Harmonium Guide

Originally a reed organ with Western origin, the harmonium has been a very integral part of Indian music. Except for instrumental and South Indian music, virtually every genre will have a spot for the harmonium, due to its simple and versatile nature. This guide discuss the introductory theory of North Indian music, musical scales, practice exercises, and fourteen Gaudiya Vaisnava bhajans and kirtans to practice and make good use of all the theory and skills taught in this course.
UNIT ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE HARMONIUM
Chapter 01: History of the Harmonium
Unlike the instruments that have been previous taught or examined in the music of India, the harmonium is one of the most frequently used instrument that has no Indian origin. The harmonium was actually a European organ that was used in churches during the medieval time frame. The look of the harmonium then was almost similar to a piano. There is was a huge number of keys, a chair to sit down, and a foot pump for the air. This way, the musician could play the harmonium with both hands. European music requires this, it is mostly harmonic through the use of chords. A chord is when three or more notes are played simultaneously.

When the British came to India in the 18th century, they brought their harmoniums also. Although the foot pedal was still retained, the hand pumped version was introduced. When the harmonium came across to North Indian musicians, they immediately favored this instrument for few reasons. When the hand pumped version came out, it did not require foot pedals. For an Indian musician, it was discipline and practice to sit on the floor. Thus, this format of a floor organ worked well. Secondly, the harmonium was able to go with the flow of the voice pretty well. Thirdly, it was much easier to learn than sarangi. Sarangi is a bowed instrument which was used to accompany vocalists. However, it was very difficult to play. Even though one hand was required to pump air, it was not a problem, because Indian music does not have chords. Since Indian music is primarily melodic, only hand was needed to pump and one hand was needed to play the melody.

Despite its European origin, the instrument has found its use really well in an Indian musical setting. With the exception of South Indian music, the harmonium has been used in almost all genres of music in India.

The harmonium is not strictly limited to Indian styles. Western forms, in terms of chord changes, are currently integrated into the North Indian forms of music. Chord progressions introduce a different form of modality. Chord progressions, however, will not be found in North Indian classical or semi classical.

BELLOWS- the bellows is a series of metal tongues which allow the air flow. The bellows must be pumped by hand allow air to flow into the harmonium to produce sounds. The left and right ends of the bellows usually has a metal bar or latch. These latches are on both sides to assist right and left handed players at their comfort. More about left and right handed positions in the next chapter.

KEYBOARD- This is the most important and unique feature of a harmonium. The keyboard allows one to play melodies. Each key, when played, produces a unique sound. The structure and format of the keyboard resembles a piano. The function and theory will be discussed in great detail in the second unit.

MAIN STOPS- Main stops are the bigger knobs on the harmonium. The purpose of the main stops is to direct air flow. Selecting a certain number of stops in a certain order can affect how the sound comes out. If no stops are pulled out, then no sounds will be produced, regardless of the amount of air being pumped into the harmonium. There are a few things that your harmonium might not have. Stops are one of them. If you do not have stops, don’t panic. You will still get sound, but the whole harmonium will be having a uniform sound.
DRONE STOPS (not shown) – The function of these stops are to produce a constant sound of a single note. Again, not all harmoniums will have this feature.

COUPLER (not shown) ­­– Some harmoniums have this special feature of the coupler. Whenever a key is played, the same key one octave lower will be played. This will allow a richer sound. If the coupler knob is pulled out, then the coupling feature will be disabled.

SCALE CHANGER (not shown) – Some harmoniums will have a scale changer which will change the pitch and positioning of the keys. The scale changer, although a nice tool, often causes problems for the harmonium.

Even though you may not know anything about how to exactly play the harmonium, do practice getting some sort of sound by opening the bellows, pumping it with one hand, and get some sort of sound by pressing the keys from the keyboard. If you have stops, use the main stops and see how selecting stops can affect the air flow as well as the sounds. Experiment the changes when the coupler feature is active or disabled. If you have a scale changer, however, do not experiment with that. Many newcomers to the harmonium do not know how to work with changing the scale and the chance of breaking it is really good. It is very useful to know how to operate the harmonium, before you learn anything to play it.

Chapter 02: Correct Postures

There is not much needed to be said about postures. It’s all about good judgment. If you sit in a proper posture, you will probably be able to play for hours without a backache. There are many scenarios where postures will change. Before we discuss postures, let us consider the fact that not everyone has the same hand orientation. Some harmonium players are right handed and some are left handed.

The simple trick is that the stronger hand plays the keys on the keyboard while the wear hand goes to pump the bellows. A right handed person will plays the keys using the right hand and pump the bellows with the left hand. Likewise, the left handed person will do everything vice versa.

