Have some doubt on Indian Ragas and Western scales.

[vahsu]

HI,

I have a doubt. If a song is composed in an Indian Raga (say Hindustani), how do they match the correseponding western scale.....I have limited knowldge in both so corect me if am wrong....In wsetern scales Note,Note,Semi Note,Note,Note,Note,Semi note forms an Octave....ler us say some Raga has Sa,Komal re etc......It cannot match with any of the scales rght...because in western music diff between C and D will be a comple note....C,C# cannot be together in a single scale.... then is t that....if a song is composed ina raga...the keys or ne western instruments played along will not be in same scale?....as I said b4 I have limited knowledge in both...correct me if my understanding itself is wrong

 

[ShredCow]

Go pick up some Guitar Techniques magazines if you can, or order the previous issues. They have been talking about Ragas a lot, A LOT. Very interesting read.

Anyway, I don't quite get you. Why can't C and C# be together in a Western scale? And by western, you mean, major scales (since you described it) only?

 

[Creeping_Deth]

That is the C Major scale you're probably talking about. Im sure from the major scales D to B there will be a scale with both C and C#. Not all scales start with C, but their intervals are the same, just begin on that note and count up.

Also, any combination of the 12 notes can form a scale. It may correspond to the relavent major scale or its modes, but its still a scale, classed under one of the exotic scales, and may be a derivative of the scale or one of its modes.

 

[vahsu]

HI Yaa..but in ragas....not necessary that throught the song same set of notes are used...ie in few ragas..in ascent (AROH) ceratin set of notes is used and in descent (AVAROH) a diff can be used...when a tune goes up it may have C and while coming down only C# must be used.....and also (i) Indian notes are not equally dostant as in western music (ii) In south indian music there are 23 notes in an octave...(3 Ds,3 A's etc...which are less than a semi note apart).....But in many indian film songs i hear both classical instruments and western instruments like keyboards...i wonder how do they do...

 

[ShredCow]

the "Western" melodic minor scale is one scale that goes up 1 way, comes down with different notes.

The keyboards in indian films, they don't do any/much lead right? Usually as a backing/accompaniment kind of arrangement, from what I've heard... in indian films.

 

[vahsu]

No Not all songs use KBs just for backing....many times they use it as lead but ofcrs as BGM...following song is a typical usage.....but not sure if the song is based on Indian ragas or western scales...Notice the usage of Keyboard (or some synthesizer) in the begining and in the secon half of the song...also some strings are used...

http://www.raaga.com/channels/telugu/movie/A0000311.html

3rd song ...with title vennelave vennalave

yaa may be if they compose by Ragas,,,,they limit usage of western instruments....

 

[platypus]

(ii) In south indian music there are 23 notes in an octave...(3 Ds,3 A's etc...which are less than a semi note apart).....

 

[vahsu]

Yes pls read this.....

http://www.musicalnirvana.com/introduction/shruthi.html

There is also a table of western notes and carnatic notes....

 

[platypus]

oh ok... haha meant that o rly thing as a joke. nvm. haha.


















but holy shit... now that i see the table in your link....