Traditional Indian Raga

Typical Indian Raga layout

Traditional Indian Raga

The term raga is a melodic mode in Indian classical music. There are many different melodic modes in Indian classical music however it was the raga where artists in the 1960’s took the inspiration from.

A traditional raga consists of at least five notes, each raga gives the musician some framework, so they know which key to play in. Raga is a very emotional style of music as the music is very symbolic. Each raga can have different associations such as: Season time and mood. The importance of the raga was to provoke certain feelings in the audience. Whether it may be conveying happiness or sadness, music is tailored around them emotions. For example, if the music was happy, the artists would use predominantly major chords as they are associated with happiness. If they wanted to portray sadness, then they would most likely base their raga around minor notes as they are commonly associated with sadness.

Raga’s are associated with Indian culture and typically played by four or five players. The tabla (Drums) plays very fast complex rhythm’s which lay as the foundation for the Raga. The drone is also an essential part to the foundation of the Raga. The drone plays long and sustained notes which create a drone type sound. This sound is important to the Raga’s traditional sound as it helps establish chordal sequences in the piece as a Raga’s are typically based around one key.  

This instrument is a stringed instrument that plays the harmony. This drone instrument is often compared to a ‘lute’. The third instrument that is in a Raga is obviously the sitar. The sitar plays the improvised melody that is based off the rag or scale. The sound of the sitar is made from plucking the strings and bending them to the correct notes.

George Harrison from the Beatles went over to India to learn more about the culture and to find out about the origins of the music and the impact they have on Indian classical music.