrumentalists may also find that a piece is easier to play if it is in a different key. Players of both
bowed and plucked strings generally find fingerings and tuning to be easier in sharp keys, while
woodwind and brass players often find flat keys more comfortable and in tune. Instrumentalists
with transposing instruments will usually need any part they play to be properly transposed before
they can play it.

A good electronic keyboard or scale changer harmonium will transpose for you. If your music is
already stored as a computer file, there are several transpose programs that will transpose it for
you and display, play and print it in the new key for your singing or listening.

Choosing Your New Key Or Scale

Before you can begin transposing, you must decide what your new key will be. This will depend
on why you are transposing, and what kind of vocalists and instrumentalists you are working with.

1. Transposing scale beginning from first white key

Usually we start thaat bilawal with first black key which is 'S'. Normally for thaat
practice or playing songs as a beginner we start with first black key. When we
become perfect keyboard or harmonium player we can use any key for playing
thaat bilawal but the arrangement of achal, tiver and komal swar will remain
according to system mentioned earlier. If we want to sing a song in bilawal but
our voice do not synchronize with the first black note then we may try other notes
according to our voice pitch. We can play thaat bilawal songs with any key with
transpose option and still song will not effect. In the following diagram we have
transposed thaat bilawal from first black note to first white note and still thaat
bilawal will remain bilawal thaat.
 Diagram.1 Building Thaat Bilawal Sargam From First White Key

Note: - We can select any key as our Sa and from that position of Sa our key combination will
change in each below given diagrams. Some person cannot sing in loud scale so; the musician
will select suitable scale for them. Selecting scale means transposing or selecting first note. In
madh saptak of diagram 3, notes with cross sign (X) will be ignored and when we will play
remaining notes in madh saptak and it will become sargam of thaat bilawal. Note that while
playing sargam ascending and descending we also include next saptak note S'.

S r R g G m M P d D n N S'
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
S X R X G m X P X D X N S'
S R G m P D N S'
1 3 5
6 8 10 12 13

Or we can write whole sargam as S R G

m P D N S’
1 3
5 6 8 10 12 13
Thaat Bilawal sargam in ascending and descending order

Arohi : S R G m P D N S’
Amrohi: S’ N D P m G R S

2. Transposing scale beginning from first black key

(default key)

Diagram.2 Building Thaat Bilawal Sargam From First Black Key

We can select any key as our Sa and from that position of Sa our key combination will change.
We have selected first black key as a default key to play harmonium. From now we will always
select first black key as our starting point. Now our key combination will become as given below:
 S r R g G m
M P d D n N S'
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
S x R x G m
x P x D x N S'
S R G
m P D N S'
Note: Sa is always achal or qyme swar. The first swar or key attached just after Sa is always
komal ray shown with cross (X) and with note no. 2, then tiver ray with capital R, komal Ga,
then tiver Ga, komal Ma then tiver Ma, achal Pa, then komal Dha, tiver Dha, komal Ni, tiver Ni,
then achal Sa as S’.
Or we can write whole sargam again as S R G m P D N S’
Again Thaat Bilawal sargam in ascending and descending order

Arohi : S R G m P D N S’
Amrohi: S’ N D P m G R S

3. Transposing scale beginning from second white

key

Diagram.3

Now we have selected our first key from 2nd white key for playing a song or harmonium We can
select any key as our Sa and from that position of Sa our key combination will change in each
diagram.

S r R g G m
M P d D n N S'
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
S x R x G m
x P x D x N S'
S R G
m P D N S'

Note : Sa is always achal or qyme sur. The first Sur or key attached just after Sa is always
Komal Ray shown with cross and with note no. 2 Then Tewar Ray with Capital R, Komal Ga
Then Tewar Ga, Komal Ma then Tewar Ma, Achal Pa Then Komal Dha, Tewar Dha, Komal Ni
 Tewar Ni, Then Achal Sa as S’. If we do not play notes with cross sign in diagram 5 then it will
also become another Thaat.
Or we can write whole sargam again as S R G m P D
N S’
Again Thaat Bilawal sargam in ascending and descending order will be
same.

Arohi : S R G m P D N S’
Amrohi: S’ N D P m G R S

It is proved from above three examples that whatever note is selected as initial note to play
sargam, the corresponding notes will change according to a fixed system of achal, komal and
tiver properties.

Transpose option of keyboard and harmonium:

For keyboard learners the option of transpose in keyboards have made it easy to change scale
according to voice pitch of singer or song. Note that by default we have selected our Sa as
first black key throughout this website.

