Musical Scales: Thāṭ and Rāga - I

Musical Scales: Thāṭ  and Rāga - I

Shrikant G. Talageri

[This article is a short(!) tribute to the incomparable greatness of Indian music.

A few points:

1. If the article contains ambiguities or errors, I beg not only the indulgence of the readers but also that the reader should point out these errors in comments. If necessary, they will be corrected.

2. The reader must excuse my arbitrariness or idiosyncracy in the use of general spellings versus phonetic or strictly Sanskritic spellings: thus, I have used rāga rather than rāg, but tāl rather than tāla.

3. In the few places where I have given the URLs of youtube videos, the reader must be prepared for the peculiar habit of the youtube site of often arbitrarily deleting videos from their site - in which case some particular video may not be available]. 

The two basic components of music are melody and rhythm (or, in common Indian parlance sur and tāl). Here in this article we will only discuss some of the basic aspects of the melody or sur aspect of music.

Pitch is the highness or lowness of any sound. Now this is not a technical scientific article in that sense, so it will be assumed that the reader understands what is "high" and "low" in pitch without any scientific explanations provided for understanding the terms, and we will not discuss the scientific technicalities and physics of sound relationships and production, but only the actual notes.

If pitch is represented on a long vertical line so that various points higher or lower on that line depict higher and lower pitches respectively, then there is a certain fixed distance/length on that line which represents what is known as an "octave": if we start with a sound at a certain pitch and mark it as a point on that line, and then keep taking the voice higher and higher, we will reach another point further up where we find what is clearly the same sound at a higher pitch: (technically this is because the second sound is formed out of twice the number of wave cycles per second, measured in hertz, as the first sound, but we will not concern ourselves with these technicalities). This length, or distance between the two points, is what is called an "octave". An octave is a natural division of sound, and a natural phenomenon which is discovered in every civilization which develops a musical culture.

This "octave" can be illustrated with a musical instrument. Take for example the easiest instrument to illustrate the octave: a harmonium. We will find that the keys on a harmonium are in two rows, a lower row of white keys and a higher row of black keys, in the following form:

As we can see, the pattern of keys (taking both rows) is as follows:

white-black-white-black-white,

white-black-white-black-white-black-white.

Let us number the keys 1 to 12. Each key one after the other produces a sound which keeps rising by one note over the previous key.

In the above picture, the first 12 keys represent (at least on the harmonium) what we call the mandra saptak (low octave), the next 12 keys represent the madhya saptak (middle octave) and the last 12 keys represent the tār saptak (high octave).

If we press any two keys at the same time, we will generally hear a discordant medley of two sounds. But if we press key 1 and key 13 (i.e. the first key in the first series of 12, and the first key in the second series of 12) together, we will hear a composite sound in what is called "absolute harmony" because it is actually the same sound at two different pitches: it will be as if we are hearing the same sound moving like a wave between a high pitch and a low pitch. Similarly, if we press any other two keys which are at a distance of 12 (or multiples of the same) from each other (2 and 14, 3 and 15, or even 1 and 25, 2 and 26, etc), the same effect of "one sound at two pitches" will be produced.

The octave is the length or distance, on the "pitch" line, between a given sound and the same sound at a (i.e. at the next) higher pitch, and this distance has been theoretically divided by musicologists into fixed smaller divisions known as "cents", where one octave is 1200 cents.

In ancient India with its unique oral tradition (as shown in the oral transmission of the Rigveda in oral form for millenniums without the slightest change), the various notes were distinguished on the basis of the performer's highly-trained voice and ears, and passed on from guru to śiṣya in that form, and musical instruments were also tuned on that basis, and the notes and the natural scale were based on pure acoustics, leading to very subtle nuances in sounds. In Western music, the octave is divided into 12 equal notes of 100 cents each. This is known as the "tempered scale" because of this uniform equal division into 100 cents. Because of the dominant use of the harmonium in learning Indian classical music, and consequent laxity, modern day Indian music has also generally leveled out the notes into equal divisions.

Apart from the octave, there is another very important distance between two sounds: the fifth. The different notes of the scale within an octave are in fact possible on the basis of this relationship between two sounds: just as we get one sound in the form of an undulating wave between two pitches when we press two keys at a distance of 12 (i.e. at 1200 cents) from one another, and this distance is called an "octave" with the resulting composite sound producing "absolute harmony"; similarly we get another combined sound which is extremely musical when we press two keys at a distance of 7 (i.e. 700 cents) from one another (e.g. key 1 and key 8, key 2 and key 9, etc.), and this distance is known as a "fifth", and the resulting composite sound produces what is described as two different sounds in "perfect harmony".

In the above picture of the harmonium keys, if the first white key represents the starting note called ṣaḍja or SA, the eighth white key represents the ṣaḍja or SA in the higher octave, and the fifth white key represents the pañcam or PA. These two notes SA and PA are considered the two basic and unalterable pillars of the octave or saptak. From these two are produced the other notes.

We will examine this subject under the following heads:

I. The Formation of the Notes of the Octave.

II. The Classification of Parent-Scales or Thāṭs and Meḷas.

III. The Rāgas of Indian Music.

IV. India's Unparalleled Musical Wealth and Contribution to World Music.

I. The Formation of the Notes of the Octave

As we saw:

1. Once the starting-point pitch is chosen, it becomes the note SA, and a sound which is 1200 cents higher than this SA becomes the next SA in a higher pitch, and the distance (of absolute harmony) between the two sounds produces the octave of 1200 cents.

