What is Raga

WHAT IS A RAGA?

This if very difficult to explain, but I will do my best here.

The word "Raga" literally means "what colours the mind" and often in music books you will find all kinds of heavy worded and poetic descriptions, however for the sake of helping you understand what a raga is, I will explain it as simply as I can at first before giving the more complex descriptions. It is important also to know that there are hundreds of ragas - all with different names, some are more common than others.

A raga is basically a melody produced by playing a set of specific notes and adhering to certain rules. Each raga, which is always improvised in Indian music, gives a different feel. So one improvised melody might make us think of romance, another might make us feel very calm and another might make its listeners feel sad.

Imagine someone saying to you "Ok so now you can play on the bansuri the normal notes; Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa, but now you must only play specific notes and some notes you must not play at all".

The natural scale of the bansuri is Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa (excluding half notes) - but when we play different ragas, we select only some of these notes. For example Raga Bhupali uses the following notes ascending: Sa Re Ga Pa Dha Sa and descending Sa Dha Pa Ga Re Sa (Note that with Raga Bhupali the notes are the same ascending and descending but this is not the case with all ragas).

You will notice in this Raga Bhupali that Ma and Ni are omitted (not played at all). So instead of playing SRGMPDNS, you play SRGPDS.

So we now know that Ragas consist of certain notes which must be played and other notes which must be omitted. The next thing you need to know is that some notes have more importance than others. So with each raga, there is a VADI (a ruling/king note) and a SAMVADI (a vice-ruling/queen) note. For Raga Bhupali, the vadi (most important note) is: GA and the Samvadi (Second most important note) is DHA. So when a musician plays Raga Bhupali, he or she will play these notes longer or may start or stop on these notes.

Furthermore, ragas are traditionally played at different times of the day. Some ragas are played in early morning and other in the evening after sunset etc. Nowadays these rules are not always followed however.

Raga Bhupali is traditionally played in the evening between 6pm to 9pm.

As I mentioned before, each raga creates different emotions and feelings. These include: Shingara (romance), karuna (pathos), hasya (cheerfulness & humour), raudra (anger & fury), vira (courage), bhaya (fear), bibhatsa (disgust), adbhut (surprise & wonder), shanta (peace), viraha (absence or separation), madhurya (sweetness & ternderness), vatsalya (motherly feelings) and kama (eroticism) and also Bhakti (devotion).

Raga Bhupali is a Bhakti (devotional) raga and creates this mood. It is also often associated with the separation of a lover.

When you learn a new raga, you will learn first the Aroha (Ascending scale - notes played from bottom to top) & avaroha (descending scale - notes played from top to bottom), then you will need to know the Vadi & Samvadi and also the Pakad. The pakad refers to typical (and generally accepted) patterns of notes associated with a specific raga and which will help you to bring out the essence and full feeling of a particular raga. These notes are played over and over again throughout a performance and that is why it is important to know them. The pakad also helps players identify which raga is being played.

Now - Musicians usually explain ragas in a completely different way. Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia once said "For me, ragas are gods or goddesses, all members of a great family. I can call one of them any moment and immerse myself in its musicality; their personalities are so rich and complex that I never feel lonely". So we can see that performing ragas is much more than just playing notes, it is like painting a picture in front of an audience and trying to convey all the emotions and make a beautiful painting.

Now let's bring a small composition together for Raga Bhupali (sometimes also spelt bhoopali or called Bhoop)

RAGA BHUPALI

Aroha (Ascending): S R G P D S'

Avaroha (Descending): S' D P G R S

Vadi (Important note): G

Samvadi (2nd important note): D

Pakad (Punch-line): G, R, S 'D, S R G, P G, D P G, R, S

How to play the composition:

The composition is divided into 2 parts. The "Sthayi" which is the first part of the composition and is a central and dominant part of the composition, played many times and which allows us to express the lower register; and the second part called the "Antara" which allows us to explore the higher register and then come back to the lower register and go back to the beginning of the sthayi.