TABLES
If you are playing your harmonium on a table, it all depends on whether you will be sitting or standing. If you are standing, you won’t have to worry about standing straight. If you are sitting and with the highest point of the harmonium reaching your stomach line, then it is suggested that you stand or get a higher seat. Playing a harmonium too high will be a great strain to you hand and even your ability to play nicely.

GROUND
The ground will be the most common place you will play your harmonium. It depends on two real roles the harmonium player could assume. The first role is that the harmonium player will be singing while playing. If that is the case, the harmonium should be as close to you as possible in a comfortable position. In that case, you could place the harmonium directly in front of you and play and sing. I, personally, do not like this idea because for people who have short hands, it will be somewhat difficult to reach all the way for the bellows, play the keys, and sing with a bent back. Singers should sing with a straight back to get the maximum accuracy. This is the reason why singers tend to keep the harmonium to their side with the hand of least strength. A right handed person who wishes to try this posture will place the harmonium to his or her left side. The distance from the right hand to the harmonium is shorter than the left hand to the harmonium. Imagine a right handed person taking a harmonium to the right side. It would be quite painful, if not impossible, to play the keys. This way, the diaphragm is free from any obstacle and the back is remained straight to produce maximum strength in voice as well as accuracy in playing the harmonium.

If you are not singing, but playing the harmonium to accompany someone, then you may place it in front of or off to the side. Either way will be acceptable, since the harmonium is playing, not your voice. Whichever of the two ways is comfortable for you, use that.

Chapter 03: Maintenance and Care

Unlike the traditional Indian instruments in India, the harmonium is not as delicate as the tabla, sitar, sarangi, sarod, etc. Remember that the harmonium is not an Indian instrument by origin. However, regardless of the instruments race or origin, we must treat it with respect and care. There are not too many points in discussing the maintenance or care of the instrument. However, these points are very important to keep in mind.

DON’T TAKE IN MORE THAN YOU CAN PLAY

When little kids see adults or harmonium players pumping the bellows constantly, they indeed get excited and they pump the bellows to their hearts desires without touching the keyboard. Keep one point in mind; you are not a little kid! Don’t ever pump the bellows if you are not playing anything. Pumping excessive air into the harmonium is comparable to inhaling excessive air into your lungs and not breathing out. You will feel uncomfortable and feel like you will explode inside. That’s what happens to the harmonium, in fact. If too much air enters in without being released properly, the harmonium’s internal air chamber will explode. Then, whatever air that comes in will go out immediately without having any note produced if the keyboard is being used. The proper way to go about is use enough air as you need, while playing the keyboard. This is very crucial. Keep in mind that if you play this properly, the keyboard serves as an exhaling agent. Once a key is pressed with enough air, air will blow out of the front.

BLOW OUT ALL THE AIR
Whenever you are done with using the harmonium, force all of the air out. The way to do this is to lock the bellows using a side lock and play three or more notes of the keyboard simultaneously. This way, air will be forced out faster. If you leave air inside the harmonium, that air could damage the internal features of the harmonium and its rich sound could diminish and even force notes to sound out of tune. This is very easy to forget this very important step!

STOP! CLOSE YOUR STOPS!
With harmoniums having this feature, it is also very easy to forget to close stops and lock bellows before pushing the harmonium inside. The stop knobs and bellows can break if locks are not pushed in fully, or if the bellows are not locked.

DOUBLE CHECK SECURITY BEFORE TAKE OFF!
Most harmoniums have a removable top lid. Once the lid has to be placed it, it is very easy to do this incorrectly, and while thinking it is done correctly, lift it up and part of the harmonium starts to fall out and damage is done. The sure way to check if your harmonium is secure is to make sure the top locks are locked, the behind has nothing showing inside, and while locked, attempt to lift the top lid off. If you cannot lift the top lid, you will know that your harmonium is safe for take off.

RAIN OR SHINE IS NEVER FINE!
Never put your harmonium in direct sunlight. Sunlight has enough energy to make the air bellows weak or destroy the wooden finish.

Likewise, do not have any contact with water. Water can make the harmonium sound ripped, if not disable the ability to produce sound. This can be compared to water in lungs. Whenever there is water in your lungs, you will feel very uncomfortable and you will cough a lot.

The sure sign for safety is to keep your harmonium in a carrying case or bag and leave it in a room not humid.

These tips will help you keep your harmonium clean, safe, and have a longer lifespan.

Chapter 04: Review

Here are just a few points to keep track of.

- Harmonium was introduced in India around the 19th century.
- It was integrated into Indian music, as it was very easy to play and could go along with the voice pretty well.
- It is used in almost all systems of Indian music, except South Indian music.
- Here is a diagram of the harmonium. Remember that air is pumped in through the bellows. The keyboard is hit to produce sounds. The main stops control the air traffic. The drone stops allow one note to be played without using the keyboard.
- Some harmoniums have a coupler which allows the same note one octave lower to be played simultaneously with the note that has been hit.
- Scale changer is a feature to transpose or change the scale. The scale changer is not recommended.
- You pump the air in with your weaker hand and play the keys with your stronger hand.
- If you are a lead singer, you may put your harmonium on the side of your body with the weaker hand and play. If you are not a lead singer, you may play the harmonium directly in front of you.
- Remember the safety tips from Chapter 3. Do not overpump air into the harmonium, remove all the air when finished, push in all open stops and lock bellows, double check for security and sturdiness, and never put the harmonium in a humid, hot, or a wet place.