2. The next note, produced by perfect harmony within the octave, is 700 cents higher than SA, and this is called PA.

How do the other sounds of the scale arise?

1. Just as any note is in absolute harmony with the note 1200 cents higher than it, it is therefore also in absolute harmony with the note 1200 cents lower than it. All the three notes are the same note, e.g. SA, in three different octaves (and of course also in all other octaves extending further into higher pitches as well as into lower pitches), since they all represent the starting points of the respective octaves. In the above picture of the keyboard of a harmonium, the first, the eighth and the fifteenth white keys represent SA in the three octaves.

SA is in perfect harmony with PA which is 700 cents higher within the octave: so the fifth, twelfth and nineteenth white keys represent PA in the three octaves.

But if SA is in perfect harmony with the note 700 cents above it, it is also in perfect harmony with the note 700 cents below it. In the above diagram, this note would be represented by the fourth, eleventh and eighteenth white keys (the eighteenth key being 700 cents below the next SA, not shown in the picture). Now, since all the three octaves already have notes named PA, this note, which is 500 cents above the lower SA, has to be given another name: madhyam or MA.

So each SA is in perfect harmony with the PA higher than it, and with the MA lower than it.

So now, within each octave, we have three notes in harmony with each other: SA, MA and PA.

2. In each octave, the MA is in perfect harmony with the higher SA (700 cents above it), and the PA is in perfect harmony with the lower SA (700 cents below it). Therefore MA and PA also are in harmony with each other. The distance between MA and the PA above it is 200 cents: this distance is called a tone (or a second, but this word used here would be confusing, so let us just call it a tone here).

From this, we get the remaining notes within the octave, each separated from the note below it by a tone or 200 cents: 200 cents above SA is ṛṣabh (RE or RI), 200 cents above RE is gāndhār (GA), 200 cents above PA is dhaivat (DHA), and 200 cents above DHA is niṣād (NI).

Thus we get the seven "primary" or shuddh (pure) notes: SA, RE, GA, MA, PA, DHA, and NI, representing the seven white keys (in the above picture of the keyboard) in an octave.

These seven shuddh notes with SA as the starting point (and therefore counted as 0 cents) are SA (0 cents), RE (200 cents), GA (400 cents), MA (500 cents), PA (700 cents), DHA (900 cents), NI (1100 cents). The next higher SA is at 1200 cents.

3. Then what notes do the seven black keys represent?

As we saw, the distance between GA and the MA above it, as well as between NI and the SA above it, is only 100 cents. This distance, half of the tone, is known as a semi-tone.

At the distance of a 100 cents below RE, GA, DHA and NI, we get the four flat (komal) forms of these four sounds: re, ga, dha and ni, represented by the first, second, fourth and fifth black keys in the octave.

At a distance of a 100 cents above MA (and a 100 cents below PA), we get the sharp (tīvra) form of the former sound, i.e. ma, represented by the third black key. [Logically, this could also be called pa, the komal form of PA, but since SA and PA are considered as the two original fixed (acal) notes which have only one form each, this note is called ma].

So the 12 final notes (semi-tones) of the tempered scale octave, as normally used at present, are:

ṣaḍja (SA) -  0 cents.

komal ṛṣabh (re) - 100 cents.

ṛṣabh (RE) - 200 cents.

komal gāndhār (ga) - 300 cents.

gāndhār (GA) - 400 cents.

madhyam (MA) - 500 cents

tīvra madhyam (ma) - 600 cents.

pañcam (PA) - 700 cents

komal dhaivat (dha) - 800 cents.

dhaivat (DHA) - 900 cents.

komal niṣād (ni) - 1000 cents.

niṣād (NI) - 1100 cents.

(upper) ṣaḍja (SA) -  1200 cents.

[Henceforward, for brevity, the notes will be written as S r R g G M m P d D n N S. The notes in the upper octave will be marked with an accent, e.g. Ś, and in the lower octave, if it becomes necessary to specify it, will be underlined, e.g. N.]

The original form of Indian classical music, however, was based on actual acoustics. Hence, the distances between the notes were not "tempered" and equal. The actual distance between a starting note (S) and the note which is in perfect harmony with it (P) is actually 702 cents (if the octave is divided into 1200 cents) rather than 700 cents. This is too extremely tiny a difference for the normal human ear to hear, which is why there is little apparent difference between ancient Indian classical music and its present-day form. But perhaps the (although exaggerated in myths and tales) almost magical effect that music was supposed to produce must have been due to the scale and notes used in ancient music, based on purely natural acoustic relationship between sounds, producing pure acoustic vibrations in the air. The ancient Indian scale had 22 śrutis, also called micro-tones or (less correctly) quarter-tones, a more minute division of sounds within the scale than the 12 semi-tones. Other than the two fixed or acal (अचल) sounds S and P, all the other 10 semi-tones had two subtle variations each, one slightly higher than the other. The use of these subtle variations in different rāgas, or melodies, passed on vocally and orally down the ages, was the secret of the almost magical effect of music.      

