Notation Key, Conventions and Glossary. The seven basic swaras of the scale are: shaDaj (Sa), rishab (Re), gandhAr (Ga), madhyam (Ma), pancham (Pa), dhaivat (Dha), nishAd (Ni). It is very important to understand that in Indian music a swara is not merely a note Hindustani-Karnataka Swara Equivalence Table Hindustani swara Karnataka swara shaDaj S shaDaj S komal rishab r shuddha rishab R1 shuddha rishab R chatushruti rishab R2 komal gandhAr g sAdhAraNa gandhAr G2 shuddha gandhAr G antara gandhAr G3 shuddha madhyam M shuddha madhyam M1 teevra madhyam m prati madhyam M2 pancham P pancham P komal dhaivat d shuddha dhaivat D1 shuddha dhaivat D chatushruti dhaivat D2 komal nishAd n kaishiki nishAd N2 shuddha nishAd N kAkali nishAd N3 Note: Sometimes the shuddha Hindustani swaras R G D N are referred to as 'teevra' and the shuddha madhyam as 'komal.' * A mandra-saptaka (lower octave) swara is denoted by ': for instance, N' d' etc * A tAra-saptaka swara is denoted by ": eg., S" r" g" * A kaNa-swara (grace swara) precedes the main swara and is put in parenthesis: eg., R as a grace to G will be denoted by (R)G AlApa: slow development or elaboration of rAga or musical idea alpatva: smallness of quantity; a traditional term, refers to the degree of usage of a swara within a rAga. For instance, in Raga Kedar, the gandhAr comes in alpatva form. There are two further qualifications of alpatva: langhan alpatva and anAbhyAsa alpatva. Amad: arrival into the orbit of the tAla leading to the sam Andolan/Andolita: swinging (around a swara) anga: lit. part, body antarA: the latter half of a kHayAl composition anuvAdi: neutral (refers to swara) aprachalita: not in vogue apratim: incomparable Aroha: ascending contour of a rAga asthAi: the first half of a kHayAl compositioin auDav/oDava: pentatonic avaroha: descending contour of rAga Avarta/Avartana: one complete cycle of a tAla AvirbhAva: lit. appearance baDA kHayAl: vilambit kHayAl composition bahutva: in large amount (compare with alpatva); refers to the degree of usage of a swara within a rAga. There are further qualifications: alanghan bahutva, abhyAsa bahutva, deergha bahutva, nyAsa bahutva. The shuddha madhyam in Kedar, for instance, is found in the nyAsa bahutva mode. bandish: that which is bound or constrained; refers to a melodic composition fixed with words to the tAla cycle; may also refer to the superstructure of the kHayAl presentation besura: out of tune bhajan: devotional song bol: syllables of text or tAla compositions bol-AlApa: AlApa done with words of text bol-tAna: tAns with words of text chalan: lit. gait, a tonal sentence showing movement within a rAga chAritra: character chatuswara: of four swaras cheez: lit. thing, usually refers to the text of a druta composition chhAyA: lit. shadow, refers to traces of a rAga chhoTA kHayAl: druta kHayAl composition dhaivat: D or d, the sixth of the scale dhamAr: a traditional dhrupad-like form usually set in the 14-beat dhamAr tAla dhAtu: the essential substance of a composition or rAga dheemA: slow tempo dhrupad: ancient Indian classical form evolved from prabandha. 'Dhrupad' derives from dhruva (fixed) and pada (word). It has a formal structure, the details of which are beyond the scope of this glossary. dhrupadiyA: an exponent of dhrupad-dhamAr druta: quick, refers to pace of a composition ektAla: a 12-beat tAla gamaka: embellishment imparted to a swara; there are several types of gamakas gandhAr: G or g, the third swara of the scale gat: refers to a composition played on a tantuvAdya or the tabla gharAnA: a stylistic tradition or school in Hindustani music gHazal: a lyrical form in Urdu poetry; there are precise criteria by which a form is considered a gHazal grAha bhedam: