Svara

Swara (Sanskrit: स्वर) or svara[1] is an Indian classical music term that connotes simultaneously a breath,
a vowel, a note, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the
octave, or saptanka. More comprehensively, it is the ancient Indian concept of the complete dimension of
musical pitch.[2][3] At its most basic comparison to western music, a swara is, essentially, a "note" of a
given scale. However, that is but a loose interpretation of the word, as a swara is identified as both a
musical note and tone; a "tone" is a precise substitute for sur, relating to "tunefulness". Traditionally,
Indian musicians have just seven swaras/notes with short names: sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, which they
collectively refer to as saptank or saptaka. This is one of the reasons why swara is considered a symbolic
expression for the number seven. In another loose comparison to western music, saptak (as an octave or
scale) may be interpreted as solfège, e.g. the notes of a scale as Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti (and
Do).Saptak can named as heptave because it contains seven notes.

Origins and history

Etymology
The word svara (Sanskrit: स्वर) is derived from the root svr which means "to sound".[4] To be precise, the
svara is defined in the Sanskrit nirukta system as:

svaryate iti svaraḥ (स्वर्यते इति स्वरः, does breathing, shines, makes sound),
svayam rājate iti svaraḥ (स्वयं राजते इति स्वरः, appears on its own) and
sva rañjayati iti svaraḥ (स्व रञ्जयति इति स्वरः, that which colours itself in terms of appealing
sound).
The Kannada word svara and Tamil alphabet or letter suram do not represent a sound, but rather more
generally the place of articulation (PoA) (பிறப்பிடம்), where one generates a sound, and the sounds made
there can vary in pitch.

In the Vedas
The word is found in the Vedic literature, particularly the Samaveda, where it means accent and tone, or a
musical note, depending on the context. The discussion there focusses on three accent pitch or levels:
svarita (sounded, circumflex normal), udatta (high, raised) and anudatta (low, not raised). However,
scholars question whether the singing of hymns and chants were always limited to three tones during the
Vedic era.[4][5]

In the general sense svara means tone, and applies to chanting and singing. The basic svaras of Vedic
chanting are udatta, anudatta and svarita. Vedic music has madhyama or ma as principal note so that
tonal movement is possible towards lower and higher pitches, thus ma is taken for granted as fixed in any
tonal music (madhyama avilopi, मध्यम अविलोपी).

One-svara Vedic singing is called ārcika chanting, e.g. in chanting the following texts on one note:

aum aum aum / om om om

hari om tatsat
shivoham shivoham
raam raam raam raam
raadhe raadhe
siyaa-raam siyaa-raam
or the like. Two-svara Vedic singing is called gāthika chanting, e.g. in chanting the following text on two
notes:

om shaan- tih, om shaan- tih, om shaan- tih, ...

M M---- P-M, M M---- P-M, M M---- P-M, ... or
P P---- D-P, P P---- D-P, P P---- D-P, ... or
S S---- R-S, S S---- R-S, S S---- R-S, ...
The musical octave is said to have evolved from the elaborate and elongated chants of the Samaveda,
based on these basic svaras.[6] Siksha is the subject that deals with phonetics and pronunciation. Naradiya
Siksha elaborates the nature of svaras, both Vedic chants and the octave.

In the Upaniṣads
The word also appears in the Upanishads. For example, it appears in Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana
section 111.33, where the cyclic rise and setting of sun and world, is referred to as "the music of spheres",
and the sun is stated to be "humming the wheel of the world".[7] According to Ananda Coomaraswamy,
the roots "svar", meaning "to shine" (whence "surya" or sun), and "svr", meaning "to sound or resound"
(whence "svara", “musical note”) and also in some contexts "to shine", are all related in the ancient
Indian imagination.[7][8]

In Śāstra literature
The concept of a svara is found in Chapter 28 of the text Nāṭya Śāstra, estimated to have been completed
between 200 BCE to 200 CE.[9] It names the unit of tonal measurement or audible unit the śruti,[10] with
verse 28.21 introducing the musical scale as follows:[11][12]

तत्र स्वराः –
षड्‍जश्‍च ऋषभश्‍चैव गान्धारो मध्यमस्तथा ।
पञ्‍चमो धैवतश्‍चैव सप्तमोऽथ निषादवान् ॥२१॥
| नत्य शास्त्र | २८.२१ |

tatra svarāḥ –
ṣaḍ‍jaś‍ca ṛṣabhaś‍caiva gāndhāro madhyamastathā ।
pañ‍camo dhaivataś‍caiva saptamo'tha niṣādavān ॥21॥

Natya Shastra – 28.21[13][9]

This text contains the modern names:

[Here are the] swaras -

Shadaj, Rishabha, Gandhara, Madhyama,
Panchama, Dhaivata, [and seventh] Nishada.