   

These 22 śrutis were derived on the basis of the continuing application of the perfect harmony principle, as follows: the starting point S was, of course, at 0 cents. The note higher than S which is in perfect harmony with it is at 702 cents. The next note above this which is in perfect harmony with this note is at 1404 cents, i.e. in the next octave: but this is actually the same note as the note in the earlier octave at 204 cents (i.e. 1200 cents below 1404). The next note above this in perfect harmony with this note is at 906 cents. The next note above this which is in perfect harmony with this note is at 1608 cents, i.e. in the next octave: but this is actually the same note as the note in the earlier octave at 408 cents (i.e. 1200 cents below 1608). Continuing with this pattern, we get the following 22 śrutis:

ṣaḍja (S) -  0 cents.

lower komal ṛṣabh (r1) - 90 cents.

upper komal ṛṣabh (r2) - 114 cents.

lower ṛṣabh (R1) - 180 cents.

upper ṛṣabh (R2) - 204 cents.

lower komal gāndhār (g1) - 294 cents.

upper komal gāndhār (g2) - 318 cents.

lower gāndhār (G1) - 384 cents.

upper gāndhār (G2) - 408 cents.

lower madhyam (M1) - 498 cents.

upper madhyam (M2) - 522 cents.

lower tīvra madhyam (m1) - 588 cents.

upper tīvra madhyam (m2) - 612 cents.

pañcam (P) - 702 cents

lower komal dhaivat (d1) - 792 cents.

upper komal dhaivat (d2) - 816 cents.

lower dhaivat (D1) - 882 cents.

upper dhaivat (D2) - 906 cents.

lower komal niṣād (n1) - 996 cents.

upper komal niṣād (n2) - 1020 cents.

lower niṣād (N1) - 1086 cents.

upper niṣād (N2) - 1110 cents.

(upper) ṣaḍja (Ś) -  1200 cents.

It will be noticed that a full tone (the distance between M1 and P) is actually 204 cents, which is also the distance between S and R2, R2 and G2, G2 and m2, P and D2, and D2 and N2. And likewise between r2 and g2, and so on. The distance between 2 forms of the same note (r1 and r2, etc.) is 24 cents. And between the two closest forms of two distinct notes (S and r1, R2 and g1, etc.) is 90 cents.

As we can see, each of the notes (except S and P, which were fixed), had 2 varieties each, one low (flat) and the other high (sharp), at a distance of 24 cents from each other. Each rāga must have used one particular form of a note, and the different śrutis must also have been used as extra notes to add beauty to each melody. Which of the two varieties to use depended on the rāga: the difference was too subtle for the untrained ear to detect the difference, but the acoustic effect of the two varieties must obviously have been different. Even today, using the tempered scale, the magical effect of the different rāgas on the mood, the intellect, the health and the environment is phenomenal: one can imagine what the effect of the śruti-based rāgas must have been!

All this heritage is now extinct. But while it may not be possible to fully revive śruti-based rāgas, perhaps all may not be lost either. While details of the exact śrutis used in each rāga may not be available, nor the method of śruti-based teaching and singing (with the very subtly trained ears required to recognize such minute variations), some individuals have indeed made attempts to delve into this lost treasure-house: according to a report in the Indian Express (16/5/1999), Avinash Patwardhan, a nephew of the renowned social worker Baba Amte, created a flute which could play the 22 śrutis, and was in the process of developing a harmonium which could also play them. It is not clear what finally came out of all this, but the efforts of this great musicologist deserve general honor and recognition.

II. The Classification of Parent-Scales or Thāṭs and Meḷas

Different melodies use different (now, of course, tempered-scale) notes.

When a person starts learning music, the first thing he has to learn is to sing the scale of shuddh notes (S R G M P D N Ś - Ś N D P M G R S) in āroh (ascending) and avaroh (descending) orders in the correct pitch. This is known in Hindustani (North Indian Classical) music as the Bilāval thāṭ, in Carnatic (South Indian Classical) music as the Dhīraśaṅkarābharaṇam meḷa, and in western classical music as the Major Scale. Listening to this ascending-and-descending singing of the scale will give a familiar feel, since this is the common scale we hear when people learn music in real life or in films.

But there are other scales. To get an idea of the different atmospheres created by different scales, play this above scale 4-5 times continuously, in ascending and descending order, on a harmonium (with the first 8 white keys) to get into the atmosphere of it. Then play another scale, for example Bhairav thāṭ (replacing the second and sixth white keys with the black keys immediately preceding them): S r G M P d N Ś - Ś N d P M G r S. You will immediately notice the difference.

There is one more aspect of melody that is necessary to take note of  in understanding scales and melodies: the aspect of steps or intervals between the two consecutive notes within a scale, in terms of semi-tones. Just as the precise notes in a scale give the scale its special, unique and characteristic feel and atmosphere, the length of the interval between consecutive notes also gives (perhaps more sharply) the particular special atmosphere of a scale. This is particularly so in pentatonic scales, because there are only 5 notes, so the intervals between two consecutive notes can be of many kinds. The intervals are based on the number of semi-tones (each of 100 cents) between two consecutive notes, and are named as follows: 1 (semi-tone), 2 (tone), 3 (minor third), 4 (major third), 5 (fourth), 6 (augmented fourth), 7 (fifth), 8 (minor sixth), 9 (major sixth), 10 (minor seventh), 11 (major seventh), and 12 (octave).

Below, the lists of scales will show both the notes as well as the intervals (in terms of semi-tones) of each scale:

II.A. HEPTATONIC Scales (Thāṭs / Meḷas) of Indian Classical Music:

V. N. Bhatkhande (1875-1935), the great musicologist, in his seminal book "Śrīmallakṣya Saṅgītam" (1909), classified the heptatonic (7 note) scales of Hindustani music into 10 thāṭs: Bilāval, Khamāj, Kāfī, Āsāvarī, Bhairavī, Kalyāṇ, Mārvā, Pūrvī, Toḍī and Bhairav.

