Sargam for Dummies

Welcome to your first step into Indian classical music—where it all begins with alankar.
Imagine seven musical beads: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni. Rearrange them—forward, backward, skipping, repeating—and you’ve created an alankar: a simple note pattern that trains your voice and helps you feel how melodies move.

Now picture a staircase of swaras.
Climbing up—Sa to Ni—is the Aaroh; coming down—Ni to Sa—is the Avroh.
Aaroh shows how a raga rises, Avroh how it returns. Together, they shape the natural flow of the music.

Sthai

Think of the sthai as the “home base” of a song in Indian classical music.
It’s the first and main section of a bandish—the part you return to again and again.
When you sing the sthai, you settle into the raga’s comfort zone, exploring notes around the middle octave.
It’s familiar, steady, and grounding—your musical starting point and your place to come back to.

Antara

If the sthai is home, the antara is the adventure.
It’s the second section of a bandish, where the melody rises into the upper octave and explores new emotional colors.
The antara lifts the song higher, adds contrast, and then gently brings you back to the sthai

Sanchari: The third section of a bandish that freely explores both middle and upper octaves, expanding the raga’s mood.

Abhog: The final section that brings all previous ideas together, often spanning all three octaves to complete the composition’s journey.

Before we dive deeper into swaras, there’s a finer layer of sound that makes Indian classical music truly magical—shruti.

Shruti: Do you notice tiny shifts in how that note can sound—slightly higher, slightly lower, yet still the same note?
Those delicate, almost hidden sound-steps are called shruti.

Shrutis are the micro-tones, the subtle shades between two swaras that give Indian classical music its depth and emotion.
Once you start hearing them, the music feels richer—like discovering secret colors inside a single note.

There are a total of 22 shrutis. All the 22 shrutis can’t be sung distinctly, one after another in a scale. When any one of the shrutis is sounded the note that is produced is a swara.

Pakad:

Imagine asking a raga, “How do I recognize you?”
It answers with a small, signature phrase of notes—that’s the pakad.

Theoretically, it’s the raga’s essential melodic identity; practically, it’s the quick musical clue that tells your ear, “Yes, this is the one.”

The pakad is repeatedly played or sung to maintain the mood of the raag.

Verna:

 The characteristic way a raga’s notes are used—through movement, emphasis, and patterns that define its musical expression is called a verna.

Here are the four varnas,

Sthayi – Staying on or repeating a note.

Arohi – Moving upward through notes.

Avarohi – Moving downward through notes.

Sanchari – Freely moving in any direction.

Swara:

A swara is the smallest audible musical unit capable of producing a stable pitch.

In Indian classical music, swaras form the basis of the saptak (scale) and are used to construct ragas.

Its types include-

1. Vadi Swara

The sonant or most dominant swara of a raga, functioning as its central point of melodic emphasis and elaboration.
It governs the raga’s aesthetic identity and is often the focal swara for improvisation.

2. Samvadi Swara

The consonant swara that complements the vadi, usually positioned at a perfect fourth or fifth interval, creating harmonic balance within the raga.

3. Anuvadi Swaras

All permitted swaras in a raga apart from vadi and samvadi; they support melodic development without holding primary importance.

4. Vivadi Swaras

Swaras that are theoretically present in the system but prohibited in a particular raga due to their dissonant or mood-disturbing nature.

5. Varjita Swaras

Swaras excluded from a raga’s structure.
They may be omitted in the aaroh, avroh, or both, contributing to the raga’s unique scale configuration.

6. Kana Swaras

Swaras used incidentally for ornamentation (such as in meend or gamak) without becoming structural components of the raga.

Meend: Imagine sliding your voice smoothly from one note to another—no breaks, no steps, just a gentle glide.

That seamless musical slide is called meend, a beautiful way of connecting swaras like they’re flowing into each other.

Khatka: Think of quickly tapping a few nearby notes to decorate the main swara—fast, sharp, and lively.

That little burst of rapid notes is a khatka, adding sparkle and energy to the melody.

Gamak: Imagine a note being rapidly and forcefully oscillated between nearby swaras, creating a strong, rippling effect.

This controlled, deliberate oscillation is called gamak, a technique that adds weight, depth, and dramatic expression to a raga.

Alaap: The free, unmetered expansion of the raga’s mood and swaras is called alaap, where the musician introduces the raga’s identity with calm, gradual clarity.

Murchhana:This systematic shifting of the tonic is called murchhana, a technique that reveals new melodic perspectives while preserving the original pattern of notes.

I think that’s more than enough for one lesson…

To actually test out what you have learnt grab your instrument, voice or just open up the NoteSwar™ web app. 

PEACE !  🎻  There is no Hindustani Music Emoji btw...