In scale changer harmonium use scale changing option. Now there is no need to learn playing
from every white or black key. Only learn to play music from first black key and change your
required scale by transpose option. You are required only to learn 10 thaat which begin with first
black key therefore transpose option have made scale changing easy for singing.

Raga And Its Concept:

A music, which follows the characteristics of this tradition, is called classical - in opposition to
Western classical music, where classical means belonging to a period of time (approximately
from 16th to 17th century). All classical music follows this rule even if some completely
different styles exist side by side. To develop precisely a raga, the musician needs the presence
of a drone, whatever the music. Singers are always accompanied with the tanpura or the
harmonium, which produce the singer's tonic and dominant (SA and PA). Classical music is
mainly divided into two branches, North and South.

History of classical music

Of The Sub-continent
North Indian Classical music (some people know as Hindustani) in reference of the Hindi speaking region
going to North-West Frontier and to Poorab, the East. Many styles and genres have been developed and
encouraged by a family system now called Gharana. These numerous Gharanas all over North India have
developed very different styles of classical music, genres and instruments. In the development music, the
things went like this (from a verse): First songs, then notes, then Sharutis and then the Jaties (ragas). Birds
have songs, so do the other mammals. When we say that the songs must have developed after humans were
civilized, we are forgetting something. Look around you. There are songs everywhere.

It is certain that as humans got civilized, their songs got complicated. With the development of language,
the songs became more meaningful. The primal screams evolved into poems of love, separation, nature,
beauty and other things that affected us emotionally. When something said through conversation does not
capture the essence of our feelings, a song erupts in us. That is a primal instinct. It is not something that is
impossible to do without the knowledge of Sharuties. A villager in India or a Gypsy in Europe cannot stop
singing just because they do not know the difference between just intonation and chromatic intonation.
These are afterthoughts.

When the enlightened artists of the ancient world sang the songs, the beauty of changing pitch compelled
them to find more about it. What is it that changing the pitch up and down in certain ways sounds musical.
The first known theory of music in Indian Vedas (Samveda) contains four notes. Nowadays notes are
always mentioned in ascending (such as C D E or Sa Re Ga) order.

The combination of several notes woven into a composition in a way, which is pleasing to the ear, is called
a Raga. The raga is an Indian scale which utilizes varying ascending and descending patterns - certain notes
on the way up and certain notes on the way down - but always in the set sequence. The raga never has less
than five notes - the minimum required for a tune. Each raga creates an atmosphere, which is associated
with feelings and sentiments. Any stray combination of notes cannot be called a Raga. At a more academic
level, it is a musical composition that functions within a structure and follows certain rules with relation to
the kind of notes used in it.

Raga is the dictator of melody and the "Taal" is the dictator of Rhythm. In addition, melody is the product
of sound and the rhythm is product of time. Therefore, ‘the music is the art of manipulating the ’sound’
through ‘time’. The time affects music in two different ways. First through rhythm is obvious. However, the
time is also at work producing the musical sounds that are useful in melody. The universe is full of sound,
but every sound is not musical.

According to the scriptures, sage Narada practiced great austerities for several years and was honoured by
Lord Shiva who taught him the great art of music. It is said that from the sleeping position (Shayanmudra)
of his wife, Goddess Parvati, Lord Shiva created the Rudravina (an instrument with a form similar to the
sitar). From his five mouths, five ragas emerged while a sixth was created by the goddess Parvati. These
ragas were named according to Lord Shiva's movements to east, west, north, south and towards the sky and
were called Bhairav, Hindol, Megh, Deepak and Shri. Raga Kaushik was created by the Goddess Parvati
herself.

Music flourished in India under Muslim rule and was subject to a number of new influences, including
those of the mystic Sufi sect. As a consequence new elements, forms and instruments came to be introduced
into Indian Music. Among the vocal forms, were the Qual which gave rise to the Qawali and the Tanpura,
both of which are heard today. The sitar and the tabla also belong to this period. The Persian poet Amir
Khusrau is believed to have made a major contribution in the development of the Qawali as well as the
Sitar.

Musical patronage reached its zenith under the Mughal emperors Akbar (1555-1605), Jahangir (1605-1627)
and Shahjahan (1628-1658) The legendary composer Tansen (1492-1589) is believed to have been a
member of the court of Akbar. His enchanting music is believed to have had the power to bring rains and
light lamps. Music was also becoming more popular and was no longer the preserve of the upper classes.
Most compositions had initially been in Sanskrit but by the sixteenth century they were being composed in
various dialects of Hindi - Braj Bhasa and Bhojpuri among them - as well as Persian and Urdu. It was
during this phase that two separate systems emerged as a result of the Islamic influence on the existing
system in Northern and central India while the south remained free from this domination. This led to
emergence of two forms of Indian Music. Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian).

