Raga Comparison - Kambhoji and Bhoopali

Background

In an earlier article, we surveyed several systems of Raga classification which have been used in Indian Classical music. While these systems have their differences, the common thread in all classification systems is the concept of a Janaka (parent Raga) and a Janya (derivative Raga). The parent and derivative Ragas share a common tuning system and note intervals.

In this series of articles, we select some popular Ragas, analyze their scales and examine the parent-child relationship between them.

Introduction

For this article, we have selected two related Ragas, namely, Kambhoji and Bhoopali.

Raga Kambhoji is a popular Raga which is often performed in the Carnatic and Dhrupad traditions of Indian Classical music. In the Melakarta system of Raga classification, Kambhoji is also known as Harikambhoji.

Raga Bhoopali is also called Raga Bhoop and is popularly known as Raga Mohanam in south India. It is a popular Raga performed all throughout India.

By means of this article, we will see how these Ragas relate to each other and how they can be seen to share a common tuning system.

Reference Pitch and Basic Intervals

Before we begin, let us start with the concept of the fundamental note Sa. In Indian Classical music, all musical notes are defined based on their relationship with Sa. You can use the settings below to set the Sa to any pitch you prefer. All the demos on this page would play according to this setting.

Next, it is useful to familiarize ourselves with the four basic intervals of Dviguna (octave), Pancham (fifth), Madhyam (fourth) and Gandhar (major third). You can play and check these intervals using the keyboard below (just click Start to activate and tap a key to play). Here Sa denotes the fundamental and Ga, ma, Pa and SA denote the Gandhar, Madhyam, Pancham and Dviguna respectively. Note that the notes here do not match up with today's standard 12 tone equally tempered scale.

As you can hear, Pancham, Madhyam and Gandhar are pleasant sounding intervals. For the musically inclined, they may be recognisable by ear. These are the most fundamental intervals in Indian Classical music which a trained musician is expected to recognize with a fine level of precision.

Scale for Raga Kambhoji

Let us start by examining some common phrases in Raga Kambhoji. Here are a few fragments of phrases which are used to construct musical phrases in Raga Kambhoji.

Dha' Ga Sa ni' Dha'
Dha' Sa Re ni' Dha' Pa'
Sa Re Ga Pa
Pa Dha ni Dha Pa Dha ma Ga
Dha ni Dha Pa Ga Pa Dha SA
Re" ni Dha Pa Dha ma Ga Re Sa

Based on these phrase fragments, we can deduce the note relationships required for the phrases to sound correct and aesthetically appealing. Using the basic intervals introduced above, we can see that:

• Ga being an anchor point for this Raga, it would sound most pleasing if it is an Antara Gandhar with respect to Sa.

• The phrase Dha' Ga Sa ni' Dha' would sound pleasing if (Dha',Ga) is a Pancham interval.

• If we look at the other common phrase in Kambhoji Dha' Sa Re ni' Dha' Pa', then we can see that (Re,ni') being a Antara Gandhara interval and (Pa',Re) being an Pancham interval makes the phrase aesthetically pleasing.

• If we analyse the phrase Pa Dha ni Dha Pa Dha ma Ga, considering that (Dha,Ga) already has a consonant relationship, it would sound best if (ma,Dha) is an Antara Gandhara interval.

• In this Raga, the usage of ma is considered Alpatva and Hrasva (less frequent and short duration, respectively).

It is important to note that in addition to the phrases, it is equally important to pay attention to the timing of notes in a phrase, and the usage characteristics like Alpatva, Bahutva, Hrasva or Deergha of the notes in the phrase to determine the appropriate pairings.

Using the above analysis of the phrases, the scale for Raga Kambhoji can be built using the Scale Builder tool with the following inter-note relationships.

The scale for Raga Kambhoji can be built using the Scale Builder tool with the following inter-note relationships.

(Sa,Pa) = I(P)
(Sa,Ga) = I(G)
(Dha',Ga) = I(P)
(ni',Re) = I(G)
(ma,Dha) = I(G)
(Re,Pa) = I(m)

The above relationships result in the following scale. Click Start below to expand the scale controls. Then play each note one at a time. For each note, observe how it sounds in relation to other notes in the scale.