modulation, transfer of the base Sa (also known as murchhanA) Gwalior, Agra, Atrauli, Jaipur: towns in northern India after which the gharAnAs take their name janya: born of, derived from jhaptAla: a 10-beat tAla joD-rAga: a rAga formed by combining two or more rAgas kalAkAra: artiste kaNa-swara: grace swara kharaj/kharj: bass, movement in the lower parts of the mandra saptaka khaTkA: a quick trill around a swara kHayAl: lit. thought, the dominant form in Hindustani music of the day komal: flattened kshudra: refers to a rAga low in significance (not to be confused with 'shudra') lakshaNA: distinguishing character langhan: to step/cross over, refers to a skipped swara laya: tempo layakAri: the play on laya using devices such as syncopation madhya: middle, qualifies the octave and the tempo madhyam: M or m, the fourth swara of the scale mandra: the lower register mAtrA: time interval between beats of a tAla meenD: a smooth (typically descending) glide from one swara to the other melakartA: the rAga grouping scheme found in the Karnataka paddhati comprising 72 sampoorNa scales mukhDA: lit. face; the opening textual and melodic phrase of a composition murchhanA: lit. swooning, same as grAha bheda murki: a short, rapid trill nATyageeta: a song in a Marathi musical drama nishAd: N or n, the seventh swara of the scale nyAsa: a rest stop; qualifies a swara paddhati: a way, tradition pakkad: the 'handle' (quintessence) of a rAga pancham: P, the fifth swara of the scale paramparA: tradition phirata: refers to the movement of the voice poorvAnga: the lower half (tetrachord) of the scale prakAr: variant prayoga: usage rAga: lit. colour; the melodic structure basic to Hindustani and Karnataka music rAgAnga: rAga+anga, the core feature of the rAga rishab, rikhab: R or r, the second swara of the scale roopaka: a 7-beat Hindustani tAla safAie: lit. cleanliness, refers to clarity of a musical movement sAhitya: prose, text of a composition sampoorNa: complete, refers to a rAga employing 7 swaras samvAdi: the sub-dominant swara in a rAga sanchAri: musical sub-movements or expansion; also a sub-part of a dhrupad composition sankeerNa-rAga: mixed rAga, i.r. comprising elements of two or more rAgas saptak: octave sam: the first beat of a tAla shabad: lit. word, also refers to the hymns in the Sikh holy book, Gurbani shADav: of six swaras shaDja, shaDaj: S, the tonic Sa shAstrakAra: one versed in shAstra, the underlying body of knowledge in a field shruti: swara; also refers to microtones shuddha: lit. pure; in the Hindustani paddhati it refers to the 7 basic notes of the octave sthAna: location swara: a musical note plus its graces swara-lagAv: manner of approach and handling of swara swaroopa: appearance, profile taiyyAri: preparation (in terms of training) of a musician tAla: the rhythmic cycle with mAtrAs and bols tAleem: training tAna: rapid musical passage tantuvAdya: stringed instrument tAra: the upper register teentAla: a 16-beat tAla teevra: augmented or sharpened, qualifies the madhyam thAT: a group of sampoorNa scales, taxonomical scheme for Hindustani rAgas tirobhAva: disappearance, refers to temporary evaporation of rAga chhAyA uttarAnga: the upper tetrachord vachanA: lit. saying, free-verses of the Veerashaiva poets vAdi: the dominant swara in a rAga vAggeyakAra: one adept at creating musical compositions vakra: convoluted, crooked varja: eliminated, banned (refers to swaras absent from a rAga) vikrita: altered, refers to the komal and teevra swaras (as opposed to shuddha swaras) vilambit: slow, qualifies pace of a composition or elaboration vistAr: expansion or elaboration of a musical idea vivAdi (dosha): a foreign swara occasionally injected into a rAga for ornamental or surprise value