Glossary · glossary · 1 min read
Komal
कोमल; lowered
Komal means “soft” and, in Indian music, refers to the lowered, or flattened, form of a note. Re, Ga, Dha and Ni have komal forms, while the natural form is called shuddha.
By SJN, Founder, BeatRootRaga · Reviewed by BRR · Last reviewed 27 Sept 2026
What does komal mean?
Komal means “soft”. In music, it marks the lowered, or flattened, form of a note. The natural form is called shuddha. These terms tell you which form of the note is being used.
Four notes have a komal form: Re, Ga, Dha and Ni. Each can be named in its lowered form, such as komal Ga, or its natural form, shuddha Ga.
On BeatRootRaga pages, komal notes are written in lowercase. For example, ga means komal Ga. When you see ga, read it as the lowered form of Ga.
This is a short definition. For the full explanation, visit BeatRootRaga’s learning page on Indian note names.
An example of komal and where to read more
In Kirwani, a raga or musical framework, Ga and Dha are komal, the lowered forms of those notes. With Sa, the home note, set to C, komal Ga is E flat and komal Dha is A flat. These notes give Kirwani its darker, minor colour.
On BeatRootRaga pages, lowercase letters mark komal notes. So when you see ga, read it as komal Ga rather than the natural form, called shuddha.
For the full explanation, follow the sargam teaching page. Sargam means singing or writing melodies with Indian note syllables.
Keep going
- Sa Re Ga Ma: sargam explained for beginners · Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni are Indian music’s seven basic notes; sargam means singing or writing melodies with these syllables. To read and sing sargam, choose your home Sa, follow the note names and octave marks, and recognise the natural, lowered and raised forms.
- Raga Kirwani (Keeravani) · Kirwani is a raga, a musical framework, using C D Eb F G Ab B when Sa, its home note, is C. Heard in concerts, light classical music and film scores, it often suggests longing; listen for Ab rising to B, then C.