[Note: The above are the scales or thāṭs. Actually the rāga Mārvā has no P: rāga Pūriyā-Kalyāṇ has the full scale. Likewise, the rāga Pūrvī also has an additional M].

While Bhatkhande only named 10 thāṭs, actually we also get the following 10 out of 22 possible additional thāṭs: ĀnandBhairav, Paṭdīp, NaṭaBhairav, AhīrBhairav, Kiravāṇī, Cārukeśi, Basantamukhārī, Madhuvantī, Vācaspati, and SarasvatīRanjanī.

As we saw, P is in perfect harmony with the lower S, and M is in perfect harmony with the upper Ś: the note between M and P is conventionally taken to be m (i.e. M sharp or tīvra), but it could equally well be treated as p (P flat or komal): so that m = p.

We can get 16 thāṭs with the combination of notes MP, and 16 with the combination of notes mP. Theoretically, there could be another 16 thāṭs with the combination of notes Mp (i.e. Mm). Hindustani music actually does have at least 4 (out of 16 theoretically possible) such thāṭs: Lalat, AhīrLalat, Pañcam and Meladalan. These 24 scales or thāṭs are as follows:

[In the case of these scales, we will also list them on the basis of the aspect of steps or intervals between the two consecutive notes within a scale. Just as the precise notes in a scale give the scale its special, unique and characteristic feel and atmosphere, the length of the interval between consecutive notes also gives (perhaps more sharply) the particular special atmosphere of a scale, and this is particularly so in pentatonic scales, because there are only 5 notes, so the intervals between two consecutive notes can be of many kinds. The intervals are based on the number of semi-tones (each of 100 cents) between two consecutive notes, and are named as follows: 1 (semi-tone), 2 (tone), 3 (minor third), 4 (major third), 5 (fourth), 6 (augmented fourth), 7 (fifth), 8 (minor sixth), 9 (major sixth), 1000 (minor seventh), 1100 (major seventh), and 1200 (octave).]

 

THĀṬ	NOTES	INTERVALS	NOTES
1. Bilāval	SRGM   PDNŚ	221   2221	All Śuddha
2. Khamāj	SRGM   PDnŚ	221   2212	n
3. Kāfī	SRgM   PDnŚ	212   2212	gn
4. Āsāvarī	SRgM   PdnŚ	212   2122	gdn
5. Bhairavī	SrgM   PdnŚ	122   2122	rgdn
6. Kalyāṇ	SRGm   PDNŚ	222   1221	m
7. Mārvā	SrGm   PDNŚ	132   1221	rm
8. Pūrvī	SrGm   PdNŚ	132   1131	rmd
9. Toḍī	Srgm   PdNŚ	123   1131	rgmd
10. Bhairav	SrGM   PdNŚ	131   2131	rd
11. ĀnandBhairav	SrGM   PDNŚ	131   2221	r
12. Paṭdīp	SRgM   PDNŚ	212   2221	g
13. NaṭaBhairav	SRGM   PdNŚ	221   2131	d
14. AhīrBhairav	SrGM   PDnŚ	131   2212	rn
15. Kiravāṇī	SRgM   PdNŚ	212   2131	gd *
16. Cārukeśi	SRGM   PdnŚ	221   2122	dn *
17. Basantamukhārī	SrGM   PdnŚ	131   2122	rdn
18. Madhuvantī	SRgm   PDNŚ	213   1221	gm
19. Vācaspati	SRGm   PDnŚ	222   1212	mn *
20. SarasvatīRanjanī	SRgm   PDnŚ	213   1212	gmn
21. Lalat	SrGM   mdNŚ	131   1231	rmd -P+M
22. AhirLalat	SrGM   mDnŚ	131   1312	rmn -P+M
23. Pañcam	SrGM   mDNŚ	131   1321	rm -P+M
24. Meladalan	SrgM   mdnŚ	122   1222	rgmdn -P+M

As we saw, V. N. Bhatkhande in 1909 analyzed and classified the scales of Hindustani into 10 thāṭs. However, long before him, Venkaṭamakhin, a minister in the court of Thanjavur had analyzed and classified the scales in Carnatic music in his treatise "Caturdaṇḍi-Prakāśikā", written somewhere around 1650.

His classification included not only all the 32 natural heptatonic scales, but 40 more scales based on a novel classification of the notes: a total of 72 meḷas.

He classified the eight notes r, R, g, G, d, D, n, N in such a way that four of them (R, g, D, n) had two different names each, and could, in separate rāgas and meḷas, be treated as two different notes in forming scales:

r = śuddha ṛṣabha -    R1

R = catuśruti ṛṣabha or śuddha gandhāra -    R2 or G1

g = ṣaṭśruti ṛṣabha or sādhāraṇa gandhāra -    R3 or G2

G = antara gandhāra -    G3

d = śuddha dhaivata -    D1

D = catuśruti dhaivata or śuddha niṣāda -    D2 or N1

n = ṣaṭśruti dhaivata or kaiśikī niṣāda -    D3 or N2

N = kākalī niṣāda -    N3

Thus, in a Hindustani heptatonic scale, we can get the combinations rg, rG, Rg, RG, dn, dN, Dn, DN. In the Carnatic scales, Venkatamakhin's classification also brought in four more combinations: rR, gG, dD, nN (treated as R1G1, R3G3, D1N1, D3N3 respectively because of the dual nomenclature).