The arrival of British rule saw the violin entering the repertoire of South Indian music in the mid-eighteenth
century. In the time of Bahadur Shah Zafar the last King of Mughal empire, music development was limited
and poetry developed. A significant development was the use of music to promote nationalism during the
Indian freedom struggle. The twentieth century also saw the arrival of Indian cinema, which further
popularized music among common man. The post independence period saw classical Indian music gaining
global recognition. Ravi Shankar, one of the greatest players of the Sitar, worked with the Beatles while
Ali Akbar Khan popularized the Sarod in the west. The twentieth century also saw collaborations between
Indian and western musicians. such as Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin. This merging of two streams of
music is often referred to as fusion Music.

New generation of artists like Bhimsen Joshi, Amjad Ali Khan and Bismillah Khan brought finest traditions
of Indian music. Film music is however, the most popular music in India and Pakistan today and popular
Indian films are seldom without songs. Urdu Ghazal also got popularity and populars Ghazal singers like
Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Jagjeet and many others emerged with a new style. Bhajans and Qawali also
retain their popularity.

INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC NOTATIONS

Indian music is traditionally practice-oriented and until the 20th century did not employ notations as the
primary media of instruction, understanding, or transmission. The rules of Indian music and compositions
themselves are taught from a guru to a shishya, in person. However, the notation is regarded as a matter of
taste and is not standardized. Thus there is no universal system of notation for the rest of the world to study
Indian music. The complexity of Indian classical music could not be expressed in writing.

NOTES IN A SAPTAK
The Indian musical scale is said to have evolved from 3 notes to a scale of 7 primary notes, on
the basis of 22 intervals. A scale is divided into 22 shrutis or intervals, and these are the basis of
the musical notes. The 7 notes of the scale are known to musicians as Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da
and Ni. The eighth note is a repetition of the first and is therefore an octave higher. The group of
seven notes is called a saptak. In western music these seven notes are identified as C D E F G A
B. These 7 notes of the scale do not have equal intervals between them. A Saptak is a group of 7
notes, divided by the shrutis or intervals -- A raga is based on the principle of a combination of
notes selected out the 22 note intervals of the octave. Total notes in a single saptak are 12 but
when we practice arohi and amrohi then we also choose next saptak Sa. See below given
diagram.

By deleting other notes 12 notes saptak becomes bilawal thaat

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Da Ni
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Indian classical music has 7 basic notes (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni), with five interspersed
half-notes, resulting in a 12-note scale. Unlike the 12-note scale in Western music, the
base frequency of the scale is not fixed, and inter-tonal gaps may also vary. The 22 Srutis
are the only notes which can be useful for music in an “octave”. The first and fifth notes (Sa
and Pa) do not alter their positions on this interval and are fixed. Detailed lessons about saptak and notes
are provided in Harmonium Lessons The other 5 notes can change their positions in the interval
due to komal and tiver, leading to different raga.

Raga
The raga forms the backbone of Indian music, and the laws laid down for the ragas have to be
carefully observed to preserve and safeguard their integrity. The following points are required in
the construction of a Raga --
1. Thaat or sequence of notes,
2. Jaatis or classification
3. King and Queen relation of the notes, i.e. Vadi and Samvadi
4. The Ascent and Descent of the raga, i.e. Arohi and Amrohi
5. Important group of notes
6. Pitch
7. Speed.
According to Indo Pak ancient theory, the musician's task in exploring mood is made easier if the
performance takes place at the time and in the atmosphere appropriate to the raga. So if a raga which
embodies the atmosphere of spring is played in spring it will be more effective than if it were played in
winter. The right atmosphere responds to the raga as it were, just as the sympathetic strings of a sitar vibrate
to enrich the melody being played on the main strings. This is why particular times and seasons are deemed
suitable for particular ragas.