These seven svaras are shared by both major raga systems of Indian classical music, that is the North
Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic).[14]

Seven svaras and solfège (sargam)

Sapta svara, also called sapta swara or sapta sur, refers to the seven distinct notes of the octave or the
seven successive svaras of a saptak. The sapta svara can be collectively referred to as the sargam (which
is an acronym of the consonants of the first four svaras). Sargam is the Indian equivalent to solfège, a
technique for the teaching of sight-singing. As in Western moveable-Do solfège, the svara Sa is the tonic
of a piece or scale.[14] The seven svaras of the saptak are the fundamentals of heptatonic scales or
melakarta ragas and thaats in Carnatic and Hindustani classical music.

The seven svaras are śaḍja (षड्ज), r̥ ṣabha (ऋषभ), gāndhāra (गान्धार), madhyama (मध्यम), pañcama
(पञ्चम), dhaivata (धैवत) and niṣāda (निषाद).[15] The svaras of the sargam are often learnt in abbreviated
form: sā, ri (Carnatic) or re (Hindustani), ga, ma, pa, dha, ni.[14] Of these, the first svara that is "sa", and
the fifth svara that is "pa", are considered anchors (achal svaras) that are unalterable, while the remaining
have flavours (komal and tivra svaras) that differs between the two major systems. [14]

Svara in North Indian system of raga ( ) [16][17][18]

Svara Shadja Rishabh Gandhar Madhyam Pancham Dhaivat Nishad

(Long) (षड्ज) (ऋषभ) (गान्धार) (मध्यम) (पंचम) (धैवत) (निषाद)

Svara Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni
(Short) (सा) (रे) (गा) (म) (प) (ध) (नि)

A♭ (komal
12 D♭ (komal re) E♭ (komal gā) F (shuddha B♭ (komal ni)
dha)
Varieties C (Shadja) D (shuddha E (shuddha ma) G (pancham) B (shuddha
A (shuddha
(names) re) gā) F♯ (teevra ma) ni)
dha)
 Svara in South Indian system of raga ( )[17]

Svara
Shadjam Rishabham Gandharam Madhyamam Panchamam Dhaivatam Nishadam
(Long)

Svara
Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni
(Short)

A♭ (shuddha
D♭ (shuddha
dha)
ri) E (shuddha B
A♮
16 D♮ gā) F♮ (shuddha (shuddha ni)
C G (chatushruti
Varieties (chatushruti E♭ (sadharana ma) B♭ (kaishiki
(Shadjam) (panchamam) dha)
(names) ri) gā) F♯ (prati ma) ni)
A♯
D♯ (shatshruti E♮ (antara gā) B♮ (kakali ni)
(shatshruti
ri)
dha)

Interpretation
North Indian Hindustani music has fixed names of a relative pitches, but South Indian Carnatic music
keeps on making interchanges of the names of pitches in case of ri-ga and dha-ni whenever required.
Swaras appear in successive steps in an octave. More comprehensively, svara-graam (scale) is the
practical concept of Indian music comprising seven + five= twelve most useful musical pitches.[2][3] Sage
Matanga made a very important statement in his Brihaddeshi some 1500 years ago that:

षड्जादयः स्वराः न भवन्ति

आकारादयः एव स्वराः
Shadaj aadayah svaraah na bhavanti
aakar aadayah eva svaraah

i.e. Shadaj, Rishabh, Gandhar, ... (and their utterance) are not the real svaras but their pronunciation in the
form of aa-kar, i-kaar, u-kaar ... are the real form of the svaras.

It is said that Shadaj is the basic svara from which all the other 6 svaras are produced. When we break
the word Shadaj then we get, Shad- And -Ja. Shad is 6 and ja is 'giving birth' in Indian languages. So
basically the translation is :

षड् - 6, ज -जन्म . Therefore, it collectively means giving birth to the other 6 notes of the music.