So the 72 meḷas of Carnatic music are as follows:

THĀṬ / MEḶA	NOTES	INTERVALS	HINDUSTANI
1. Kanakāṅgī	SrRM   PdDŚ	113   2113
2. Ratnāṅgī	SrRM   PdnŚ	113   2122
3. Gaṇamūrti	SrRM   PdNŚ	113   2131
4. Vanaspati	SrRM   PDnŚ	113   2212
5. Mānāvatī	SrRM   PDNŚ	113   2221
6. Tānarūpī	SrRM   PnNŚ	113   2311
7. Senāvatī	SrgM   PdDŚ	122   2113
8. Hanumaṭṭoḍi	SrgM   PdnŚ	122   2122	Bhairavī
9. Dhenukā	SrgM   PdNŚ	122   2131
10. Nāṭakapriyā	SrgM   PDnŚ	122   2212
11. Kokilapriyā	SrgM   PDNŚ	122   2221
12. Rūpāvatī	SrgM   PnNŚ	122   2311
13. Gāyakapriyā	SrGM   PdDŚ	131   2113
14. Vakulābharaṇam	SrGM   PdnŚ	131   2122	Basantamukhārī
15. Māyāmālavagauḷa	SrGM   PdNŚ	131   2131	Bhairav
16. Cakravākam	SrGM   PDnŚ	131   2212	AhīrBhairav
17. Sūryakāntam	SrGM   PDNŚ	131   2221	ĀnandBhairav
18. Hāṭakāmbarī	SrGM   PnNŚ	131   2311
19. Jhanakāradhvani	SRgM   PdDŚ	212   2113
20. Nāṭabhairavī	SRgM   PdnŚ	212   2122	Āsāvarī
21. Kiravāṇī	SRgM   PdNŚ	212   2131	Kiravāṇī
22. Kharaharapriyā	SRgM   PDnŚ	212   2212	Kāfī
23. Gaurīmanoharī	SRgM   PDNŚ	212   2221	Paṭdīp
24. Varuṇapriyā	SRgM   PnNŚ	212   2311
25. Mārurañjanī	SRGM   PdDŚ	221   2113
26. Cārukeśī	SRGM   PdnŚ	221   2122	Cārukeśi
27. Sarasāṅgī	SRGM   PdNŚ	221   2131	NaṭaBhairav
28. Harikāmbhojī	SRGM   PDnŚ	221   2212	Khamāj
29. Dhīraśaṅkarābharaṇam	SRGM   PDNŚ	221   2221	Bilāval
30. Nāganandinī	SRGM   PnNŚ	221   2311
31. Yāgapriyā	SgGM   PdDŚ	311   2113
32. Rāgavardhanī	SgGM   PdnŚ	311   2122
33. Gāṅgeyabhūṣaṇī	SgGM   PdNŚ	311   2131
34. Vāgadhīśvarī	SgGM   PDnŚ	311   2212
35. Śūlinī	SgGM   PDNŚ	311   2221
36. Calanāṭa	SgGM   PnNŚ	311   2311
37. Sālagam	SrRm   PdDŚ	114   1113
38. Jalārṇavam	SrRm   PdnŚ	114   1122
39. Jhālāvarālī	SrRm   PdNŚ	114   1131
40. Navanītam	SrRm   PDnŚ	114   1212
41. Pāvanī	SrRm   PDNŚ	114   1221
42. Raghupriyā	SrRm   PnNŚ	114   1311
43. Gavāmbodhi	Srgm   PdDŚ	123   1113
44. Bhāvapriyā	Srgm   PdnŚ	123   1122
45. Śubhapantuvarāli	Srgm   PdNŚ	123   1131	Toḍī
46. Ṣaḍvidhamārgiṇī	Srgm   PDnŚ	123   1212
47. Suvarṇāṅgī	Srgm   PDNŚ	123   1221
48. Divyamaṇi	Srgm   PnNŚ	123   1311
49. Dhavalāmbarī	SrGm   PdDŚ	132   1113
50. Nāmanārāyaṇī	SrGm   PdnŚ	132   1122
51. Kāmavardhanī	SrGm   PdNŚ	132   1131	Pūrvī
52. Rāmapriyā	SrGm   PDnŚ	132   1212
53. Gamanaśrama	SrGm   PDNŚ	132   1221	Mārvā
54. Viśvambarī	SrGm   PnNŚ	132   1311
55. Śyāmalāṅgī	SRgm   PdDŚ	213   1113
56. Ṣaṇmukhapriyā	SRgm   PdnŚ	213   1122
57. Siṁhendramadhyamam	SRgm   PdNŚ	213   1131
58. Hemavatī	SRgm   PDnŚ	213   1212	SarasvatīRanjanī
59. Dharmavatī	SRgm   PDNŚ	213   1221	Madhuvantī
60. Nītimatī	SRgm   PnNŚ	213   1311
61. Kāntāmaṇi	SRGm   PdDŚ	222   1113
62. Ṛṣabhapriyā	SRGm   PdnŚ	222   1122
63. Latāṅgī	SRGm   PdNŚ	222   1131
64. Vācaspati	SRGm   PDnŚ	222   1212	Vācaspati
65. Mecakalyāṇī	SRGm   PDNŚ	222   1221	Kalyāṇ
66. Citrāmbarī	SRGm   PnNŚ	222   1311
67. Sucaritrā	SgGm   PdDŚ	312   1113
68. Jyotisvarūpiṇī	SgGm   PdnŚ	312   1122
69. DhātuvarDhāni	SgGm   PdNŚ	312   1131
70. Nāsikabhūṣaṇī	SgGm   PDnŚ	312   1212
71. Kosalam	SgGm   PDNŚ	312   1221
72. Rasikapriyā	SgGm   PnNŚ	312   1311

 

These meḷas, like the thāṭs of Hindustani music, are usually parent-scales (or janaka rāgas) as well as rāgas to be sung and played.

