The last and longest chittai swaram goes like this:
S' , , , , , N R' | S' N P G R S R G ||
P , , , , , S' N | P G R S R G P N ||
S' R . N R' N P G | P R , G P G R S |
R n , G R P G N | R G P N S' , , , ||
N P G P , R G P | N , G P N S' R' , ||
P N S' R' , G' N S' | N G' R' R' N , P N ||
G' R' , N S' R' P' G' | , R' S' N P N S' R' ||
S' , , P , , N P | G R S n S R G P ||
The third charanam is a longer than the first two and goes like this:
N P G R n G R n | p n p S n R S G ||
R P G N P S' N R' | n G' R' N R' N P G ||
P N S' R' G' G P N | S' R ' R G P N S' N |
G' R' S' N P R' S' N | P G R n S R G P ||
All chittai swaram sections are sandwiched between charanam. The video below shows how to play this chittai swaram starting from the charanam.
Note how G' is played starting from S'. Here is a tab of the full song for reference.
The charanam follows the muktayiswaram and it is repeated after every chittai swaram section. There are totally 4 chittai swaram sections in this varnam. The first two are in this post, the other two (longer ones) will follow.
The first part of the video shows how to play at 2nd speed, followed by a slowed down version that clearly shows the notes and all the gamakas. In addition, there is also a tab of the full song.
Carnatic notes:
Charanam
N , , , , , S' , | G' R' S' N P P G R ||
G , , G R S R , | R S n S R G , P ||
Chittai swarams
one
N , P , , , G , | , , R , S , n , ||
p , , R , , n , | , S , R , G , P ||
two
N, P G R S R , | G R S n p , R n ||
, G R n p n S R | , R G n S R G P ||
Note: See the section on Notations here for help understanding the carnatic swara notation
This section - muktayiswaram - does not have any lyrics. In vocal concerts the swaras are sung. Of course on an instrument it is not very different than playing a section that has lyrics.
The carnatic notation for the muktayiswaram:
G , R G R S R , | n S R G R R S n ||
R , n G R N S R | p n S R G , , P ||
G R S R , G P N | R G P n S R G P ||
p n S R , G P N | R G P N S' , , R' ||
R' S' N P , N G' R' | S' N , P N S' R' G' ||
P , N S' , R' G' R' | P N S' R' G' R' N R' ||
G' P' G' R' S' N S' R' | S' N P G R G P N ||
G' R' , S' N P R' S' | , N P G , R S R ||
Here is how it is played:
The first part of the video shows how to play at 2nd speed, followed by a slowed down version that clearly shows the notes and all the gamakas. In addition, there is also a tab of the full song.
The choice for which fingers to use is entirely up to you. I tend to use the first two fingers a lot for sliding and do not use the third finger very much.
The previous post covered the pallavi of the song. This post covers the next verse - the anupallavi. The notes of this verse are as follows
P G R S n S R , | G , R , S , n p |
n S R G , S G R | G P , N S' , , , ||
R' S' N P N S' R G' | S' R' G' P' G' R' S' N |
G' R' , S' N P P G | , R S n p N S R ||
Here is how it is played:
The music sheet with tab for this varnam is downloadable here - Jalajakshi Varnam tab
Jalajakshi varnam was composed by Manambuchavadi Venkata Subbaiyer in the ragam Hamsadhwani and set to Aaditalam. Hamsadhwani is a janyam of Kalyani (66th melakarta). The swara-sthanas of the ragam and sample phrases can be seen in a separate post.
The lyrics of the song are in Telugu, below is an anglicised version:
G , R , S , , , | n S R G R R S n |
S R S S n p N S| R p , n , S, R ||
G R S n S R p n | S R G P G N P , |
S' N S R' , S' N P | P G , R , S , R ||
See the section on notations to understand the notation above. The music sheet with tab for this varnam is downloadable here - Jalajakshi Varnam tab
As explained in the earlier post on hamsadhwani the notes R2, G3, and N3 can be played with gamakam. There are multiple ways to play these swaras. The video below shows these different ways, and is followed by a note-by-note demonstration of how to play the pallavi. The notes G3 and P can be played in an inter-linked way as shown in the very end of the video.