The absolute frequencies for all svaras are variable, and are determined relative to the saptak or octave.
E.g. given Sa 240 Hz, Re 270 Hz, Ga 288 Hz, Ma 320 Hz, Pa 360 Hz, Dha 405 Hz, and Ni 432 Hz, then
the Sa after the Ni of 432 Hz has a frequency of 480 Hz i.e. double that of the lower octave Sa, and
similarly all the other 6 svaras. Considering the Sa of the Madhya Saptak then frequencies of the other
svaras will be,

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni
Mandra Saptak: 120 Hz, 135 Hz, 144 Hz, 160 Hz, 180 Hz, 202.5 Hz, 216 Hz.}
Madhya Saptak: 240 Hz, 270 Hz, 288 Hz, 320 Hz, 360 Hz, 405 Hz, 432 Hz.}
Taara Saptak: 480 Hz, 540 Hz, 576 Hz, 640 Hz, 720 Hz, 810 Hz, 864 Hz.}
All the other svaras except Shadaj (Sa) and Pancham (Pa) can be komal or tivra svaras but Sa and Pa are
always shuddha svaras. And hence svaras Sa and Pa are called achal svaras, since these svaras don't
move from their original position. Svaras Ra, Ga, Ma, Dha, Ni are called chal svaras, since these svaras
move from their original position.

Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni - Shuddha Svaras

Re, Ga, Dha, Ni - Komal Svaras
Ma - Tivra Svaras

Talking about Shrutis of these Sapta Svaras,

Sa, Ma and Pa have four Shrutis, respectively

Re and Dha have three Shrutis, respectively
Ga and Ni have two Shrutis, respectively

And these all Shrutis add up to 22 Shrutis in total.

Relationship to śruti
The svara differs slightly from the śruti concept in Indian music. Both the svara and the śruti are but the
sounds of music. According to the music scholars of the distant past, the śruti is generally understood as a
microtone besides veda and an ear. In the context of advanced music, a śruti is the smallest gradation of
pitch that a human ear can detect and a singer or instrument can produce.[19] There are 22 śruti or
microtones in a saptaka of Hindustani music but Carnatic music assumes 24 śruti. A svara is a selected
pitch from 22 śrutis, using several of such svaras a musician constructs scales, melodies and ragas. In the
presence of a drone-sound of perfectly tuned Tanpuras, an ideal svara sounds sweet and appealing to
human ear but particularly some 10 śrutis of the saptaka sound out of pitch (besuraa) when compared to
the very drone. A tuneful and pleasing tone of the svara is located at a fixed interval but there is no fixed
interval defined for two consecutive śrutis anywhere that can safely and scientifically be used throughout
with respect to a perfect drone sound.

The ancient Sanskrit text Natya Shastra by Bharata identifies and discusses twenty two shruti and seven
shuddha and two vikrita svara.[19] The Natya Shastra mentions that in Shadaj graama, the svara pairs saa-
ma and saa-pa are samvaadi svaras (consonant pair) and are located at the interval of 9 and 13 shruti
respectively. Similarly, svara pairs re-dha and ga-ni are samvaadi svara too. Without giving any example
of 'a standard measure' or 'equal interval' between two successive shrutis, Bharata declared that saa, ma or
pa shall have an interval of 4 shrutis measured from the pitch of the preceding svara, re or dha shall have
an interval of 3 shrutis measured from the pitch of the preceding svara and ga or ni shall have an interval
of 2 shrutis measured from the pitch of the preceding svara respectively. The following quote explains it
all:

चतुश्चतुश्चतुश्चैव षड्जमध्यमपञ्चमाः
द्वे द्वे निषादगान्धारौ त्रिस्त्री ऋषभधैवतौ
Chatush chatush chatush chaiva Shadaj madhyama panchamaah.
Dve dve nishaada gaandhaarau tristrii rishabha dhaivatau.
Bharata also makes some unscientific and unacceptable observations ignoring practically proven truths
like samvaad (samvaada/ संवाद) or consonance of ma-ni, re-dha, re-pa and ga-ni as each of these svara
pairs do not have equal number of shrutis to establish samvaad. In reality, the above-mentioned pairs DO
create samvaad or consonances which Bharata did not recognize for unknown reasons. None of the
musicologists give in writing the 'practical basis' or technique of ascertaining the ideal tonal gap between
the note pairs like saa-re, re-ga, ga-ma, ma-pa, pa-dha, dha-ni, ni-saa* (taar saa) until Sangeet Paarijat of
Ahobal (c. 1650). The svara studies in ancient Sanskrit texts include the musical gamut and its tuning,
categories of melodic models and the raga compositions.[20]