Now let us see the same above 76 heptatonic thāṭs/meḷas (including the 4 Mm scales) as per intervals (numbered as per the meḷa list above):

1. Intervals: 11 22222 (3 Interval Patterns, 13 scales):

THĀṬ / MEḶA	NOTES	INTERVALS
2222211
11. Kokilapriyā	SrgM   PDNŚ	122   2221
62. Ṛṣabhapriyā	SRGm   PdnŚ	222   1122
2222121
10. Nāṭakapriyā	SrgM   PDnŚ	122   2212
23. Gaurīmanoharī   (Paṭdīp)	SRgM   PDNŚ	212   2221
26. Cārukeśī	SRGM   PdnŚ	221   2122
64. Vācaspati	SRGm   PDnŚ	222   1212
2221221
8. Hanumaṭṭoḍi  (Bhairavī)	SrgM   PdnŚ	122   2122
20. Nāṭabhairavī  (Āsāvarī )	SRgM   PdnŚ	212   2122
22. Kharaharapriyā  (Kāfī )	SRgM   PDnŚ	212   2212
28. Harikāmbhojī  (Khamāj)	SRGM   PDnŚ	221   2212
29. Dhīraśaṅkarābharaṇam  (Bilāval)	SRGM   PDNŚ	221   2221
65. Mecakalyāṇī  (Kalyāṇ)	SRGm   PDNŚ	222   1221
Mm. Meladalan	SrgM   mdnŚ	122   1222

2. Intervals: 111 222 3 (15 Interval Patterns, 33 scales):

THĀṬ / MEḶA	NOTES	INTERVALS
3111222:
12. Rūpāvatī	SrgM   PnNŚ	122   2311
3112122
24. Varuṇapriyā	SRgM   PnNŚ	212   2311
32. Rāgavardhanī	SgGM   PdnŚ	311   2122
3112212
30. Nāganandinī	SRGM   PnNŚ	221   2311
34. Vāgadhīśvarī	SgGM   PDnŚ	311   2212
44. Bhāvapriyā	Srgm   PdnŚ	123   1122
3112221
9. Dhenukā	SrgM   PdNŚ	122   2131
35. Śūlinī	SgGM   PDNŚ	311   2221
56. Ṣaṇmukhapriyā	SRgm   PdnŚ	213   1122
66. Citrāmbarī	SRGm   PnNŚ	222   1311
3121122
68. Jyotisvarūpiṇī	SgGm   PdnŚ	312   1122
3121212
46. Ṣaḍvidhamārgiṇī	Srgm   PDnŚ	123   1212
70. Nāsikabhūṣaṇī	SgGm   PDnŚ	312   1212
3121221
14. Vakulābharaṇam  (Basantamukhārī )	SrGM   PdnŚ	131   2122
21. Kiravāṇī	SRgM   PdNŚ	212   2131
58. Hemavatī  (SarasvatīRañjanī)	SRgm   PDnŚ	213   1212
71. Kosalam	SgGm   PDNŚ	312   1221
3211221
50. Nāmanārāyaṇī	SrGm   PdnŚ	132   1122
3122112
47. Suvarṇāṅgī	Srgm   PDNŚ	123   1221
3122121
16. Cakravākam  (AhīrBhairav)	SrGM   PDnŚ	131   2212
27. Sarasāṅgī  (NaṭaBhairav)	SRGM   PdNŚ	221   2131
59. Dharmavatī  (Madhuvantī)	SRgm   PDNŚ	213   1221
3122211
7. Senāvatī	SrgM   PdDŚ	122   2113
17. Sūryakāntam  (ĀnandBhairav)	SrGM   PDNŚ	131   2221
63. Latāṅgī	SRGm   PdNŚ	222   1131
3212121
52. Rāmapriyā	SrGm   PDnŚ	132   1212
3212211
2. Ratnāṅgī	SrRM   PdnŚ	113   2122
19. Jhanakāradhvani	SRgM   PdDŚ	212   2113
53. Gamanaśrama  (Mārvā)	SrGm   PDNŚ	132   1221
3221211
4. Vanaspati	SrRM   PDnŚ	113   2212
25. Mārurañjanī	SRGM   PdDŚ	221   2113
3222111
5. Mānāvatī	SrRM   PDNŚ	113   2221
61. Kāntāmaṇi	SRGm   PdDŚ	222   1113