UNIT TWO: BUILDING BLOCKS OF INDIAN

Chapter 05: The Keys of the Harmonium

We discussed the structure of the harmonium in Chapter 2. The most essential part of the harmonium is a keyboard. Without the keyboard no melodies could be played. A harmonium without a keyboard is called a sruti-peti, or a “sound box.” One note is played just by pumping a sruti-peti.

Figure 5.1

Look at Figure 5.1. This is a keyboard. Every harmonium has a different number of keys. The number of keys on the keyboard describes the range of the harmonium. A pitch-distance relationship can also be found. Press any key from the far right end of the harmonium. Compare that sound to any key on the far left side. You will see that the right side produced a higher pitch while the left side produced a lower pitch.

A keyboard, in actuality, is a repeating series of a certain number of keys. This pattern repeats continuously. Let’s take a closer look.

Figure 5.2
Figure 5.2 shows us the fundamental unit. There are seven white keys and five black keys. In addition, there is a special organization of these keys. There are two black keys between the first three white keys. From the fourth white key to the seventh key, there are three black keys. This order continues over and over again. This theory will be explain in detail in the next few chapters.

Take a moment and find the starting key of the unit. From here, press every key in order. Keep in mind that it is WHITE-BLACK-WHITE-BLACK-WHITE-WHITE, etc… This is the general order.

Once you reached the seventh key, the “eighth” key is actually the first key in a new pattern. The first key in the second pattern is eight keys higher than the first key in the first pattern. The pattern of seven notes is called a scale. Once the seventh key is completed of the first scale, then the first key starts a new second scale.

If one were to chose the fourth white key, and go one full scale higher, then one will reach the fourth white key in the next scale. The unit of measure of a full scale with eight notes is called an octave. In Western music, the octave is used because they consider the first key of a new scale to also be the last key of the old scale. In Indian music, however, the seventh key is considered to be the last and the first key is considered the start of a new scale. Since we have seven notes, not eight, our “octave” is properly called a “saptak.” Here is Figure 5.3 a visual demonstration of the concept of octaves and saptaks.

Figure 5.3

Obviously, we won’t change saptaks every moment. We will go within the saptak, at times go below the saptak, or sometimes go above, or even do both! To describe the distance, we speak in terms of “steps.” The simplest form of a step is a “half step.” A half step is the shortest distance between two notes. For instance, the first white key and the first black key have a distance of one half-step. Be very careful! The distances from the third white to the fourth white, as well as the seventh white to the new first white, are examples of half steps too. There are no black keys between those two examples. Do not assume that a half step means distance between the white key and its nearest black key or vice versa!

Two half steps are known as a whole step. For instance, the first white and the second white are one whole-step apart. Recall from the two exceptions shown above. Look at figure 5.4 to explain the concept of steps.

Figure 5.4 (small sector of the fundamental unit)

Recall how we previously stated that as we go to the right of the keyboard, the pitches will be high. Conversely, on the left side of the keyboard, the pitches will be lower. There are three terms that refer to the relative location of the scale.

The normal pitches and the main scale is known as the madhya saptak. The octave above the madhya saptak is known as the tar saptak. The octave below the madhya saptak is known as the mandara saptak. Figure 5.5 shows a keyboard’s ranges of these three types of saptaks.

Figure 5.5

These facts are really nice to know, especially when communicating to other musicians musically. However, these facts alone will not help you define any pitches or keys or melodies. In order to put some sort of meaning to the notes and keys, we must know the names of the notes and sounds of the scale. The next chapter will go into the introduction of Indian music.

Chapter 06: Sargam: The Indian Solfege

According to the Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Brahma, by the order of Lord Krsna, created the material planet. He also created the first sound wave. The sound wave is the mantra “om.” Om is the single syllable that is used to address to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Meditation and recitations took place with three swars or notes. This ancient tritonal system expanded by Brahma’s creation to seven notes which replicate the seven sounds of the nature. The seven sounds of nature are sadaja, rsabha, gandhara, madhyama, pancama, dhaivata and nisada. These notes are commonly called sa, r, ga, ma, pa, dha and ni. “Sadaja” or “sa” is the most important note because from sa, the other notes can be formed. In fact, sadaja is the Sanskrit word for “origin of the six.” The six notes describe the distance from the main sa.