Play some classical sounding music and try to see if any particular Raga thrills you. Anything that
turns you off completely ? Play instrumental or light classical music at first before getting on a
heavy-duty vocal piece. Is there a piece that moves you ? Puts you in a sublime or inspiring mood
?
Another aspect of the raga is the appropriate distribution in time during the 24 hours of the day for
its performance, i.e. the time of the day denotes the raga sung a particular time. Raga are also
allotted a particular time space in the cycle of the day. These are divided into four types --
1. Twilight raga when the notes re and da are used -- such as Raga Marwa, Poorvi.
2. Midday and Midnight ragas which include the notes ga and ni (komal).
3. Ragas for the first quarter of the morning and night which include the notes re, ga, da and
ni (komal).
4. For the last quarter of the day and night, the raga include the notes sa, ma and pa.
All the raga are divided into two groups -- Poorvi Ragas and Uttar Ragas. The Poorvi Raga are
sung between 12 noon and 12 midnight. The Uttar Raga are sung between 12 midnight and 12
noon. The variations on the dominant or ``King" note helps a person to find out why certain raga
are being sung at certain times. This raga classification is about 500 years old.

The beauty of the raga will not be marred by the time of the day it is sung. It is the psychological
association with the time that goes with the mood of the raga. The object of a raga is to express a
certain emotional mood and sentiment without any reference to time and season. For a student of
classical music, this classification may give an idea as to how to base his reasons for the
traditional usage of raga.

Another division of ragas is the classification of ragas under five principal:

1. Hindol,
2. Deepak,
3. Megh,
4.Shree
5.Maulkauns

From these five ragas, other raga are derived. The first derivatives of the ragas are called
raganis, and each of the five ragas have five raganis under them. There are 25 raganis for the
above five ragas. Each raga contains 5 raganis. Further derivatives from these raga and raginis
resulted in attaching to each principal raga 16 secondary derivatives known as upa-raga and upa-
raganis.
All the ragas are supposed to have been derived from their thaat. Every raga has a fixed number
of komal (soft) or tewar (sharp) notes, from which the thaat can be recognized. In other words, a
certain arrangement of the 7 notes with the change of shuddh, komal and tewar is called a thaat.
There are several opinions in this matter.

About Thaat or Scales

The set of Seven Notes or Scale which can produce a Raga is called a Thaat in urdu or Hindi and
raga produces a song. The system of classification for the ragas in different groups is called a
thaat. There are again several systems of classification of the raga. Presently in Indian or
Pakistani Classical Music the 10 Thaat (Scales) classification of raga is prevalent. If you want to
learn how to play keyboard or harmonium the practice of thaat is important. If you want to bring
beauty in music then raga practice is important. If you learn one thaat or scale then you can play
many songs in that particular thaat or scale. Beauty in playing harmonium or keyboard appears
when you use raga.

There are certain rules for these thaat

1. The set of Seven Notes or Scale which can produce a Raga is called a Thaat in urdu or Hindi.
A Thaat must have seven notes in ascending order.
2. Thaat has only one Arohi.
3. Thaat are not be sung only play but the raga produced from Thaat are sung. As a beginner you
can play music of film songs with thaat.
4. Thaat are named after the popular raaga of that Thaat. For example Bhairavi is a popular raga
and the thaat of the raga Bharavi is named after the raga.

What is a Raga?
The combination of several notes woven into a composition in a way, which is pleasing to the ear,
is called a Raga or Raag. The raga is an Indian scale which utilizes varying ascending and
descending patterns – certain notes on the way up and certain notes on the way down – but
always in the set sequence. The raga never has less than five notes - the minimum required for a
tune. Each raga creates an atmosphere, which is associated with feelings and sentiments. Any
stray combination of notes cannot be called a Raga. At a more academic level, it is a musical
composition that functions within a structure and follows certain rules with relation to the kind of
notes used in it.

We can ascribe to a raga certain meta-characteristics that define a raga:

 Every raga is said to be born of a Thaat which is its parent. Every raga is composed of
notes.
  A simple combination of notes is not a raga unless it sounds good. As mentioned earlier
though, it is difficult to accurately define what sounds good. In another article we will
attempt to describe what this means in terms of harmonies and melodies.
 A minimum of five notes are necessary in a raga. Therefore a raga can have five, six or
seven notes.
 There cannot be two notes that are adjacent on the octave in the same raga. But this is
not strictly true as we shall see in case of certain ragas like Lalit where there are two
madhyms together.
 Every raga has a Arohi and a Amrohi. The base note Sa cannot be absent from a raga.
 The notes Ma and Pa cannot be absent from a raga at the same time.
 A raag is also identified by a Vadi ( main note ) and a Samvadi ( second main note). The
Vadi is a note that is stressed the most in the raga. The Samvadi is stressed after that.
Two ragas can have the same set of notes but differing vadis and samvadis which then
make them different ragas. For instance both the ragas Bhupali and Deshkar have the
same set of notes and the same arohi and amrohi but they have differing pakads and
also different vadis and samvadis which make them different ragas.Bhupali has a vadi ga
and samvadi da but deshkar has a vadi da and samvadi ga.