Perhaps the greats like Bharata, Sage Matanga and Shaarnga-deva did not know the secret of tuneful
tones (up to acceptable level of normal human ear, on the basis of taanpuraa drone) for they do not
mention use of drone sound for any of the musical purposes. Most of the practicing musicians knew very
well that all the tuneful tones of seven notes could be discovered with the help of the theory of samvaad,
in which saa-saa* (*means upper octave), saa-ma and saa-pa play the most crucial role.

Notation and practice

As per the widely used Bhatkhande Svara Lipi (Bhakthande's Swar Notation script), a dot above a letter
(svara symbol) indicates that the note is sung one saptak (octave) higher, and a dot below indicates one
saptak lower. Komal notes are indicated by an underscore, and the tívra Ma has a line on top which can
be vertical or horizontal. (Or, if a note with the same name - Sa, for example - is an octave higher than the
note represented by S, an apostrophe is placed to the right: S'. If it is an octave lower, the apostrophe is
placed to the left: 'S. Apostrophes can be added as necessary to indicate the octave: for example, ``g
would be the note komal Ga in the octave two octaves below that which begins on the note S (that is, two
octaves below g).) In other words, the basic rule is that the number of dots or apostrophes above or below
the svara symbol means the number of times dots or apostrophes, respectively, above or below the
corresponding svara in madhya saptak (middle octave).

The basic mode of reference in the Hindustani system is that which is equivalent to the Western Ionian
mode or major scale (called Bilaval thaat in Hindustani music, Sankarabharanam in Carnatic). In the
Carnatic system however, the beginner exercises are sung in the raga Mayamalavagowla, which
corresponds to the Western Double harmonic scale. The reason for this being the symmetry of the scale,
with the first half mirroring the second half, and the existence of all the important inrervals (half, whole
and double note). This is something that is absent in the major scale, which only consists of half and
whole notes. In any seven-tone mode (starting with S), R, G, D, and N can be natural (shuddha, lit. 'pure')
or flat (komal, 'soft') but never sharp, and the M can be natural or sharp (teevra) but never flat, making
twelve notes as in the Western chromatic scale. If a svara is not natural (shuddha), a line below a letter
indicates that it is flat (komal) and an acute accent above indicates that it is sharp (tīvra, 'intense'). Sa and
Pa are immovable (once Sa is selected), forming a just perfect fifth.

In some notation systems, the distinction is made with capital and lowercase letters. When abbreviating
these tones, the form of the note which is relatively lower in pitch always uses a lowercase letter, while
the form which is higher in pitch uses an uppercase letter. So komal Re/Ri uses the letter r and shuddha
Re/Ri, the letter R, but shuddha Ma uses m because it has a raised form - teevra Ma - which uses the
letter M. Sa and Pa are always abbreviated as S and P, respectively, since they cannot be altered.
 Comparison between Carnatic, Hindustani, and Western Notations
Semitones from Western note
Carnatic name Hindustani name
Tonic (when the tonic,
Sa, is C)
Full form Abbreviation Full form Abbreviation

0 Ṣaḍjam Sa Ṣaḍj Sa C

1 Śuddha R̥ ṣabham Ri₁ Kōmal R̥ ṣabh Re D♭

Catuśruti R̥ ṣabham Ri₂ D

2 Śuddh R̥ ṣabh Re
Śuddha
Ga₁ E𝄫
Gāndhāram

Ṣaṭśruti R̥ ṣabham Ri₃ D♯

Kōmal
3 Ga
Sādhāraṇa Gāndhār
Ga₂ E♭
Gāndhāram

Śuddh
4 Antara Gāndhāram Ga₃ Ga E
Gāndhār
Śuddha Śuddh
5 Ma₁ Ma F
Madhyamam Madhyam