These notes are indeed defined by nature. Sa describes the sound of the peacock, r describes the sound of a bull. The goats sound is described by ga, and the dove is shown by ma. Pa has the sound of a cuckoo. Dha has the sound of the horse and ni has the sound of the elephant.

Music has always used these seven swars. These seven swars are called the saptak or seven notes. It is also called a sargam. The sargam or saptak has been used by voice, but also in string instruments, and wind instruments. Recall from the previous chapter how we dealt with fundamental unit that repeats throughout the harmonium. That fundamental unit consists of seven keys that are white. These seven white keys represent the sargam in order. Keep in mind that the harmonium was designed to keep the natural notes on white keys.

Did you notice that between some notes, there are some hidden tones. Technically, between every two consecutive notes, there are infinite numbers of semitones. However, within the sargam, there are five semitones between the natural notes that are very distinct. These notes are between sa and re, re and ga, ma and pa, pa and dha, and dha and ni. The note between sa and re is called komal re. The note between re and ga is known as komal ga. The note between pa and dha is called komal dha, and the the note between dha and ni is called komal ni. The note between ma and pa, however, is called tivra ma. Komal means “flat” and tivra means “sharp.” The reason why ma is allowed to be sharpened is a very complicated reason which can be found in a details classical musical book.

These five altered notes are known as vikrta swars. These five vikrta swars are represented by the black keys. The seven white natural notes are known as suddha swars. The notes are in the following order:

Sa, komal re, re, komal ga, ga, ma, tivra ma, pa, komal dha, dha, komal ni, ni.

A faster way to write these notes is very simple. All suddha notes except ma are capitalized. For example, suddha ga is written with a capital G. In the case of suddha ma, that is written as an undercase m. Tivra ma is written with a capital M. Sa and pa are always capitalized.

The entire sargam is written as the following:
S r R g G m M P d D n N Play this in ascending and descending order.

This is assumed to be in the madhya-saptak. If we were to expand to the tar-saptak, we use an apostrophe after the note. Similarly, the mandra-saptak notes have an apostrophe before the note.

Here is a keyboarded diagram of all we have learned so far in this guide. This is containing the suddha swars, vikrta swars, the repeating keyboard sequence, the three ranges of saptaks and how to write the swars.

Let’s look at an example sargam.

Raga Sri:
Ascending: S r M P N S’ r’ S’
Descending: r’ N d P M P d M P r G r S ‘N S

This raga will be taught later on. However, do play this on the harmonium. Look at the keys on Figure 6.3 to help you. A very useful hint to play these notes is not to play the keys with the index fingers alone. Use the index, thumb, and middle fingers to help you play. Do get familiar on how to play the natural notes without looking. Try these exercises.

S
S R S
S R G R S
S R G m G R S
S R G m P m G R S
S R G m P D P m G R S
‘N S R G m P D P m G R ‘N S

‘N ‘D ‘ P ‘D ‘P ‘M ‘P
‘P ‘N S G R G S

Practice these exercises very frequently to get used to know the locations of the sargam.

Even though we learned notes, the notes without a proper link or order are without meaning. The next two chapters will deal with very important concepts of developing melodies.

Chapter 07: Thāt: The Indian Modal Form

A modal form is nothing more than a scale. However, the scale we discussed in the previous chapters was defining a scale as a range. In addition, we were talking about straight natural scales. In fact, the natural scale in itself is a modal form.

However, not every scale will be pure natural. We will have some sharpening or flattening of notes. We will work with ten particular scales. These scales or modal forms are called thāts. The ten thāts have seven notes each. The ten thāts along with their swara sets, also known as swarasthanas, are shown below.

Asavari
S R g m P d n S’

Bilaval: (the major scale that we worked with)
S R G m P D N S’

Bhairava:
S r G m P d N S’

Bhairavi: (komala thāt)
S r g m P d n S’

Kalyana: (tivra thāt)
S R G M P D N S’

Khammaja:
S R G m P D n S’

Purvi:
S r G M P d N S’

Marwa:
S r G M P D N S’

Todi:
S r g M P d N S’

These ten thāts have been developed by a 1910s musicologist, Visnu Narayana Bhatkhande. Even though these ten thāts have some shortcomings to them; they are an excellent way to study developing melodies. Of course, initially it will be quite difficult to determine whether the note you wish to chose is going to be a ga or a “re.” It will take a while to first adopt to an ear to determine what each that sounds like. Once you chose the right thāt, it will be a while to adopt a sense of which notes to select when you accompany a singer. First, play each of these ten thāts while reciting the name of each thāt and singing the swars along. Practice three rounds of each thāt.