 It has been said earlier that a raga can have five, six or seven notes in the arohi and the
amrohi. Based upon this a raag can be classified in to categories. A raga sequence
( arohi or amrohi ) with five notes is said to be Odho ( five ). A Raga sequence with six
notes is called Shadav or Khado (six) and a raga sequence with seven notes is called
Sampoorn since seven notes is the maximum number that the raga sequence can have.
Now to another point of confusion. There are twelve notes in the chromatic scale. The
seven notes that make up the thaat are picked from these twelve notes.
 Raga is the basis of classical music. A raga is based on the principle of a combination of
notes selected out the 22 note intervals of the octave. A performer with sufficient training
and knowledge alone can create the desired emotions, through the combination of
notes. Every raga is derived from some Thaat or scale. Or raga' belong to certain
classes or categories called thaats. A thaat is defined as that set of seven notes from
which a raga can be made.
Ragas are placed in three categories:
 Odho or pentatonic, a composition of five notes
Or Khado is hexatonic, a composition of six notes
 Sampooran is heptatonic, a composition of seven notes.
1. In every raga, there is an important cluster of notes by which the raga is identified.
2. The ascent and descent of the notes in every raga is very important. Some raga in the
same scale differ in ascent and descent. The principal note, ``KING" is the note on which
the raga is built. It is emphasized in various ways, such as stopping for some time on the
note, or stressing it. The second important note or the "queen" corresponds to the ``King"
as the fourth or fifth note in relation to it.
3. There are certain ragas which move in a certain pitch and if the pitch is changed, the
raga fails to produce the mood and sentiment peculiar to it.

Raga Melody:
Melody is based on our ability to hear and perceive changes in frequencies. Although it is more
than just the pitch going up and down, but as the frequency goes higher, the note is sharper. In
any octave, the highest note always vibrates at the double rate from the lowest note. So an
octave is the interval between one musical note and another with half or double its frequency.
After the unison, (two things vibrating at the same rate), the octave is the simplest interval in
music. The human ear tends to hear both notes (upper and lower) as being essentially ‘the
same’. For this reason, notes an octave apart are given the same name in Indian music. The
same is true for Western Music. And just like in western notation system, Northern Indian music
recognizes 12 places in one octave as notes. Most musicians use the same notes as we see
them on a guitar’s fret or on a piano. But it hasn’t been always like this. In ancient times, Indian
music was based on the ‘Sharuti’ system. The intervals were measured with sharuties.

Melody of Northern Indian Music is based on the ‘Thaat’ (parent Scale) and
‘Raga’ theory. Ragas have their minimum requirements of five notes in an octave.
Based on that principle, 484 Ragas can be created mathematically from ‘Thaat’.
Every raga has its own personality. There are many special things about every
raga, which makes it possible to separate one raga from another.

Secret Of Phrasing In Ragas

Even though many popular musician do not study ragas and most of the popular
music is not even in any certain ragas, there are many ‘phrasing’ secrets hidden
in the ragas, however. Ascending and descending do not make music. Whole art
of music is hidden in phrasing. You must have listened to hundreds of songs
composed in ‘C’ or ‘E’ major. They still sound different from one another. That is
because music we hear affect us in phrases, not scales.

This theory (music in phrases) was the origin of ragas. Ragas start with thaat in
mind and grow from there. To learn a raga you have to learn its ascending or
descending etc., but you also must know its flow and important phrases. There
are thousands of available lists of hundreds of ragas everywhere, but they have
no practical value as one will never know how to proceed from there. A raga
description without its phrases and flow is useless. Nisar Bazmi as a working
music composer giving you the only information that is essential to ‘know and
play’ Indian music in the real world. You will find yourself improvising in a certain
raga in no time by mixing and shuffling its phrases and flow.

