Glossary · glossary · 1 min read
Shruti
श्रुति; also the singer's pitch
In Indian music theory, shruti is the smallest pitch interval, or gap between pitches, that a trained ear can tell apart. In studio and concert talk, shruti means the pitch a singer chooses for Sa, their home note.
By SJN, Founder, BeatRootRaga · Reviewed by BRR · Last reviewed 27 Sept 2026
What does shruti mean?
Shruti has two everyday meanings in Indian music. In theory, it is the smallest pitch interval, or gap between pitches, that a trained ear can tell apart.
The traditional count is twenty-two shrutis in an octave. These are finer pitch divisions than the twelve notes of a piano.
In studio and concert talk, shruti means the pitch a singer has chosen for Sa, their home note. A singer saying “my shruti is C sharp” means “my home note is C sharp.”
This is a short definition of those two uses. For the full explanation, visit the linked BeatRootRaga learning page on shruti.
An example of shruti and where to read more
Before a recording, a singer says, “My shruti is C sharp,” meaning their chosen Sa, or home note, is C sharp. The tanpura, a plucked instrument providing a drone or continuous pitch reference, is tuned to that note. Every instrument follows the singer’s shruti.
For the full explanation, follow Tuning to shruti: using a tanpura drone in a mix. The lesson covers checking the song’s lowest and highest phrases, setting the project’s pitch, and tuning the tanpura to match.
Keep going
- Tuning to shruti: using a tanpura drone in a mix · Set the project’s pitch from the singer’s shruti, their chosen Sa or home note, after checking the song’s lowest and highest phrases. Tune the tanpura, a plucked instrument providing a drone or continuous pitch reference, to that Sa and keep it beneath the voice throughout.
- 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.