Just for your information, Bhairavi is known as the komal thāt, because all of the notes are the flattest as they can be. S and P can never be flat as they are fixed notes. But, re, ga, dha, and ni are all flat, as that as the flattest as they could be. Between ma and tivra ma, ma is flatter than the two, so ma is used. Likewise, Kalyana Thāt is known as the tivra thāt, because every note is the highest value possible. Re, Ga, Dha, and Ni are all suddha as they are the highest of their notes. Again, between Tivra ma, and

Let’s assume that you have had some experience with these thāts. Let’s pick two songs from the Asavari Thāt. The two songs are “Antara Mandire Jago Jago” and a mahamantra tune. Notice that even though the melodies are entirely different, the same set of notes of the Asavari thāt is used.

Asavari Thāt: S R g m P d n S’


S n S R R R g m R S
An ta ra mandire jago-- ja-go

R S S n d n R S
madhava krsna gopala

m m P P n d d n S’ S’ n R’ S’ S’
nava aruna sama jago hrdoye mama

P n P m m P m g g m R R S
sundara giridhari la-a-a-a-l

Here is a Hare Krsna melody

Ha re kr - sna hare krsna
S R g – R – S – n d n P

Krsna kr - sna hare ha – re-----
P P S – S- R – S R g – g m g R S

Since they did not deviate from the scale of S R g m P d n S’, it is of the Asavari Thāt. Of course, when someone is singing, you will have to think, “Which of the ten thāts sound the closest to the melody I am hearing?” Once you develop that kind of mentality, accompanying an artist will become very easy. For now, practice the ten thāts in such a way that you will not forget them. Practice playing the ten thāts correctly with their correct names. Once you master this, you may move onto the next chapter.

Chapter 08: Review

A great deal of very important information dealing with the basics of Indian music was discussed here. Let’s take the opportunity to review them.

The keyboard of the harmonium has a set of three fundamental units of keys.

This structure of any keyboarded instrument has this fundamental unit repeating over and over again. In harmonium, it usually has three repeating patterns.

We discussed a little later that a fundamental unit is a scale, which consists of seven notes. Once eight notes (7 notes + starting note of the next fundamental unit) are completed, it is known to have completed one octave in Western music, or a saptak (seven notes) in Indian music.

In understanding the relationships between any two notes, we talk about half steps and whole steps. The half step is one-key difference from the first note. A whole step is a two key difference. The half-step is the smallest unit of measure in describing distance between two notes. Look at this diagram and recall from Chapter 5 that half-step does not always mean from a white to black (or vice versa). Likewise, whole-step does not imply a white-to-white (or vice-versa) relationship. The red bracket is the half-step, while the blue is the whole-step.

Then, the discussion of the seven notes were described, the notes were sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, and ni. They can be abbreviated as S, R, G, m, P, D, and N. They are known as suddha swars and can be represented by white keys. The semi-tones between some suddha swars, are known as vikrta swars, and are known as komal re, komal ga, tivra ma, komal dha, and komal ni. They are abbreviated as r, g, M, d, and n

Lastly, here are the ten thats Visnu Narayana Bhatkhande developed.

Asavari
S R g m P d n S’

Bilaval: (the major scale that we worked with)
S R G m P D N S’

Bhairava:
S r G m P d N S’

Bhairavi:
S r g m P d n S’

Kalyana:
S R G M P D N S’

Khammaja:
S R G m P D n S’

Purvi:
S r G M P d N S’

Marwa:
S r G M P D N S’

Todi:
S r g M P d N S’

Unless you have developed full knowledge of the material, do not move onto the next unit. The next unit will develop on more theoretical applications which cannot be understood easily without understanding this material first

UNIT THREE: DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNIQUE

Chapter 09: Alankars of the Ten Thāts
Before songs, ragas, and musical pieces are examined, it is very important to get the fingers truly used to the harmonium. Since ten different musical scales, known as thāts, were introduced in Lesson 7, these can be used as examples to begin practice. Every musical instrument will practice exercises in note progression which is known as alankāra. Alankāras are usually mathematically composed. Here is an example of an alankāra practice set for the Bilaval Thāt.

Aroha: S-R-G R-G-m G-m-P m-P-D P-D-N D-N-S’ N-S’-R’ S’-R’-G’ R’-G’-m’ G’-m’-P’
Avaroha: P’-m’-G’ m’-G’-R’ G’-R’-S’ R’-S’-N S’-N-D N-D-P D-P-m P-m-G m-G-R G-R-S
This previous example uses three notes per segment. An example of a segment in the above alankara is S-R-G.

Here is a four note per segment of Bilavala Thāt.

Aroha: S-R-G-m R-G-m-P G-m-P-D m-P-D-N P-D-N-S’ D-N-S’-R’ N-S’-R’-G’ S’-R’-G’-m’ R’-G’-m’-P’
Avaroha: P’-m’-G’-R’ m’-G’-R’-S’ G’-R’-S’-N R’-S’-N-D S’-N-D-P N-D-P-m D-P-m-G P-m-G-R m-G-R-S

Do you see the pattern? This is a four-note per segment alankara. The first note of the second segment is the second note of the first segment. Thus, the first note of the second segment is “R”. The third segment starts off with “G” and so on. Usually, three and four note segments are good ideas for alankar practice.