Varnams are played either in 2nd or 3rd speed. The video below shows the full pallavi played at 2nd speed with the metronome set to 70 b.p.m.
End note:
Songs in Carnatic have multiple sections - pallavi, anupallavi, charanam, muktayi swaram, chittai swaram etc. Usually these sections occur in the following order:
pallavi - first verse of of the song
anupallavi - second verse of the song
muktayi swaram - pre-composed swaras in the ragam
charanam - verse that repeats multiple times
chittai swaram - pre-composed swaras in the ragam
The pallavi, anupallavi, and charanam sections have lyrics (words). The other sections contain only swaras. There may be one or more chittai swaram sections. Each of these will be followed by the charanam verse. This post shows how to play the pallavi of this varnam. The next post is about the anupallavi.
Hamsadhwani (aka Hamsadhvani) is a symmetric pentatonic (audava-audava) ragam that uses the notes
Arohanam (ascent): S R2 G3 P N3 S’
Avarohanam (descent): S’ N3 P G3 R2 S
In western music the scale notes (swarasthanas) of Hamsadhwani correspond to the Major 7th pentatonic scale. It uses the intervals 1 2 3 5 7.
If G# were the root note (equivalent to Sa) the notes of this ragam are: G# A# C D# G G#’
Of course, one can play it with any other root note as long as the intervals are the same. But G# is a reasonable pitch that matches that of many singers (5.5 kattai) and practicing at this pitch will make transcribing from recordings easier. On the other hand playing at a higher pitch - the D above the G# (7th fret 3rd string) - sounds nicer because the lower three strings are not wound and so there is less finger noise when playing. However, that pitch is high (certainly for singing) and the thara sthayi will be even higher so it may not be appreciated by many.
In the Carnatic melakartha scheme Hamsadhwani is the janyam of Kalyani (66th melakartha). It is placed under Kalyani because in this ragam Ga may be played plain or with gamaka. Some others place it as a janyam of the Shankarabaranam (29th melakartha) - though Ga in Shankarabharanam is played plain. The discovery of this ragam is attributed to Ramaswamy Deekshitar, the father of Muthuswamy Deekshitar.
The plain notes (swara sthana) on the guitar for the ascent (arohanam) and descent(avarohanam) for three octaves (sthayi) - middle (madhya), low (mandara), and high (thara) - are shown below (Sa = G#)
The last three bars (above) shows how the arohanam and avarohanam of this ragam as played with gamakam. The gamakas for Ri and Ni are played as slides and slightly different in ascent and descent. Ri is played as Sa-Ga-Ri and Ni as Pa-Sa-Ni in the arohanam. During the descent Ni is played as Sa-Ni (sometimes Sa-Ni-Sa-Ni) and Ri as Ga-Ri-Ga-Ri. Also Ga is played as a slide or a double slide Pa-Ga or Pa-Ga-Pa-Ga.
Here is how the arohanam and avarohanam are played:
Here are some Hamsadhwani phrases transcribed from vocal records.
The notation does not capture the timing of the slides accurately, here is what it should sound like. First the simple notes, then with gamakam, followed by phrases:
Mohanam is a symmetric audava-audava ragam and has the same scale notes as the major pentatonic scale.
Arohanam: S R2 G3 P D2 S' Avarohanam: S' D2 P G3 R2 S
Scale intervals: 1 2 3 5 6 8
In the melakartha method of classification it is a janyam of Kalyani (66th melakartha). In this ragam the notes R2, G3, and D2 can be played with gamakam. However, for G3 the oscillation is very slight. On guitar this is accomplished with slight vibrato - around the 3rd interval (G3) but not enough to reach the 4th interval. The note R2 can be played as a slide S - G3 - R but usually during ascent. During descent R2 is played as a single or double slide from G3 (G3-R2 or G3-R3-G3-R3).