Drone for Raga Kambhoji

Before we compare Raga Kambhoji with Raga Bhoopali, let us start with the drone track for Raga Kambhoji. Click Start below and listen to the drone track for some time.

After you have spent some time and feel comfortable with the drone track, you can move to the subsequent sections. Let the drone track continue to play while you read and listen to the remainder of this article.

Note that the drone has been tuned to support the Kambhoji scale derived above and to emphasize the associated note relationships.

Sample phrases in Raga Kambhoji

Here are some simple phrases to understand the scale and structure of Raga Kambhoji.

Ga(G)(Dha',Ga,-10,0.5) 3 ni'(G)(Sa,ni',-5,0.5) Dha' ; ni' ; Dha' Pa' 
Dha'(G)(Pa',Dha',-5,0.5) ma' Ga' Pa' Dha'(G)(-18,18,-6,0.5) Sa(G)(Dha',Sa,-8,0.5) 2
Re . ni'(G)(Sa,ni',-5,0.5) Dha' Sa(G)(Dha',Sa,-8,0.5) 2

Raga Bhoopali

Raga Bhoopali is a pentatonic Raga with the scale Sa Re Ga Pa Dha. This scale is present in many ancient systems of music across the world including Chinese music for GuQin, African music, Greek music and so on. Here we present it as a derivative of Raga Kambhoji.

The important inter-note relationships in Raga Bhoopali are as follows:

(Sa,Pa) = I(P)
(Sa,Ga) = I(G)
(Dha',Ga) = I(P)
(Re,Pa) = I(m)

If you observe closely, you can see that these relationships are already present among those listed for Raga Kambhoji. So, by dropping ma and ni (which are Varjit or prohibited), we can arrive at the required scale with the required symmetry for Raga Bhoopali.

Many of the Kambhoji phrases can directly be rendered in Raga Bhoopali just by dropping the Varjit notes. For example, the phrase Dha' Sa Re ni' Dha' Pa' can be rendered in Bhoopali as Dha' Sa Re Dha' Pa'. It also has its own characteristic phrases such as Pa Ga Re Ga Re Sa, Dha' Sa Re Pa Ga, where the important intervals of (Dha,Ga) and (Re,Pa) are used prominently.

A keen listener may notice that the note relationships required in Bhoopali are also available in Kalyani-2 and in Shankarabharanam-1. So, naturally the question arises: can Bhoopali be considered a Janya of Kalyani or Shankarabharanam?

The scale of Bhoopali would be well supported by the tuning of Shankarabharanam. But in order to play Bhoopali with the Shankarabharanam drone and to suggest a Janaka-Janya relationship, an artist should employ an occasional hint of ma approached as a modulation from Ga.

Similarly, the scale of Bhoopali would be well supported by the tuning of Kalyani. But when played with the Kalyani drone, the Raga would move towards Raga Mohanakalyani or Raga Bhoop-Kalyan, owing to the notes Ma and Ni being suggested by the Kalyani drone.

Simple Phrases in Raga Bhoopali

Here are some simple phrases to understand the scale and structure of Raga Bhoopali.

Ga Re(G)(Ga,Re,-5,0.5) Ga Pa Dha Pa Ga Re Sa Pa' Dha' Sa(G)(Dha',Sa,-5,0.5) 2

Concluding Remarks

In this article, we looked at Ragas Kambhoji and Bhoopali. We examined a few of their signature phrases and applied the basic intervals of Pancham, Madhyam and Antara Gandhar to tune the scale for making it aesthetically appealing. We found that the note relationships and symmetry required for Raga Bhoopali is already present in Raga Kambhoji. Thus, Raga Kambhoji, as a Sampoorna (Heptatonic) Raga, can be considered a Janaka (parent) Raga, while Raga Bhoopali can be considered as a Janya (derivative) Raga. They share a common tuning system and some common Lakshanas. Therefore, they can be performed with the same drone tuning which supports the complete scale of Raga Kambhoji.

Category and Tags

Comparison of RagasComparison of RagasLakshyaLakshyaLakshanaLakshanaKambhojiKambhojiBhoopaliBhoopaliBhoopBhoopMohanamMohanam