Practice the alankars shown on this page.
Practice alankars for Kafi thāt. (3 note)
Aroha: S-R-g R-g-m g-m-P m-P-D P-D-n D-n-S’ n-S’-R’ S’-R’-g’ R’-g’-m’ g’-m’-P’
Avaroha: P’-m’-g’ m’-g’-R’ g’-R’-S’ R’-S’-n S’-n-D n-D-P D-P-m P-m-g m-g-R g-R-S

Practice alankars for Kalyana thāt (3 note)
Aroha: S-R-G R-G-M G-M-P M-P-D P-D-N D-N-S’ N-S’-R’ S’-R’-G’ R’-G’-M’ G’-M’-P’
Avaroha: P’-M’-G’ M’-G’-R’ G’-R’-S’ R’-S’-N S’-N-D N-D-P D-P-M P-M-G M-G-R G-R-S

Practice alankars for Purvi thāt (4 note)
Aroha: S-r-G-M r-G-M-P G-M-P-d M-P-d-N P-d-N-S’ d-N-S’-r’ N-S’-r’-G’ S’-r’-G’-M’ r’-G’-M’-P’
Avaroha: P’-M’-G’-r’ M’-G’-r’-S’ G’-r’-S’-N r’-S’-N-d S’-N-d-P N-d-P-M d-P-M-G P-M-G-r M-G-r-S

Practice alankars for Bhairava thāt (4 note)
Aroha: S-r-G-m r-G-m-P G-m-P-d m-P-d-N P-d-N-S’ d-N-S’-r’ N-S’-r’-G’ S’-r’-G’-m’ r’-G’-m’-P’
Avaroha: P’-m’-G’-r’ m’-G’-r’-S’ G’-r’-S’-N r’-S’-N-d S’-N-d-P N-d-P-m d-P-m-G P-m-G-r m-G-r-S

Practice alankars for Bhairavi thāt (4 note)
Aroha: S-r-g-m r-g-m-P g-m-P-d m-P-d-n P-d-n-S’ d-n-S’-r’ n-S’-r’-g’ S’-r’-g’-m’ r’-g’-m’-P’
Avaroha: P’-m’-g’-r’ m’-g’-r’-S’ g’-r’-S’-n r’-S’-n-d S’-n-d-P n-d-P-m d-P-m-g P-m-g-r m-g-r-S

Practice alankars for Marwa thāt (3 note)
Aroha: S-r-G r-G-M G-M-P M-P-D P-D-N D-N-S’ N-S’-r’ S’-r’-G’ r’-G’-M’ G’-M’-P’
Avaroha: P’-M’-G’ M’-G’-r’ G’-r’-S’ r’-S’-N S’-N-D N-D-P D-P-M P-M-G M-G-r G-r-S

Practice alankars for Todi thāt (4 note)
Aroha: S-r-G-M r-G-M-P G-M-P-d M-P-d-N P-d-N-S’ d-N-S’-r’ N-S’-r’-G’ S’-r’-G’-M’ r’-G’-M’-P’
Avaroha: P’-M’-G’-r’ M’-G’-r’-S’ G’-r’-S’-N r’-S’-N-d S’-N-d-P N-d-P-M d-P-M-G P-M-G-r M-G-r-S

Practice alankars for Asavari thāt. (3 note)
Aroha: S-R-g R-g-m g-m-P m-P-d P-d-n d-n-S’ n-S’-R’ S’-R’-g’ R’-g’-m’ g’-m’-P’
Avaroha: P’-m’-g’ m’-g’-R’ g’-R’-S’ R’-S’-n S’-n-d n-d-P d-P-m P-m-g m-g-R g-R-S

Practice alankars for Khamaja thāt. (3 note)
Aroha: S-R-G R-G-m G-m-P m-P-D P-D-n D-n-S’ n-S’-R’ S’-R’-G’ R’-G’-m’ G’-m’-P’
Avaroha: P’-m’-G’ m’-G’-R’ G’-R’-S’ R’-S’-n S’-n-D n-D-P D-P-m P-m-G m-G-R G-R-S

Chapter 10: Tala: The Indian Rhythmic Cycle

“… Welcome to the second cluster of this journey in the world of tabla. This is perhaps one of the most common and most interesting sections. In the previous unit, we talked about the alphabet and sounds of tabla. The fundamental bols and sounds very important for tabla will be used together to make rhythms and many interesting elements.

In Indian music, generally, there are three elements. The elements are the melody, drone, and the rhythm. The melody is provided by an instrument of the sushir vadya (blown air), tantri vadya (plucked stringed instruments) and vitat vadya (bowed instruments). These three instruments have the ability to play Indian melodious modes known as ragas. A simple definition of raga provided here can never do full justice to define what a raga really is.