The note D2 is the 6th interval and its gamakam can be played either as a vibrato ranging from 6th to 7th interval or as quick double slides from 6 to 7b (6-7b-6-7b-6).
Some interesting phrases in Mohanam:
G R G - G P G R S - S d p - p d d S - d S R - S R G - G R G P - G P D S - P D S - D S' R' G' - G' R' , G' R' S' - R' S' D ; - S' D P , - D P G , - P G R , - R D , S
Note: Capital letters represent middle octave (madhya sthyai). Small case letters represent lower octave (mandara sthyai) and notes with ' next to them are higher octave.
The audio below contains the arohanam, avarohanam and some phrases
Continuing from the previous post on alankarams, here are three more exercises - the last set.
Exercise 6: Misra Jathi Jhumpa Thalam
Dhruva Talam = L A D
Misra Jathi = laghu is 7 beats
Dhrutam is 2 beats Anudhrutam is 1 beat
Total number of beats in a cycle = 7 + 1 + 2 = 10
S R GS RS R | G | M , ||
R G MR GR G | M | P , ||
G M PG MG M | P | D , ||
M P DM PM P | D | N , ||
P D NP DP D | N | S' , ||
S' N DS' NS' N | D | P , ||
N D PN DN D | P | M , ||
D P MD PD P | M | G , ||
P M GP MP M | G | R , ||
M G RM GM G | R | S , ||
Exercise 7: Thisra Jathi Triputa Thalam
Triputa Talam = L D D
Thisra Jathi = laghu is 3 beats
Dhrutam is 2 beats
Total number of beats in a cycle = 3 + 2 + 2 = 7
S R G | S R | G M ||
R G M | R G | M P ||
G M P | G M | P D ||
M P D | M P | D N ||
P D N | P D | N S' ||
S' N D | S' N | D P ||
N D P | N D | P M ||
D P M | D P | M G ||
P M G | P M | G R ||
M G R | M G | R S ||
Exercise 8: Khanda Jathi Ata Thalam
Ata Talam = L L D D
Khanda Jathi = laghu is 5 beats
Dhrutam is 2 beats
Total number of beats in a cycle = 5 + 5 + 2 + 2 = 14
S R , G , | S , R G , | M , | M , || R G , M , | R , G M , | P , | P , || G M , P , | G , M P , | D , | D , || M P , D , | M , P D , | N , | N , || P D , N , | P , D N , | S' , | S' , || S' N , D , | S' , N D , | P , | P , || N D , P , | N , D P , | M , | M , || D P , M , | D , P M , | G , | G , || P M , G , | P , M G , | R , | R , || M G , R , | M , G R , | S , | S , ||
Remember the symbol "," means the previous note it held for 1 more beat.
Continuation of Alankarams from the previous post. These three are in Chaturasra Jathi. See post on talams for a more detailed explanation on how to find the number of beats per cycle.
Guidelines:
For now, practice these exercises in Mayamalavagowla
Practice with slides and plain picking
Always practice with a metronome
All exercises should be first practised at 1st speed (tempo 60-70 bpm), followed by 2nd speed and 3rd speed. Third speed is hard, skip it for now and come back later if you cannot play at that speed cleanly.
Practice the exercises in all three octaves
Exercise 3: Chaturasra Jathi Dhruva Thalam
Dhruva Talam = L D L L
Chaturasra Jathi = laghu is 4 beats
Dhrutam is 2 beats
Total number of beats in a cycle = 4 + 2 + 4 + 4 = 14
Alankarams are exercises that illustrate the different talams. The previous post on talam explained the patterns and how they are named. This post, lists the first set of alankarams starting from what I think is the the simplest/easiest to the hardest. The order may be different from beginner books
Guidelines:
For now, practice these exercises in Mayamalavagowlai
Practice the exercises with slides and by just plain picking
Ideally all exercises should be first practiced at 1st speed (tempo 60-70 BPM) - meaning one note per beat. Followed by 2nd speed (2 notes per beat) and 3rd speed (4 notes per beat this will be hard).
