Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa (Sargam)

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni are the fundamental musical notes (Swaras) of Indian Classical Music. Together, they form the Sargam (the equivalent of Solfege in Western music).

Question (Click to Flip)

What does 'Saptak' mean?

Answer

A Saptak is a set of seven notes (Sa to Ni). It is the Indian equivalent of an 'Octave'. In singing, we usually refer to Mandra Saptak (lower octave), Madhya Saptak (middle octave), and Taar Saptak (higher octave).

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Key Facts

According to ancient Indian texts like the Natya Shastra, the sounds of the 7 swaras were originally inspired by the sounds of animals and birds (e.g., Sa = Peacock, Re = Bull, Pa = Cuckoo).

The 7 Swaras and Their Full Names

The word 'Sargam' is formed by joining the first four notes (Sa, Re, Ga, Ma). The 7 swaras (Saptak) each have a full, ancient Sanskrit name:

Sa - Shadja (षड्ज)
Re - Rishabh (ऋषभ)
Ga - Gandhar (गान्धार)
Ma - Madhyam (मध्यम)
Pa - Pancham (पंचम)
Dha - Dhaivat (धैवत)
Ni - Nishad (निषाद)

Western Equivalents

Indian classical music uses a relative scale, but if we align 'Sa' with the Western 'C' note, the equivalent scale (Major Scale) looks like this:

Sa = Do (C)
Re = Re (D)
Ga = Mi (E)
Ma = Fa (F)
Pa = Sol (G)
Dha = La (A)
Ni = Ti (B)

Achal and Vikrit Swaras

Out of these 7 notes:

Sa and Pa are 'Achal' (immovable). They are fixed and have no other variations.
The other five (Re, Ga, Ma, Dha, Ni) are 'Vikrit' (movable). They can either be flat (Komal) or sharp (Tivra), bringing the total number of notes in an octave to 12.

Questions and Answers

What does 'Saptak' mean?+

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