The second element is the drone. The drone is a simple note held constantly. The function of the drone is to help provide a constant pitch. This helps vocalists find their tonic. Drones are found in instrumental music either by a drone instrument or in the melody instrument itself. The tanpura and sruti box are the most commonly used instruments to act as drones.

The final element is the rhythm. The proper word for rhythm is tala. This comes from the Hindi word, “tali” meaning “clap.” This provides the time when the raga is played. Tabla is a tala episode. Pakhawaj, mridanga, khol, and dholak are other instruments used to keep tala.

Western music tends to describe rhythm in measures. For instance, every measure in a song can have four beats. In Indian music, we describe rhythm as cycles. A piece can be in a rhythm of sixteen cycles. Let us examine the elements of the tala.

The tala can be viewed best as a unit circle read clockwise. The beginning of the circle indicates the start of the cycle. Each cycle has beats. The Indian word for beat is matra. A cycle has a fixed number of matras. The first matra indicating the start of the cycle is known as the sam. By convention, the sam is represented by an “X.” The circle is thus divided by measures called the vibhag. The Western concept holds each measure bearing an equal number of beats. Vibhags, on the other hand, may or may not hold equal numbers of matras.

Notice at matra 1, the “X” representing the sam is indicated there. Since there are sixteen matras, and four vibhags, we can assume that each vibhag has four matras. 1+4=5. Matra 5 starts the second vibhag. 5+4=9 Matra 9 starts the third vibhag. 9+4=13. Matra 13 begins the final vibhag. After matra 16, the cycle repeats. One completed cycle is known as an avartan.

When we discuss the vibhag nature of this tala, we say, “This tala is divided 4-4-4-4.” This set of numbers is called a vibhag division or tala division. This means the first vibhag is four matras, the second is four matras, the third is four matras, and the fourth is four matras. If you add each of the matras up, you should end up with the total number of matras in the cycle. In this case, 4+4+4+4=16 matras. Other possible divisions could be 6-4-2-4. This is also four vibhags, but the first vibhag has six matras, second having four, third having two, and fourth having only four matras. Add 6, 4, 2, and 4 together and you also get sixteen. This means that the divisions occur at sam, matra 7, matra 11, and matra 13. Therefore, just because it has four vibhags with sixteen matras does not imply four matras in each vibhag.

On Figure 10.1, there are numbers 2, 0, 3, and “X.” These are accent numbers. Generally, the sam is the matra with the highest accent. This is thus, indicated with an “X.” The number 2 and numbers after 2 represent stress or accents. These are called accent numbers. The accent number 2 and accent number 3 do not represent weight or the amount of stress. The accent numbers simply represent position. Shown on Figure 10.1, accent number 2 is placed on matra 5. This denotes matra 5 having an accent. Similarly, accent number 3 is placed on matra 13. This means that matra 13 has an accent. If a matra contains a zero, this denotes that the matra has no accent. In this case, matra 9 has no accent.

When describing talas, a clapping, waving convention is used. The sam and accent numbers receive claps. Therefore, the sam and accent numbers are known as talis. When reciting the tala, the matra with tali is given with a clap of hands. The zero number has no accent. It is considered an empty weighted matra. The matras with zero number are known as khalis. Khalis receive a wave of hands. This is the most accepted approach to describing talas, more than the unit circle shown on Figure 10.1. To use the clap-wave approach for the following tala, you recite and act the following words:

“CLAP 2, 3, 4, CLAP, 2, 3, 4, WAVE, 2, 3, 4, CLAP, 2, 3, 4”

When you actually recite the tala using claps and waves, and then play the actual tala on tabla, it is very amazing to see how similar the clap-wave notation and the actual tabla sounds. When describing talas in the future, the clap-wave method will be described along with the tala.

Some artists, to emphasize the number of bols, will count based on accumulating matras. For instance.

“CLAP 2, 3, 4, CLAP 6, 7, 8, WAVE 10, 11, 12, CLAP 14, 15, 16”.

This works too. Either way serves the purpose of keeping accents, vibhags, and matras per vibhag in tact.

CLASSIFICATION OF TALAS
By the number of matras in a tala, a general assumption of the flow can usually be made. In Indian music, we discuss the classification of tala length, by considering its multiples. Usually, this classification allows many substitute talas for the same composition. The classification of the tala is called its jati. Jati literally comes from the Hindi word meaning “caste.”

Tisra jati means that the tala has a cycle with a multiple of three matras. Catastra jati means that the tala has a cycle with a multiple of four matras. Khanda jati indicates a multiple of five matras. Misra jati indicates a multiple of seven, and a rare jati, sankirna, indicate a multiple of nine. A tala with nine matras, even though it is a multiple of three, has a higher priority with nine. Usually, a number with multiple choices for jatis would opt for a higher jati. The only exception is twelve matra talas. Prime number talas are named to the nearest jati. For instance, an eleven matra tala is classified as a khanda jati, since ten, a multiple of five, is the closest. The tala used in Figure 10.1 is catastra jati.