Practice the exercises in all three octaves
Third speed is hard to sing or play on an instrument. So it would be ok to skip that initially and get back to it later, after you have more experience (of course purists will disagree).
Exercise 1: Chathurasra Jathi Eka Thalam
Eka Talam = L
Chaturasra = laghu is 4 beats
Total number of beats in a cycle = 4
S R G M || R G M P || G M P D || M P D N || P D N S' || S' N D P || N D P M || D P M G || P M G R || M G R S ||
Remember the notes that are underlined have to be played with continuous slides. So for S R G M pick S and slide to R G M and P
Exercise 2: Sankeerna Jathi Eka Thalam
Eka talam = L
Sankeerna = laghu is 9 beats
Total number of beats in cycle = 9
S , R , G , M P D || R , G , M , P D N || G , M , P , D N S' ||
S' , N , D , P M G || N , D , P , M G R || D , P , M , G R S ||
Remember the symbol "," means the previous note it held for 1 more beat. So the notation S , is to pick S on a beat and hold note for one more beat.
This alankaram is difficult to play at 2nd and 3rd speed because the cycle is an odd number (9) and in alternate cycles the notes will fall off beat.
Almost all music is played to some form of repetitive rhythmic beat. In western music there are different ways to describe these patterns (time signatures - 4/4, 3/4 etc). In carnatic, a rhythmic pattern is called thalam (aka tala).
The fundamental unit of time is called akshara kala (aka aksharam). All forms of tala are some fixed number of aksharas. There are 6 distinct groups (talaanga) of aksharas and these groups are combined to form talas. There are 7 talas and each is described as a combination of tala angas.
Tala Angas
There are 6 angas and for the first three, there is a prescribed way for vocalists to keep track of the beats using the palm and fingers of the right hand. The names of the angas and the way to track them is as described below.
Their names are:
anudhrutham - one beat with a duration of one aksharam. Action: Down beat of the hand, palm facing down dhrutham - two aksharas. Action: Two down beats of the hand. First palm down, then palm facing up.
laghu - This is an interesting anga that has variable number of beats. For now it is 4 aksharas. Action: First beat with hand (palm down), followed by three finger counts (little, ring, and middle - in that order)
guru - eight aksharas
plutham - 12 aksharas
kakapadham - 16 aksharas
Jathi
The laghu alone has variable number of aksharas. These variants are called jathi and there are 5 of them.
thisra jathi laghu - three aksharas
chathurasrajathi laghu - four aksharas
khanda jathi laghu - five aksharas
misrajathi laghu - seven aksharas
sankeernajathi laghu - nine aksharas
Usually just plain laghu with no qualifiers refers to chathurasrajathi laugh.
Tala
There are 7 talas in carnatic music and each of them is a combination of a few angas. To describe them concisely I have used the following abbreviations
A = anudhrutham, D = dhrutam, L = laghu
dhruvatalam - Consists of the following four angas : L D L L
matyatalam - L D L
rupakatalam - D L
jhampatalam - L A D
thriputatalam - L D D
atatalam - L L D D
ekatalam - L
In any composition the talam will be stated as something like "chathurasra jathi rupaka talam". So how many aksharas in that cycle?
The basic talam is rupaka which has one dhrutham (D) and one laghu (L). The laghu variant is chathurasra jathi which means it has four aksharas. So this talam (D L) has 2 + 4 = 6 aksharas.
Though multiple combinations of jathi and talam are possible not all are widely used. Some common talams are
Geethams are simple songs that are usually taught after students have gone through the basic exercises and have reasonable voice control. They are not intended as performing pieces but as additional training to understand/appreciate the respective ragam.
The first geetham that is usually taught is Sree gana natha in ragam Malahari. It is an asymmetric scale and a janya of Mayamalavagowlai (15th melakarta). The notes of the ragam are
Arohanam: S R1 M1 P D1 S'
Avarohanam: S' D1 P M1 G3 R1 S
So it uses all the notes in Mayamalavagowlai other than N3 but the arohanam has 5 notes (skips G3) and avarohanam has 6 notes.
