| Carnatic Music | |
|---|---|
| Concepts | |
|
Sruti • Swara • Raga • Tala • Melakarta • Asampurna Melakarta |
|
| Compositions | |
|
Varnam • Kriti • Geetham • Swarajati • Ragam Thanam Pallavi • Thillana |
|
| Instruments | |
|
melody: Vocals • Saraswati veena • Venu • Violin • Chitra veena • Nadaswaram • Mandolin rhythm: Mridangam • Ghatam • Morsing • Kanjira • Thavil drone: Tambura • Shruti box |
|
| Composers | |
Hamsadhvani (Kannada: ಹಂಸಧ್ವನಿ, Sanskrit: हम्सध्वनि, Telugu: హంసధ్వని, Tamil: ஹம்ஸத்வனி, Malayalam: ഹംസധ്വനി) also known as Hansadhwani, is a rāga in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an audava rāgam (or owdava rāga, meaning pentatonic scale). It is a janya rāga (derived scale), as it does not have all the seven swaras (musical notes).
Hamsadhvani is also extensively used in Hindustani music and said to be borrowed into it from Carnatic music.[1] It was created by the Carnatic composer Ramaswami Dikshitar (1735–1817)[2] and brought into Hindustani music by Ustad Aman Ali Khan of the Bhendibazaar gharana.
Contents |
Hamsadhvani does not contain madhyamam or dhaivatam. It is a pentatonic scale (audava-audava ragam[1][3] in Carnatic music classification – audava meaning 'of 5'). Its ārohaṇa-avarohaṇa structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows (see swaras in Carnatic music for details on below notation and terms):
The notes used in this scale are shadjam, chathusruthi rishabham, antara gandharam, panchamam and kakali nishadam.
Hamsadhvani may be considered to be a janya rāgam of Shankarabharanam, the 29th Melakarta rāgam, although it can also be considered to be derived from other melakarta rāgams, Sarasangi, Kalyani or Latangi, by dropping both madhyamam and dhaivatam. It is an elusive question as to whether Hamsadhvani is a janya of this or that melakarta. In Hindustani music it is associated with Bilaval thaat (equivalent of Shankarabharanam).
Hamsadhvani rāgam lends itself for elaboration and exploration and has many compositions in both classical music and film music. It is usually sung at the beginning of a performance.[1] There are many kritis (compositions) in praise of Lord Ganesha set in this musical scale.
Hamsadhvani's notes when shifted using Graha bedham, yields another pentatonic rāgam, Nagasvaravali. Graha bedham is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the shadjam to the next note in the rāgam. For more details and illustration of this concept refer Graha bedham on Hamsadhvani.
| Rāgam | Śruti Tonic |
C | D | E | F | G | A | B | C | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamsadhvani | C | S | R2 | G3 | P | N3 | S' | |||||||
| Amritavarshini | C | S | G3 | M2 | P | N3 | S' | |||||||
| Gambhiranata | C | S | G3 | M1 | P | N3 | S' |
| Rāgam | Śruti Tonic |
C | D | E | F | G | A | B | C | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamsadhvani | C | S | R2 | G3 | P | - | N3 | S' | ||||||
| Mohanam | C | S | R2 | G3 | P | D2 | - | S' | ||||||
| Niroshta | C | S | R2 | G3 | - | D2 | N3 | S' |
Vadi
Sa
Samavadi
Pa
Re Ga Re Ni Pa Sa Re Sa
Second quarter of night.
Bor, Joep (ed). Rao, Suvarnalata; der Meer, Wim van; Harvey, Jane (co-authors) The Raga Guide: A Survey of 74 Hindustani Ragas. Zenith Media, London: 1999.
|
||||||||||||||||||||