2. Playing Songs With Thaat Asavari

Diagram.1

Thaat Asavari Sargam:

 Ascending: Arohi: S R g m P d n S’
Descending: Amrohi: S’ n d P m g R S

Thaat Asavari is C Minor Scale in Western Starting from first white key.
C D Eb F G Ab Bb

Showing C minor scale in all five octaves

Songs Of Thaat Asavari With Asthaee, Antra and Taal

You can also play Asavari songs in C minor Scale Of Western
Play songs according to diagram 1 of Thaat Asavari
Mandr, left octave as ('S)-Madh or middle as (S)-Taar or right octave (S')
Tu pyar ka sagar hai Taal Kehrva
1
Asthayee RgRS RS 'nS Antra S'S' nP
Tumhara Chahne wala khuda ki dunya mein Taal Dadra
2
Asthayee gR 'nSS gRS Antra Pmg mPdn
Be reham asmaa meri manzil bata Taal Kehrva
3
Asthayee 'n 'd 'n SS 'n SR Antra PmPS' ndndp
Yoon kho gaye tere pyar mein hum Taal Kehrva
4
Asthayee S PPP d n d PP Antra S' R' S' nnS'R' S'S'S'
Chale jana nahin naina milake Taal Kehrva
5
Asthayee P m P S' S' Antra P P d n S' S'
Meri yaad mein tum na Taal Kehrva
6
Asthayee SS RR m m PPP Antra PP nnn S'S'S'
Tere pyar ki tamna ghame zindgi ke saee Taaal Kehrva
7
Asthayee S g P mg mg RS Antra PP dR S'g' R' S'
Tum zid to ker rehe ho Taal Dadra
8
Asthayee R g R S n'd'n' RS Antra SS 'n gs n' d'
Jadoon holi jae lenda mera naa Taal Kehrva
9
Asthayee mmPPPdndndP R' S' S' S' S'S' S'S'
Antra
Sawan aya tum nehi aie Taal Kehrva
10
Asthayee g R S g RS 'n'd 'd'nRS Antra PS'
Oh dunya ke rakhwale Taal Kehrva
11
Asthayee 'n 'd 'n SSSRS 'n SRg Antra PdP mgmPndP
Jab bhi chahen ik nai soorat Taal Kehrva
12
Asthayee SRgRS 'nSgRR Antra PPP d P mm
13 Apno ne gham die to mujhe yaad Taal Dadra
 Asthayee S g P PP dn dPm Antra Pn S' S' dPd S'S'S'
Tu jo nehi hai to kuch bhi nehi hai Taal Kehrva
14
Asthayee S 'n SR SRRR Antra S 'n 'P 'n RSS
Aitabar nahi karna Taal Kehrva
15
Asthayee PPd Pmg ndP Antra Listen full midi music
Ham chale to hamare sang sang nizare chale Taal Kehrva
16
Asthayee SRgP dndP Antra mPdn Pm Rn' R
Anokha ladla khelene ko maange chaand Teen Taal
17
Antra R S 'nS RSRgg Antra gRgg
We lageeyn di laj rakh ley kadhi bhul na jaween Taal Kehrva
18
Antra -
Asthayee PPd PdPm
Yeh ejaaz hai husan e awargi ka Taal Dadra
19
Antra
Asthayee 'nSSS 'nRS 'nd mmPP

Sun le oh Jane wafa Tu hai dunya meri - Ahmed Rushdi Taal Kehrva
20
Asthayee S' n S' ndP mg Pm Antra ddd dd Pdnn dP

Raga Asavari in brief:

Raga Asavari belongs to Asavari Thaat. It is a late morning Raga, and uses all seven
notes, five in the ascent and seven in the descent. Gandhar, Dhaivat and Nishad are komal
(flat) and the other notes are shuddh (full). The derivative ragas out of this structure are
grouped under the broad head of Asavari Thaat. Add Komal Dhaivat to Kafi thaat and
you get Asavari Thaat. Raga Asavari is full of tyag, the mood of renunciation and
sacrifice as well as pathos. It is best suited for late morning. However important
evening/night raga like Darbari and Adana also use notes of asavari thaat with different
styles, stress points and ornamentations.

Following ragas are derived from Thaat Asavari:

 Jaunpuri
Desi
Asavari
Adana
Darbari Kanhada

3. Playing songs with thaat kafi

Thaat Kafi Sargam:

Ascending: Arohi: S – R – g – m – P – D – n - S’
Descending: Amrohi: S’ – n – D – P – m – g – R – S

Thaat Kafi is C Dorian Scale in Western starting from first white key.