Tīvra
6 Prati Madhyamam Ma₂ Ḿa F♯
Madhyam

7 Pañcamam Pa Pañcam Pa G
Kōmal
8 Śuddha Dhaivatam Dha₁ Dha A♭
Dhaivat

Catuśruti
Dha₂ A
Dhaivatam Śuddh
9 Dha
Dhaivat
Śuddha Niṣādam Ni₁ B𝄫

Ṣaṭśruti Dhaivatam Dha₃ A♯

10 Kōmal Niṣād Ni
Kaiśikī Niṣādam Ni₂ B♭

11 Kākalī Niṣādam Ni₃ Śuddh Niṣād Ni B

Svaras in Carnatic music

The svaras in Carnatic music are slightly different in the twelve-note system. Each svara is either prakr̥ ti
(invariant) or vikr̥ ti (variable). Ṣaḍjam and Pañcamam are prakr̥ ti svaras, whilst R̥ ṣabham, Gāndhāram,
Mādhyamam, Dhaivatam and Niṣādam are vikr̥ ti svaras. Ma has two variants, and each of Ri, Ga, Dha
and Ni has three variants. The mnemonic syllables for each vikṛti svara use the vowels "a", "i" and "u"
successively from lowest to highest. For example, r̥ ṣabham has the three ascending variants "ra", "ri" and
"ru", being respectively 1, 2 and 3 semitones above the tonic note, ṣaḍjam.
 Short Semitones from
Position Svara (स्वर)
name
Notation Mnemonic[21] Sa

1 Ṣaḍjam (षड्जम्) Sa S sa 0

2 Śuddha R̥ ṣabham (शुद्ध ऋषभम्) Ri R₁ ra 1

Catuśruti R̥ ṣabham (चतुश्रुति ऋषभम्) Ri R₂ ri

3 2
Śuddha Gāndhāram (शुद्ध गान्धारम्) Ga G₁ ga

Ṣaṭśruti R̥ ṣabham (षट्श्रुति ऋषभम्) Ri R₃ ru

4 3
Sādhāraṇa Gāndhāram (साधारण
Ga G₂ gi
गान्धारम्)

5 Antara Gāndhāram (अन्तर गान्धारम्) Ga G₃ gu 4

6 Śuddha Madhyamam (शुद्ध मध्यमम्) Ma M₁ ma 5

7 Prati Madhyamam (प्रति मध्यमम्) Ma M₂ mi 6

8 Pañcamam (पञ्चमम्) Pa P pa 7

9 Śuddha Dhaivatam (शुद्ध धैवतम्) Dha D₁ dha 8

Catuśruti Dhaivatam (चतुश्रुति धैवतम्) Dha D₂ dhi

10 9
Śuddha Niṣādam (शुद्ध निषादम्) Ni N₁ na

Ṣaṭśruti Dhaivatam (षट्श्रुति धैवतम्) Dha D₃ dhu

11 10
Kaiśikī Niṣādam (कै शिकी निषादम्) Ni N₂ ni

12 Kākalī Niṣādam (काकली निषादम्) Ni N₃ nu 11

As you can see above, Catuśruti Ṛṣabham and Śuddha Gāndhāram share the same pitch (3rd
key/position). Hence if C is chosen as Ṣaḍjam, D would be both Catuśruti R̥ ṣabham and Śuddha
Gāndhāram. Hence they will not occur in same rāgam together. Similarly for the two svaras each at pitch
positions 4, 10 and 11.[22]

Cultural, spiritual, and religious symbolism

Each svara is associated with the sound
produced by a particular animal or a bird, like, Through svara, Īśvara [God] is realized.
Sa is said to be sourced from the cry of a
peacock, —A proverb among Indian musicians
Translator: Guy Beck[23]
Ri is said to be sourced from the lowing of a
bull,
Ga is said to be sourced from the bleating of a goat,
Ma is said to be sourced from call of the heron,
Pa is said to be sourced from call of the cuckoo,
Dha is said to be sourced from the neighing of the horse,
Ni is said to be sourced from the trumpeting of the elephant.
So each svara is said to be sourced from the sound produced by an animal or a bird.[24]
 Each svara is also associated with a classical planet:
Sa – Mercury,
Re – Mars,
Ga – Sun,
Ma – Moon,
Pa - Saturn,
Dha – Jupiter,
Ni - Venus.
Each svara is also associated with a colour:
Sa – Green,
Re – Red,
Ga – Golden,
Ma – White,
Pa - Blue or Black,
Dha – Yellow,
Ni - Multi coloured.
Each svara is also associated with the 7 Chakras in the body:
Sa - Muladhara
Re - Svadisthana
Ga - Manipura
Ma - Anahata
Pa - Vishuddhi
Dha - Ajna
Ni - Sahasrara

