Sapta Swaras: The 7 swaras of Carnatic Music
www.BhardwajMusicAcademy.com Sapta Swaras of Carnatic Music Before moving into the Sapta Swaras (7 Swaras), let us see what a Swara is. A swara refers to a tone or a musical note on an Octave. Now assume this to be a building including floors. The beginning point is the Shadja known as Tonic. Measuring upto certain heights from the ground level, there are the positions of other notes The 7 fundamental notes Carnatic Music is ruled by 7 octave musical notes. These Sapta Swaras are believed to have originated from “Dumru” (Musical Instrument) of Lord Shiva. 7 musical notes (Swaras) are the following: Sa – Shadjama (Tonic) Ri – Rishabha Ga – Gandhara Ma – Madhyama Pa – Panchama (Perfect Fifth) Da - Dhaivata Ni – Nishada Full names of these notes follow sounds with which they are being sung. As per Shruti – Notes Sa (Tonic)& Pa (Perfect Fifth) stay fixed always once you have settled on the Tonic. They are known as “Prakriti Swaras”. The other 5 notes feature 2 variants each. And so th