Notation (Swaralipi): writing, reading and transcription
Domain 3: Notation - writing, reading and transcription
Notation questions test precision, not creativity. The examiner checks whether your swaralipi can be sung back correctly by someone who has never heard the composition.
Conventions you must use correctly
- Bhatkhande's system is the answer-script norm: S r R g G m M P d D n N, with komal swaras underlined and teevra Ma given its own mark.
- Octave: a dot below for mandra saptak, a dot above for taar saptak. Unmarked = madhya.
- Aavartan is closed by a vertical bar; sam is marked × and khali 0; vibhag bars divide the cycle.
- The heading of every notation must state raga, tala, matra count and laya before the first line.
- Paluskar's system is also in circulation; you should be able to read it even if you write in Bhatkhande.
Transcription method
Listen for the pakad to fix the raga, tap the theka to fix the tala, locate the syllable that lands on sam, then write the mukhda from sam forward. Split each matra into two or four sub-units only where the melody actually moves.
Worked example
Transcribing a Bhoopali line in keherwa: Bhoopali is S R G P D S with no Ma or Ni. One swara per matra gives S R G P | D P G R, with × on the first S and 0 above the D that opens matra 5. If the sung phrase instead sits two swaras per matra, write S R G P under matras 1-2 with a subdivision mark, not eight separate matras - the aavartan must still contain eight.
Traps
Dropping the komal underline; putting the octave dot on the wrong side; starting the notation on the wrong matra so that sam falls in the middle; omitting khali; writing the antara without stating its starting matra; forcing Bhoopali lines to contain Ma or Ni out of habit.