3. Intervals: 1111 2 33 (12 Interval Patterns, 24 scales):

THĀṬ / MEḶA	NOTES	INTERVALS
2111313
49. Dhavalāmbarī	SrGm   PdDŚ	132   1113
2111331
67. Sucaritrā	SgGm   PdDŚ	312   1113
2113113
1. Kanakāṅgī	SrRM   PdDŚ	113   2113
51. Kāmavardhanī  (Pūrvī)	SrGm   PdNŚ	132   1131
Mm. Pañcam	SrGM   mDNŚ	131   1321
2113131
13. Gāyakapriyā	SrGM   PdDŚ	131   2113
69. Dhātuvardhanī	SgGm   PdNŚ	312   1131
2113311
31. Yāgapriyā	SgGM   PdDŚ	311   2113
2131113
3. Gaṇamūrti	SrRM   PdNŚ	113   2131
54. Viśvambarī	SrGm   PnNŚ	132   1311
55. Śyāmalāṅgī	SRgm   PdDŚ	213   1113
2131131
15. Māyāmālavagauḷa  (Bhairav)	SrGM   PdNŚ	131   2131
57. Siṁhendramadhyamam	SRgm   PdNŚ	213   1131
72. Rasikapriyā	SgGm   PnNŚ	312   1311
Mm. AhirLalat	SrGM   mDnŚ	131   1312
2131311
33. Gāṅgeyabhūṣaṇī	SgGM   PdNŚ	311   2131
60. Nītimatī	SRgm   PnNŚ	213   1311
2311113
6. Tānarūpī	SrRM   PnNŚ	113   2311
2311131
18. Hāṭakāmbarī	SrGM   PnNŚ	131   2311
43. Gavāmbodhi	Srgm   PdDŚ	123   1113
2311311
36. Calanāṭa	SgGM   PnNŚ	311   2311
45. Śubhapantuvarāli  (Toḍī)	Srgm   PdNŚ	123   1131
Mm. Lalat	SrGM   mdNŚ	131   1231
2313111
48. Divyamaṇi	Srgm   PnNŚ	123   1311

 

4. Intervals: 1111 22 4 (3 Interval Patterns, 3 scales):

THĀṬ / MEḶA	NOTES	INTERVALS
4112211
38. Jalārṇavam	SrRm   PdnŚ	114   1122
4121211
40. Navanītam	SrRm   PDnŚ	114   1212
4122111
41. Pāvanī	SrRm   PDNŚ	114   1221

5. Intervals: 11111 3 4 (3 Interval Patterns, 3 scales):

THĀṬ / MEḶA	NOTES	INTERVALS
4111311
37. Sālagam	SrRm   PdDŚ	114   1113
4113111
39. Jhālāvarālī	SrRm   PdNŚ	114   1131
4131111
42. Raghupriyā	SrRm   PnNŚ	114   1311

So far, we have seen scales with 7 notes (i.e. heptatonic scales). It must be noted that the above are thāṭs (parent-scales) as distinct from rāgas (melodies or melodic-scales): there can be many rāgas within each thāṭ (all using basically the same notes, but completely different from each other in the various different characteristics that make up a rāga, which we will see later in more detail). A rāga is the actual melody, a thāṭ is the full set of all the notes used in the rāga. Usually, a thāṭ has the same name as a prominent rāga from within that thāṭ.

A rāga may have the full set of the 7 notes of a thāṭ in the āroh (ascending form) and have a note or two missing in the avaroh (descending form), or vice versa. Or there may be certain different notes missing in the āroh or avaroh, while having, both (āroh and avaroh) put together, all the 7 notes of the thāṭ. In all these cases, the rāga is still clearly identifiable with that thāṭ.

The complication in classification arises when we examine rāgas with 6 notes (hexatonic scales) and rāgas with 5 notes (pentatonic scales). This leads to confusion if one wants to classify them within heptatonic thāṭs: for example both the pentatonic rāgas Deskār and Bhūp have the same 5 notes SRGPDŚ (with M and N missing).

If we compulsorily classify these rāgas into the 10-heptonic-thāṭ paradigm, do we classify them as belonging to the Bilāval thāṭ (assuming that the missing M and N are shuddh notes), to the Kalyāṇ thāṭ (assuming that the missing M and N are tīvra and shuddh notes respectively), to the Khamāj thāṭ (assuming that the missing M and N are shuddh and komal notes respectively), or to the Vācaspati thāṭ (assuming that the missing M and N are tīvra and komal notes respectively)?

In common practice, due to the modern convention of force-fitting all rāgas into the artificial 10-heptatonic-thāṭs paradigm, Deskār  is classified as belonging to the Bilāval thāṭ (assuming that the missing M and N are shuddh notes), and Bhūp as belonging to the Kalyāṇ thāṭ (assuming that the missing M and N are tīvra and shuddh notes respectively)!

Generally, in such cases, the thāṭ is arbitrarily decided, not on the basis of the set of notes in it, but on the basis of other characteristics: as already pointed out, each thāṭ is named after a certain typical rāga as well: thus Bilāval, Kalyāṇ, etc. are thāṭs as well as rāgas with special characteristics. So the rāga under consideration, e.g. Deskār , is classified on the assumption that its aṅga (characteristic features) more resembles the aṅga of rāga Bilāval, and that of Bhūp, which has the exactly same notes, more resembles the aṅga of rāga Kalyāṇ. Clearly, all this has nothing really to do with the classification of the set of notes in the rāga.

This force-fitting is therefore not correct, and so here we are classifying it as an independent pentatonic thāṭ Bhūp, containing already two different rāgas with the same five notes.

