Technical Terminology and Fundamental Concepts
What this domain tests
Definitions plus correct use in analysis: you must distinguish near-synonyms such as swara and shruti, vadi and sam, khali and sam.
Swara and shruti
- Nada is sound; shruti is a microtonal unit, 22 to the octave in Bharata's system.
- Seven shuddha swaras: S R G M P D N. Five vikrit forms: komal r, g, d, n and tivra M. Total: 12 swarasthanas.
- Saptak: mandra, madhya, tar; shown by dots below and above.
- Aroha and avaroha may be straight or vakra (zigzag).
Raga-defining terms
- Vadi: the king note, the structural and emotional centre.
- Samvadi: the minister, usually a fourth or fifth away.
- Anuvadi: assisting notes. Vivadi: dissonant or excluded notes.
- Graha (starting note), amsa (dominant), nyasa (resting note).
- Pakad: catch-phrase that identifies the raga; chalan: characteristic movement.
- Jati: audava (5), shadava (6), sampurna (7), or mixed.
Tala and laya
- Matra, vibhag, tali, khali, sam, theka.
- Laya: vilambit, madhya, drut. Layakari: barabar, dugun, tigun, chaugun.
Ornament
- Meend (glide), kan (grace), murki, khatka, zamzama, gamak, ghaseet (string glide).
Worked example
Question: how do twelve swarasthanas arise from seven swaras? Reasoning: seven shuddha plus four komal plus one tivra equals twelve. A shruti is not a swara; 22 shrutis are microtonal positions, not 22 singable notes.
Traps
- Writing "22 swaras".
- Calling vadi simply the most frequent note; it is the structural centre.
- Applying tivra to notes other than Ma.
- Confusing samvadi (a note) with sam (a tala beat).