C D Eb F G A Bb

Showing C Dorian scale in all five octaves of keyboard

Film Songs Of Thaat Kafi With Asthaee, Antra and Taal

Play songs according to diagram 12 of Kafi Thaat
You can also play thaat Kafi songs in C Dorian Scale Of Western
Interlude or middle music of songs is also based on thaat kafi
Mandr, left octave as ('S)-Madh or middle as (S)-Taar or right octave (S')
Ghame dil ko in aankhon se chalak jaana bhi Taal Kehrva
1
Asthayee 'n'P SSS SS 'n SR Antra mP 'S'S'S 'n SS
Dil men ho tum ankhon me tum , Bappi Taal Kehrva
2
Asthayee SRRgRS Antra gmPmgPmm
Daag e dil ham ko yaad ayne lage log apne dye Taal Dadra
3
Asthayee 'P'n S SR S 'n Antra gmPmg Pmm
 Tumhara pyar chahaee mujhe Taal Kehrva
4
Asthayee PP m g mP S' Pm Antra n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'
Pyar bhere do sharmeele nain, Taal Kehrva
5
Asthayee SR Pmg Antra PPPm Pmg
Rim jhim rim jhim pere phawar tera mera nit ka pyar Taal Kehrva
6
Asthayee S, PPm PDnD Antra S'S' nDD
Jalte hain arman mera dil roota hai Taal Kehrva
7
Asthayee 'nRRRgm gRS Antra P S'S'S' R'S' nnn
Sun wanjli di mithri taan way, Film Heer Ranjha Taaal Kehrva
8
Asthayee Sn' S PPP mg mgR Antra S' nD nS'
Lat uljhi suljha ja re baalam Taal Kehrva
9
Asthayee SSg RS 'n'D madh saptak Antra mDDnD mDDnD
Hamari sansoo me aaj tak woh hina kis kshboo Taal Kehrva
10
Asthayee 'P'P SSS RS 'n mSRS
Yeh raat yea chandni Taal Kehrva
11
Asthayee PmgmP mgmP Antra S' nP S'S'
Tere bheege badan ki kshboo se Taal Kehrva
12
Asthayee SSgSS 'n'n RSS Antra g mPPP nDP
Ae dunya kia tujh se kehoon - Mehdi Hassan Taal Kehrva
13
Asthayee Pmgg Antra S'S'S' R'nDP
Sab kuch luta ke hosh me Taal Dadra
14
Asthayee SRS 'n'n SRP gR Antra gmmPPP
Ik situm aur meri jaan abhi jaan baqi hai Taal Kehrva
15
Asthayee SSgmPP mgR Antra g R S 'n'n SS
Sawan aye sawan jaye Taal, Kehrva
16
Asthayee gRSR mg madh-mandr Antra PPPm Pmg
Dil ke jhoroke mein tum ko bitha ke Taal Dadra
17
Asthayee SS SSSS SS SS RgP SS Antra 'S'S'S'S'S'S' 'R'R'R'
Raga Kafi in brief:

Raga Kafi belongs to Kafi Thaat. Usually it is rendered in the late evening and uses all
the seven notes in the ascending and descending order. Gandhar and Nishad are komal
(flat) and all other notes are shuddh (full). The derivative ragas out of this structure are
grouped under the broad head of Kafi Thaat

Kafi thaat makes use of the Komal Gandhar and Komal Nishad. So basically it adds
Komal Gandhar to the Khamaj Thaat. raga Kafi is one of the oldest raga and its intervals
are described as basic scale of the Natyashastra. Thus in ancient and medieval times, Kafi
was considered as natural scale. Kafi is a late evening raga and said to convey the mood
of spring time.

Following ragas are derived from Thaat Kafi:

Malhar
Bhimpalasi
Patdeep
Chandrakauns
Kafi
Piloo
Bahar
Bageshri
Megh

Major & Minor Chords Of Harmonium

Indian music is melodic and western music is harmonic so chords and chord progressions
accompany the melodic lines, therefore the music sounds fuller. It is important that we
learn the fundamentals of chords as used in Indian film music.
Harmonium major chords, or any chord for that matter, are formed by
combining two or more notes. Now, when you from S major chord, it is
recommended you form them using the 2nd,1st and 5th fingers of your right
hand. Your thumb is the first finger index finger is the 2nd and pinky is the 5th
finger. A chord is a combination of three (or more) notes played at the same time.
All major chords are formed by playing simultaneously three notes, according to
definite rules.

In keyboards chords are played mostly with left hand. Since we are learning
harmonium so, your left hand will be busy in pumping bellows. In this situation we
will play chord and melody with the right hand only.

As we have already defined in our previous lessons that any key can become a
Sa or our starting note; but in our lessons we have assumed the first black key to
be the Sa (S), for convenience and simplicity. Please see diagram above. There
are a number of chords in western music but In harmonium lessons we will only
use only major and minor chords. A major chord is formed when we
simultaneously play three notes S-G-P or you will play numbers numbers 1-5-8.
we will name this chord as SV. Harmonium chords are also called desi chords.