Here, therefore, we will note the nature of hexatonic and pentatonic melodies or melodic structures (rāgas), as independent scales (thāṭs). Usually, these scales represent both the thāṭ and rāga. Here, on the basis of the notes in both the āroh and avaroh combined, we are taking into count as thāṭs only rāgas which do not ordinarily have both the forms of any note (i.e. both r and R, or both g and G, etc), except three hexatonic scales (there may be more not counted by us) belonging to the rR-gG-dD-nN meḷa variety of southern scales.

II.B. HEXATONIC Scales of Indian Classical Music:

1. Intervals: 222222 (1 Interval Pattern, 1 scale):

SCALE	NOTES	INTERVALS
222222
Sehrā	SRGm   dnŚ	222   222

2. Intervals: 2222 1 3 (3 Interval Patterns, 14 scales):

SCALE	NOTES	INTERVALS
322122
GopikāBasant	SgMP   dnŚ	322   122
GorakhKalyāṇ	SRMP   DnŚ	232   212
Śaṅkarā	SRGP   DNŚ	223   221
RṣabhīMālkauns	SrgM   dnŚ	122   322
NāyakīKānaḍā	SRgM   PnŚ	212   232
Naṭanārāyāṇī	SRGM   PDŚ	221   223
322212
Manoharī	SgMP   DnŚ	322   212
Nāgagāndhārī	SRMP   DNŚ	232   221
Bhavānī	Srgm   dnŚ	123   222
SampūrṇaMālkauns	SRgM   dnŚ	212   322
Śivakāmbhojī	SRGM   PnŚ	221   232
YamunāKalyāṇī	SRGm   PDŚ	222   123
321222
Navamanoharī	SRMP   dnŚ	232   122
Mṛganandana	SRGm   DNŚ	222   321

3. Intervals: 222 11 4 (9 Interval Patterns, 19 scales):

SCALE	NOTES	INTERVALS
412221
HariNaṭa	SGMP   DNŚ	412   221
Trimūrti	SRgP   dnŚ	214   122
Ravicandrikā	SRGM   DnŚ	221   412
Ratnakāntī	SRGm   PNŚ	222   141
ŚuddhaSimantinī	SrgM   PdŚ	122   214
412212
Jujahuli	SGMP   DnŚ	412   212
Niṣādī	SRmP   DNŚ	241   221
Kaśyapī	SrgP   dnŚ	124   122
Śrīrañjanī	SRgM   DnŚ	212   412
Vilāsinī	SRGM   PNŚ	221   241
412122
Sarasvatī	SRmP   DnŚ	241   212
411222
Jaganmohan	SRmP   dnŚ	241   122
421221
Pheṇādyutī	SrMP   dnŚ	142  122
Mānavī	SRgP   DnŚ	214   212
Hamsavādinī	SRGM   DNŚ	221   421
421212
Salagavarāli	SrgP   DnŚ	124   212
421122
Jyoti	SGmP   dnŚ	421   122
422121
Rasāvalī	SrMP   DnŚ	142   212
422211
Jīvantikā	SrMP   DNŚ	142   221

4. Intervals: 22 11 33 (10 Interval Patterns, 16 scales):

SCALE	NOTES	INTERVALS
112323
GujarīToḍī	Srgm   dNŚ	123   231
Vasantavarālī	SRMP   nNŚ	232   311
113232
Pūriyā	SrGm   DNŚ	132   321
Nīleśvarī	SgMm   PnŚ	321   132
113322
Rasachandra	SRGM   mDŚ	221   133
121233
KaiśikiRañjanī	SRgM   dNŚ	212   331
121332
Malayamārutam	SrGP   DnŚ	133   212
Rañjanī	SRgm   DNŚ	213   321
122133
Sarasānana	SRGM   dNŚ	221   331
131223
Latikā	SRGP   dNŚ	223   131
Rāgamālinī	SrGM   PDŚ	131   223
131232
Vijayanāgarī	SRgm   PDŚ	213   123
131322
Gopikātilakam	SRgm   PnŚ	213   132
132132
Jaikauns	SgMm   DNŚ	321   321
Indupriyā	SrGm   PnŚ	132   132
Nīlāṅgī	SRgm   dDŚ	213   213

5. Intervals: 2 111 3 4 (9 Interval Patterns, 14 scales):

SCALE	NOTES	INTERVALS
211314
Indumatī	SGmP   dNŚ	421   131
ŚuddhaSohanī	SrGM   DNŚ	131   421
211413
Dhavalāṅgam	SrGm   PdŚ	132   114
213114
Jogia	SrMP   dNŚ	142   131
Vijayavasanta	SGmP   nNŚ	421   311
Śyāmalam	SRgm   PdŚ	213   114
213141
Cakravāka	SrGM   DnŚ	131   412
Amarasenapriyā	SRgm   PNŚ	213   141
214113
Mandhārī	SrGm   PNŚ	132   141
214131
BaṅgālBhairav	SrGM   PdŚ	131   214
231141
Candrajyoti	SrRm   PDŚ	114   123
231411
Śrīvantī	Srgm   PNŚ	123   141
241131
CandraKalyāṇ	SRmP   dNŚ	241   131
Gauḷa	SrGM   PNŚ	131   241

6. Intervals: 111 333 (3 Interval Pattern, 4 scales):

SCALE	NOTES	INTERVALS
331131
Kalagaḍa	SrGP   dDŚ	133   113
331311
Triveṇī	SrGP   dNŚ	133   131
Gaurīkriyā	SgmP   nNŚ	331   311
313131
Devamuni	SgGP   dNŚ	313   131

[The rest of the article is continued in part II]