See also
India portal

Music portal

Hindustani classical music

Indian classical dance
Carnatic music
Ancient Tamil music
Gamak
Raga

References
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2. Rowell 2015, p. 13.
 3. Vimalakānta Rôya Caudhurī (2000). The Dictionary of Hindustani Classical Music (https://ar
chive.org/details/dictionaryofhind00roya). Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 122 (https://archive.org/d
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4. Guy L. Beck (2012). Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition (https://books.google.
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10. Te Nijenhuis 1974, p. 14.
11. Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy (1985), Harmonic Implications of Consonance and Dissonance in
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Pacific Review of Ethnomusicology 2:28–51. Citation on pp. 28–31.
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14. Randel 2003, pp. 814–815.
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y.in/question/4916824).
16. Te Nijenhuis 1974, pp. 13–14, 21–25.
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18. "The Notes in an Octave in Indian Classical Music - Raag Hindustani" (https://raag-hindusta
ni.com/Notes.html).
19. Ellen Koskoff (2013). The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 2 (https://
books.google.com/books?id=hzIt6ZL5lY0C&pg=PA936). Routledge. p. 936. ISBN 978-1-
136-09602-0.
20. Rowell 2015, pp. 145–159.
21. Ragas in Carnatic music by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications
22. Gaanaamrutha Varna Maalikaa by A.S. Panchaabakesa Iyer
23. Guy L. Beck (2006). Sacred Sound: Experiencing Music in World Religions (https://books.go
ogle.com/books?id=t-IeHbqAfSsC&pg=PA126). Wilfrid Laurier University Press. p. 126.
ISBN 978-0-88920-421-8.
24. "The Raga Ragini System of Indian Classical Music" (https://www.dollsofindia.com/library/ra
ga_ragini/). 15 March 2007.

Bibliography
Daniélou, Alain (1949). Northern Indian Music, Volume 1. Theory & technique; Volume 2.
The main rāgǎs. London: C. Johnson. OCLC 851080 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/8510
80).
 Randel, Don Michael (2003). The Harvard Dictionary of Music (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=02rFSecPhEsC) (fourth ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-
0-674-01163-2.
Kaufmann, Walter (1968). The Ragas of North India (https://archive.org/details/ragasofnorthi
ndi00kauf). Oxford & Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253347800. OCLC 11369 (http
s://search.worldcat.org/oclc/11369).
Lidova, Natalia (2014). Natyashastra. Oxford Bibliographies Online.
doi:10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0071 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fobo%2F9780195399318
-0071).
Martinez, José Luiz (2001). Semiosis in Hindustani Music (https://books.google.com/books?i
d=OwJRnFIcM4cC). Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1801-9.
Mehta, Tarla (1995). Sanskrit Play Production in Ancient India (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=l7naMj1UxIkC). Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1057-0.
Rowell, Lewis (2015). Music and Musical Thought in Early India (https://books.google.com/b
ooks?id=h5_UCgAAQBAJ). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-73034-9.
Te Nijenhuis, Emmie (1974). Indian Music: History and Structure (https://books.google.com/
books?id=NrgfAAAAIAAJ). BRILL Academic. ISBN 90-04-03978-3.
Titon, Jeff Todd; Cooley; Locke; McAllester; Rasmussen (2008). Worlds of Music: An
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Further reading
Mathieu, W. A. (1997). Harmonic Experience: Tonal Harmony from Its Natural Origins to Its
Modern Expression. Inner Traditions Intl Ltd. ISBN 0-89281-560-4. An auto didactic ear-
training and sight-singing book that uses singing sargam syllables over a drone in a just
intonation system based on perfect fifths and major thirds.

External links
North India Sargam Notation System (http://raganet.com/Issues/1/nisargam.html)
www.soundofindia.com Article on vivadi svaras, by Haresh Bakshi (http://www.soundofindia.
com/showarticle.asp?in_article_id=-1437420927)
The twelve notes in an octave in Indian classical music (https://raag-hindustani.com/Notes.h
tml)

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