Harmonium komal and tiver notes with their numbers are given below as shown
in the above diagram.

Sa S as key number 1. S key number: 1

Komal r as key number 2. r key number: 1
Tiver R as key number 3. R key number: 1
Komal g as key number 4. g key number: 1
Tiver G as key number 5. G key number: 1
Komal m as key number 6. m key number: 1
Tiver M as key number 7. M key number: 1
----- P as key number 8. P key number: 1
Komal d as key number 9. d key number: 1
Komal D as key number 10. D key number: 1
Komal n' as key number 11. n key number: 1
Komal N' as key number 12. N key number: 1
----- S' as key number 13. S' key number: 1
Komal r' as key number 14. r' key number: 1
Tiver R' as key number 15. R' key number: 1
Komal g' as key number 16. g' key number: 1
Tiver G' as key number 17. G' key number: 1
Komal m' as key number 18. m' key number: 1
Tiver M' as key number 19. M' key number: 1
----- P' as key number 20. P' key number: 1

Now to play the major chord S-G-P e.g.. we will play key numbers 1-5-8. This
major chord is called S major. We will use the symbol 'V' for a major chord. Now
the S major chord will be written as SV and as on.

Similarly, the major chord "rV" will be formed as: r-m-d and can be shown by
numbers 2-6-9.

Below given is the complete list of major harmonium chords:

key
S major chord, symbol SV, nos. 1- notes S-G-P
5-8,
key
r major chord, symbol rV, nos.2- notes r-m-d
6-9,
key
R major chord, symbol RV, nos. 3- notes R-M-D
7-10,
key
g major chord, symbol gV, nos. 4- notes g-P-n
8-11,
key
G major chord, symbol GV, nos.5- notes G-d-N
9-12,
key
m major chord, symbol mV, nos. 6- notes m-D-S'
10-13
key
M major chord, symbol MV, nos. 7- notes M-n-r'
11-14,
key
P major chord, symbol PV, nos. 8- notes P-N-R'
12-15,
key
d major chord, symbol dV, nos. 9- notes d-S'-g'
13-16,
D major chord, symbol DV, key notes D-r'-G'
nos.
10-14-
 17,
key
nos.
n major chord, symbol nV, notes n-R'-m'
11-15-
18,
key
nos.
N major chord, symbol NV, notes N-g'-M'
12-16-
19,
We have shown madh saptak chords and similar sets of notes will apply in
mandar and taar saptak.

Harmonium minor chords are shown by symbol L. A minor chord is formed

when we play three notes at the same time together example S-g-P with
numbers 1-4-8. Below given is the complete list of minor harmonium chords:

Whatever is our beginning note to start playing e.g. if we select first black key as
our Sa, the minor keys will maintain their names similar to, for example, r minor
chord will maintain their symbols rL, will maintain their key numbers as, for
example, 2-5-9, will maintain their notes combination as, for example, r-G-d. Or
we can write simply as:

r minor chord, symbol rL, key nos. 2-5-9, notes r-G-d

key
S minor chord, symbol SL, nos. 1- notes S-g-P
4-8,
key
r minor chord, symbol rL, nos. 2- notes r-G-d
5-9,
key
R minor chord, symbol RL, nos. 3- notes R-m-D
6-10,
key
g minor chord, symbol gL, nos. 4- notes g-M-n
7-11,
key
G minor chord, symbol GL, nos. 5- notes G-P-N
8-12,
m minor chord, symbol mL, key notes m-d-S'
 nos. 6-
9-13,
key
M minor chord, symbol ML, nos. 7- notes M-D-r'
10-14,
key
P minor chord, symbol PL, nos. 8- notes P-n-R'
11-15,
key
d minor chord, symbol dL, nos. 9- notes d-N-g'
12-16,
key
nos.
D minor chord, symbol DL, notes D-S'-G'
10-13-
17,
key
nos.
n minor chord, symbol nL, notes n-r'-m'
11-14-
18,
key
nos.
N minor chord, symbol NL, notes N-R'-M'
12-15-
19,

How to play Indian songs with harmonium major and minor chords

First of all break down the song into several very small phrases and try to play
the various major and minor chords given above with each small segment of the
song line. Then you should check which chord sounds better with the word. You
can partly mechanize this process by first playing the small segment of the song
on the harmonium. Slowly you will be able to use or able to fill melody with
harmony of chords.

End of Demo Lesson