Its a pretty simple song with the same combination of notes repeating frequently - learning the notes of first three lines is sufficient to play the entire song.
Sree gana natha
composer: Purandaradasa
M P | D S' S' R' || R' S' | D P M P ||
Sree - Ga na na tha || sin dhu - ra var na ||
R M | P D M P || D P | M G R S ||
ka ru na sa ga ra || ka ri va dha - na
S R | M , G R || S R | G R S , ||
lam bo - dha ra || la ku mi ka ra - ||
R M | P D M P || D P | M G R S ||
am - | ba - su tha || a ma ra vi nu tha ||
S R | M , G R || S R | G R S , ||
lam - bo - dha ra || la ku mi ka ra - ||
M P | D S' S' R' || R' S' | D P M P ||
Sid dha cha - ra na || ga na se - vi tha ||
R M | P D M P || D P | M G R S ||
Sid dhi | vi na ya ka || the - | na mo na mo ||
(repeat lines in blue)
M P | D S' S' R' || R' S' | D P M P ||
Sa ka la vi dya - || - dhi pu - ji tha ||
R M | P D M P || D P | M G R S ||
Sa - rvo - ttha ma || the - | na mo na mo ||
(repeat lines in blue)
----
The tab and notation for the song is below. Here Sa = D. The notation below shows the simple way to play the song by just picking notes.
Here is what it sounds like:
Usually geethams are taught to be sung/played plain - without gamakam. However, they can be used as a method to learn gamakas. The audio clip below demonstrates how to play this song with gamakam and slides. I have played each line or the song in two octaves just as a variation.
In this ragam the notes R1 G3 D1 can be played with gamakam. But those notes can be played plain as well. the tab below shows one way to play this song.
This video demonstrates how to play gamakas for the notes R1, G3 and D1. In the tab, none of the R1s in the song are played with gamakam. This is merely because it is difficult to do so with S as the open string and R as first fret.
The second set of exercises are jantai varisai. For me, these exercises were the hardest of the lot - certainly more difficult to play on the guitar than either swaravali or dhattu varisai. Start by trying to play it on 1st speed and move to 2nd only after practicing at 1st speed for a few months.
All jantai exercises have to played with two notes per beat - this is the first speed. Second speed is at 4 notes per beat and so on. In this exercise, whenever a note repeats like S S or R R the second note has to be played in a special way - and on guitar I feel there are three such special ways.
First method: One pick only
Play the first note of the pair plain (pick)
For the second note quickly slide your finger to the previous note of the ragam and back to the first note.
For example, playing S S would involve picking the S then sliding to N and back to S
Second Method: Two picks
Play the first note of the pair plain (pick)
For the second note quickly move (not slide) your finger to the previous note of the ragam,(second)pick and slide back to the first note.
Methods 1-2 are hard to play at higher speeds. So at 2nd or third speed reaching for the previous note in the ragam may not be feasible. So play from the previous semi-tone instead.
Third method: This method also uses two picks and leans on notes outside of the ragam. But its really passing through them and they are hardly heard. This is how jantai is played n the veena.
Play the first note of the pair plain (pick)
For the second note pick the previous semi-tone (may not be a note in the raga, but that is ok) and quickly hammer on to the first note.
Why three methods ? To my ears the second method sounds more like voice when singing Jantai varisai. But the first method is smoother and is like what voice sounds when singing a song. The third is how jantai is played on veena. I like the first two better but all three sound authentic and choosing one (or mixing it up) is really upto individual taste.
The jantai sound is a type of gamaka called spuritham and I believe it is unique to Carnatic and not heard in other genres. When practicing these exercises it is easy to overdo practice and strain your shoulder muscles. The slide (second note) for jantai come from the shoulder. So take frequent breaks and do not play at higher speeds till you are able to play at 60 or 70 bpm (of course always practice with a metronome).
