Ragas

• reference · 6 min

  Raga Yaman (Kalyani)

  Yaman is a seven-note Hindustani raga, a melodic framework, with a raised fourth; Kalyani shares its scale but uses different phrasing and ornaments. Traditionally associated with evening, Yaman can sound serene or devotional; hear its character through Ni Re Ga, starting below Sa, the home note.

• explainer · 7 min

  What is a raga? A plain-language guide for listeners

  A raga is a melodic framework in Indian classical music for creating pieces and inventing melody during performance. Listen for four things: which notes appear, how the melody moves, where the musician lingers, and which short phrases return.

• reference · 5 min

  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.

• reference · 5 min

  Raga Charukeshi (Charukesi)

  Charukeshi comes from Carnatic music and uses Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, lowered Dha and lowered Ni. Heard in concerts, light music and film scores, its bittersweet character is clearest in the descent from lowered Ni through lowered Dha to Pa.

• reference · 5 min

  Raga Bhoop (Mohanam)

  Bhoop, or Bhoopali, is a raga (melodic framework) using Sa, Re, Ga, Pa and Dha; Mohanam shares its notes, but uses Carnatic phrasing and ornaments. An evening raga with a calm, devotional mood, Bhoop is often taught early; hear its character through Ga Re Sa and Dha Pa Ga.

• explainer · 8 min

  Thaat and melakarta explained

  A thaat in Hindustani music and a melakarta in Carnatic music are seven-note parent scales used to organise ragas, the melodic frameworks musicians perform. Hindustani music uses 10 practical categories, while Carnatic music uses 72 allowed scale combinations; these help identify note relationships, not a raga’s phrases or character.

• comparison · 7 min

  Raga vs scale: what Western musicians get wrong

  A raga adds rules for movement, emphasis, identifying phrases and ornamentation to a scale or mode, a scale with a home note. Producers lose its identity when they treat it as a note list, ignore its tuning and phrasing, or let changing chords reshape the melody’s meaning.

• reference · 5 min

  Raga Hamsadhwani

  Hamsadhwani is a five-note raga from the Carnatic tradition, using Sa, Re, Ga, Pa and Ni, or C D E G B with Sa as C. It often opens Carnatic concerts; hear its bright, devotional character by playing the notes over C and G, noticing B resolving to C.