Flute Maintenance

• DO NOT PLAY THE BANSURI IN THE COLD. If the bamboo is very cold on the outside and then you suddenly blow warm air into it without warming the outside of the bamboo first, the bamboo will expand inside but the outside will stay the same. This pressure will be too much for the bamboo to take and it may crack. This has happened to several people I know who ordered flutes from India (including myself on 1 occasion) and then upon arrival, they did not allow the flute to warm up (because it had been on a delivery van out in the cold). Make sure you allow your bansuri to adjust to room temperature before playing. Of course, it is exciting when you get something new, but is it worth taking the risk of losing it? As a last resort, you can try warming it with the palms of your hands, but it is best to allow the bamboo to adjust to room temperature first. The bansuri does not like extremes of temperature. DO NOT PLAY IT IN THE COLD. If you live in UK, avoid playing the flute outside if the temperature is lower than 16C. Above is a picture of a flute with a crack after having been played in the cold.
• DO NOT DROP THE BANSURI AND AVOID KNOCKS. It happens to us all sometimes. We put it on the table just for a minute and then suddenly hear it roll onto the floor or you have the bansuri in your hand and turn around and hit it against a wall or something. Do not take this risk or your flute may crack or be damaged. Make sure it does not drop onto hard surfaces.
• PROTECT YOUR FLUTE WITH THREAD BINDINGS. This will add strength and help avoid cracks. Luckily most professional flute makers put these on for you now. However if you do not have any, it is worth adding these. If a thread comes off, replace it. Binding is quite easy once you get used to it> If you want to learn how to do it, visit the following link: Thread binding
• DO NOT LEAVE YOUR FLUTE ON FLOOR. You or someone else might tread on it!
• TO OIL OR NOT TO OIL? Some flute players oil their flutes and others do not. Some swear that it is best not to and others swear that it is best if you do oil your flute. The decision is yours. If you do decide to oil yours, then you should select an appropriate oil such as mustard oil, almond oil or walnut oil. You should use a wooden dow and tie a loose piece of cloth to the top - tie it well or it will get stuck inside the flute. Also, you should not have to force the cloth inside the flute, the cloth should be loose enough so that it slides in easily, touching the sides of the bamboo interior. The cloth should not be dripping with oil, but lightly coated so that the inside of the flute becomes lightly coated with oil. Oil your flute up just before the blow hole. In terms of frequency, that also varies from player to player. Some players say that you should oil your flute once when you first get it and then never again. Other players say that you should oil the flute several times per year - maybe 4-6 times. Opinions vary a lot. Those players who do oil their flutes say that the oil helps protect the flute and make it last longer. The choice is yours!
• DO NOT TOUCH THE CORK - if the cork is moved, this will alter the pitch of that flute. Some flute players oil their flute just once when they get it and never again, whereas other players oil their flute frequently several times a year. This choice is yours and your decision may be based on the climate where you live. If the climate is very dry then you should oil the flute more frequently! It is difficult to know whether oiling the flute actually helps protect it or not, since every piece of bamboo is unique and different and will have a different life span. NEVER oil a wet bansuri, for example after having played it. Make sure that the bamboo is dry before oiling it.
• AVOID MOLD AND CLEAN THE FLUTE IF MOLD FORMS. After playing your flute for some time, you may notice that mold begins growing inside the flute around where you blow into it. The mold varies in appearance. Black or white spores may appear and you may notice an unpleasant smell. If this happens, it means that bacteria has formed and you must kill the bacteria, otherwise you will be breathing that in. Some players refuse to clean their flutes at all and will advise you not to do this. Others on the other hand make sure they clean it. My advice is that if you intend to keep your flute for a long time, then you should clean your flute if this happens but this is your choice. Some players simply use a small amount of anti bacterial soap sometimes mixed with water depending on its strength and then using a dow with a piece of cloth attached, they wipe off the mold. Other players use just a cloth to try to wipe off the mold. In any case, you should not clean your flute too regularly. Do it only when absolutely necessary. I personally use milton spray. I spray a small amount of Milton into the embouchure where I see the mold and then use a dow with a small piece of cloth attached to wipe off the mould. This cleans it perfectly every time and kills the bacteria. Usually the flute will smell of Milton for a while after however and you should take a lot of care if choosing this method ensuring that you do not touch the cork. Also, ensure that whatever soap you use, it does not contain any type of liquids that may damage the bamboo. AVOID PLAYING THE FLUTE AFTER EATING- CLEAN YOUR TEETH otherwise you will be breathing the odour of your dinner into the flute and this will create bacteria. Make sure your breath is fresh before playing the flute to avoid having mold form.

How To Learn Flute

Producing sound:

Try to produce a sound from your flute. Place the embouchure hole on your lower lip, purse your lips, take a deep breath, and blow. It will not happen straight away so be patient. Try moving your embouchure hole around. Practice in front of a mirror and look at the shape of your lips. Your embouchure should be about the size of a drinking straw and shaped like a circle or teardrop.

Here's a neat way to work on producing sound:

Press your lips together. Roll the lips inward, so that there is no pink showing.

Kiss your flute--place the embouchure hole completely against your pressed lips, so that you can feel the full circle around your mouth.

Roll the flute away from your lips approximately 90 degrees, so that the embouchure hole is now level with the ceiling.

 Holding the Flute:

If you are comfortable holding the flute right handed then first three holes should be closed from the fingers of the left hand and the last three holes should be closed from the fingers of the right hand.

Similarly if you are comfortable holding the flute left handed then first three holes should be closed from the fingers of the right hand and the last three holes should be closed from the fingers of the left hand.

Playing the Flute:

1) Keep the embouchure hole and the fingers on their respective positions.

2) Play the flute with all holes open but all fingers in their respective positions.

3) Once you get the sound, keep the blowing constant and then close the holes one by one from the top.

All holes should be closed properly, even a slight air leak from the holes will affect the sound quality or sometimes no sound might come.