Exercise 1:
S S R R G G M M | P P D D | N N S' S' ||
S' S' N N D D P P | M M G G | R R S S ||
The third in the series of exercises is the Dhattu Varisai. There are just two exercises and the notation below shows how to play them with slides. Practice them plain as well. Like the first two exercises, these have to be practised in all three octaves.
Exercise 1:
S RS G | R G | R M || S M G R | S R | G M || R GR M | G M | G P || R P M G | R G | M P || G MG P | M P | M D || G D P M | G M | P D || M PM D | P D | P N || M N D P | M P | D N || P DP N | D N | D S' || P S' N D | P D | N S' || S' NS D | N D | N P || S ' P D N | S N | D P || N DN P | D P | D M || N M P D | N D | P M || D P D M | P M | P G || D G M P | D P | M G || P MP G | M G | M R || P R G M | P M | G R || M GM R | G R | G S || M S R G | M G | R S ||
Exercise 2: S M G M | R G | S R || S G R G | S R | G M || R P M P | G M | R G || R M G M | R G | M P || G D P D | M P | G M || G P M P | G M | P D || M N D N | P D | M P || M D P D | M P | D N || P S' N S' | D N | P D || P N D N | P D | N S' || S' P D P | N D | S' N || S' D N D | S' N | D P || N M P M | D P | N D || N P D P | N D | P M || D G M G | P M | D P || D M P M | D P | M G || P R G R | M G | P M || P G M G | P M | G R || M S R S | G R | M G || M R G R | M G | R S ||
Though they seem tedious, these exercises are very important. Practicing regularly will help you find and play notes in the ragam easily. All three exercises are not restricted to Mayamalavagowla and can be practiced on other ragams. When learning new ragams I highly recommend practicing at least the Swaravali and Dhattuvarisaigal.
The last post covered the first exercise of playing the arohanam and avarohanam of Mayamalavagowla. This post goes over the remaining swaravali varisaigal.
For these exercises play every notes for the duration of 1 beat unless specified otherwise.
Some exercises require sliding across multiple notes (even the full scale). The sound of the note will start to die out when sliding multiple notes at slow speeds. But with practice the sustain will improve. The focus of these exercises is two fold - to be able to play patterns and to familiarise your fingers with the raga scale.
Exercise 2:
Play the following notes by picking each note. Use D as the note for Sa.
S R S R | S R | G M ||
S R G M | P D | N S' ||
S' N S' N | S' N | D P ||
S' N D P | M G | R S ||
This exercise should be done over all of the positions from the previous post.
Carnatic music pedagogy formulated by Purandara Dasa (1484-1564) is still in use more or less unchanged. Almost all teachers will start off new students with a standard set of exercises and there are several books available on the subject. Much of the information in these "basics" posts are covered in such books. For these exercises I used an old book titled "Ganamrutha Bodhini" by Shri A. S. Panchapakesa Iyer and only made small modifications that I felt would suit playing on guitar.
The first set of basic exercises are called swaravali varisaigal and are usually taught in ragam Mayamalavagowla - the 15th melakartha ragam.
Arohanam : S R1 G3 M1 P D1 N1 S'
Avarohanam : S' N1 D1 P M1 G3 R1 S
The intervals of notes in this ragam are:
S
R1
G3
M1
P
D1
N3
S'
1
2b
3
4
5
6b
7
8
The first swaravali varisai exercise is to just play the plain notes of the ragam in all three sthyai. On guitar the same note can be played in multiple places on the neck and it would be useful to know how to play the ragam across the neck as well. The exercises in this post show how to play the notes of Mayamalavagowla in different octaves and different positions. The suggested strategy is to start with a metronome at 60 b.p.m. for each exercise and increase tempo gradually.
Examples in these posts will use either D or G# as the root note (adhara shadja). This post uses Sa = D (kattai 2) which is ok for an instrument but vocalists will learn at a higher pitch.
Tuning: For these exercises detune the 6th string of the guitar from E to D (i.e. dropped D tuning). This is done to get Sa at the low octave.
