Swaras, Sa and the twelve positions

Carnatic music names its notes swaras: Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da, Ni. Unlike fixed note names such as C or G, the swaras are measured from Sa, which can be any pitch the performer chooses. This lesson explains that idea and maps the twelve positions on to the guitar, with an honest note about what a fretted instrument can and cannot show.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Explain that Sa is a chosen reference pitch and that all swaras are relative to it.
• Name the twelve swara positions and say which ones share a pitch.
• Play the twelve positions on the guitar from Sa = A.

Carnatic music names its notes with swaras: Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da, Ni (written S R G M P D N).

Sa is not a fixed note. It is the reference pitch, chosen by the performer to suit a voice or instrument. The pitch that sounds as Sa is often held as a drone (the shruti), and every other swara is heard in relation to it. If Sa is A, then Pa is E. If Sa is G, then Pa is D. The relationships stay the same.

Sa and Pa are fixed relative to each other: Pa is always seven semitones above Sa. The other five swaras come in more than one variant, giving twelve positions in the octave and sixteen names, because some positions have two names:

• Sa: Shadjam (0 semitones above Sa)
• Ri1: Shuddha Rishabham (1)
• Ri2 or Ga1: Chatushruti Rishabham, or Shuddha Gandharam (2)
• Ri3 or Ga2: Shatshruti Rishabham, or Sadharana Gandharam (3)
• Ga3: Antara Gandharam (4)
• Ma1: Shuddha Madhyamam (5)
• Ma2: Prati Madhyamam (6)
• Pa: Panchamam (7)
• Da1: Shuddha Dhaivatam (8)
• Da2 or Ni1: Chatushruti Dhaivatam, or Shuddha Nishadam (9)
• Da3 or Ni2: Shatshruti Dhaivatam, or Kaisiki Nishadam (10)
• Ni3: Kakali Nishadam (11)

An honest note on the guitar. A fretted guitar is tuned in equal temperament, so each swara maps to a fret approximately. In Carnatic performance the exact pitch of a swara depends on the raga and is often shaped by gamakas. The guitar gives you a map, not the whole territory.

Sa and Pa as a drone.

1. Choose Sa = A: the 6th string, fret 5.
2. Play it and hum along until your voice matches it.
3. Play Pa on the 5th string, fret 7, and hum that.
4. Alternate Sa and Pa. Notice how stable and "home" they sound.

Now the twelve positions. On the 5th string, with open A as Sa, play each fret from 0 to 12 and say the swara name aloud. Sing the first seven positions you know best (Sa, Ri2, Ga3, Ma1, Pa, Da2, Ni3, Sa) alongside the guitar. Remember that this is one set of seven pitches from the twelve, not the identity of any raga: ragas are defined by much more.

Do these in order. Each one is small. Tick the ones you have practised.

• 1.Sa and Pa as a drone

  4 min

  1. Take Sa as A. Play A on the 6th string, fret 5, and let it ring.
  2. Play Pa, the note 7 semitones above Sa: E on the 5th string, fret 7. Let it ring.
  3. Play Sa again an octave higher: A on the 4th string, fret 7.
  4. Alternate Sa and Pa slowly, listening to how stable they sound.

  You have it when

  • You can find Sa, Pa and the upper Sa without looking.
  • You can hear that Sa and Pa are the stable reference notes.
  I practised this one

• 2.Name the twelve

  4 min

  1. Write the twelve positions as semitones from Sa: 0 to 11.
  2. Beside each, write its swara name using the lesson's table.
  3. Check which positions share a pitch (for example Ri2 and Ga1).

  You have it when

  • You can name each of the twelve positions without looking.
  I practised this one

• 3.Play the twelve from Sa = A

  4 min

  1. On the 5th string, play frets 0 to 12 one at a time.
  2. Say the swara name of each fret as you play it: fret 0 is Sa, fret 7 is Pa, and so on.
  3. Then sing Sa, Pa and the upper Sa and match them with the guitar.

  You have it when

  • You can play and name the twelve positions from Sa = A.
  I practised this one

No tempo. Play each swara slowly, hold it, and sing its name. Carnatic practice begins with sustained notes and a steady drone, not with speed.

• Treating Sa as a fixed note such as C. Sa is chosen to suit the performer. Every other swara is a position measured from it.
• Assuming a Carnatic swara is exactly the same pitch as an equal-tempered note. On a fretted guitar they coincide approximately. In Carnatic performance the exact intonation is shaped by the raga and its gamakas.
• Learning a table of names without hearing it. Play each swara and sing it. The pitch relationships need to be in your ears, not only on paper.

Every Carnatic exercise from this module on uses swara names. Singing the names as you play is also the traditional way of learning, and it is the habit that carries the music from the voice to the guitar.

Short version (10 minutes)

Play Sa, Pa and the upper Sa with a ringing drone-like feel for four minutes, singing each.

Standard version (about 30 minutes)

Do all three exercises, then repeat from a different Sa (for example E on the open 6th string).

• Sa is the reference pitch; other swaras are measured from it.
• Sa and Pa are fixed; Ri, Ga, Da, Ni have variants; Ma has two.
• Twelve positions, sixteen names, because some positions have two names.
• On guitar the mapping is approximate; the music is in the voice.

You are ready to move on when you can honestly say:

• I can explain what Sa is.
• I can name the twelve swara positions.
• I can play them on the guitar from Sa = A.