A Brief Introduction to Carnatic Music

This ancient and very advanced system of music is based on a rational division of the octave, and in this respect, Carnatic music resembles older Western music based on the natural scale. Unlike Western music in which the absolute pitch of each note is specified, the Carnatic system is based on a relative positioning of the notes, relative to a reference pitch provided by a drone instrument , a tambura, or an electronic Sruti box.

The music is based on melody. A specific set of notes in the ascending and descending scales defines a raaga and the music is set to a rhythmic pattern called taala. Indeed, the raaga system is complex in that a raaga is specified not only by a set of notes, but in addition by precise gamakaas (shifting of the frequency of those notes) and specific phraseology (chains of notes for that raaga) and emphasis of certain notes.

A typical concert piece consists of a lyric set in a specific raaga and taala, forming but a skeleton. The musicians embellish this with detailed improvisations, presented extempore depending upon their mood and that of the audience. (this explains why musicians do not use a script) Before each main piece, a portrait of the raaga is presented as an alapana. This is followed by a rendering of the lyric, interspersed generously with imaginative improvisations. Such improvisations, though used as a yardstick by which musicians are judged, however, must be made within the strict confines of the raaga and taala. Certainly, this system requires many years of practice and has to be learnt from a Guru.