Be sure to understand these concepts very well. These will be used very extensively in our development of building tala knowledge. …”

Chapter 11: Reading Indian Music

We have discussed a basis of melody in Chapter 7 through the That. We recently learned about the basis of rhythm in Chapter 10. This chapter will attempt to unite these two elements together.

Traditionally, Indian music was always taught orally by master to student. The student had their instrument with them the whole time practicing whatever material the teacher has taught them. There was no concept of a notebook or taking notes or reading any textbook or guide. Of course, this gurukula system is starting to be phased out and replaced with traditional school or tutor like classes for these instruments in India. To aid in the education process, notation was created. There are many forms of notation, but the one presented here is the Bhatkhande notation.

There are four important lines shown here. The first line with red numbers represents the tala signs. These signs were described in the previous chapter. The sam is marked with the X, the subsequent accents, or talis, are denoted by their number in order, and the khali, the deaccented mark, is represented by a 0, as shown on matra 5 above.

The second line is the matra numbers. They describe only the positions within the cycle described. The third line is the line with melody using the sargam. These are the notes that you actually play on the harmonium or any melodic instrument for that matter. Finally, the last line assumes that you are singing a song and gives the words to the song. This song is jaya radhe jaya krsna. Notice in matra 4, two interesting things happen. The matra is divided into two sections. This is because two different attacks of notes will take place evenly. You can view each section as 4A and 4B. The lyric shows the changes in notes from the word “radhe.” Its first syllable started on matra 2 and the second syllable started on matra 3. However, the second syllable went into matra 4 with some note changes. The “e” lyrics imply that you hold that vowel until the start of matra 5.

Given that you have not any real experience at playing harmonium or any musical instrument, it will be quite likely that keeping time will become difficult. The best bet is to read the sargam and then play it while singing the lyrics shown in equal time. Go really slow if you have to. There is no rush; slowly you will develop speed in singing while playing the respective notes.

The lyrics are from a Hindi bhajan used in a Golden Avatar tape released in 1981 called “Prabhupada Krpa.” The lyrics read “kirtan karke tihara man yeh pavan ho gaya.” Read this out loud and try to play this piece note by note. Notice in line 2, matra 3, we start introducing half-beats.

Pay attention to the lyrics line. Matra 5 on line 1 has an “S” for a lyric. The “S” in the lyrics line indicates silence. Silence implies that no word is uttered from the mouth, although the harmonium will play something. In this case, matra 5 is playing Re on the keyboard, but nothing will be sung at that matra.

Study these two mini-songs. We will learn more songs throughout the guide, but be sure you know how to read music in this form. This will help us throughout, when we learn new songs and new ragas with new talas.

Chapter 12: Introductory Practice

There are other theories of Indian music which are yet to be discussed. However, before getting to that point, it is important to get familiar with harmonium playing with some songs. Therefore, the first portion of practice will allow one to get familiar with songs that use the basics that were previously mentioned.

The first song that is the easiest is the Hare Krsna mahamantra.
The words are “hare krsna, hare krsna, krsna krsna, hare hare; hare rama, hare rama, rama rama, hare hare.’
This song starts at matra 7. Matras 7 and 8 carry the syllables “ha” and “re.” One may ask, “Why does the song begin at matra 7 instead of the sam?” To answer this question requires some knowledge of talas. Matras 7 and 8 are known as upbeats, because they don’t start at the beginning of the cycle. Matra 7 will be a very important matra as far as our words and beginning of melody is concerned. With this common tune of the Hare Krsna mahamantra, it is not uncommon to use an eight beat cycle. In relation to the continuously played eight beat cycle, the first syllable falls on matra 7. Everything else falls in place.

While it is important to get the correct swars, it is just as important to consider the duration of each swar. In Line 2, say “kri-i-shna-a-a-a-ha-re.” One must really voice out the syllables, even if they are vowels. Line 3 is very similar, “kri-i-shna-a-a-a-kri-shna.” Line 4 is the same as Line 2. Line 5 is said, “ha-a-re-e-e-e-ha-re.” Once one can say the words in correct timing and meter, then apply the swars.

Notice that the last line’s matras 7 and 8 are italicized. The italicized swars and lyrics indicate that they are part of the next stanza that will either repeat the musical form or use another musical form. For example, Figure 12.1 presents the tune for the “hare krsna” component of the mahamantra. When one sings the “hare rama” part, the same tune will be used as the “hare krsna” part. Thus, to indicate the “hare rama” component that will follow the “hare krsna” part, the “hare” syllables and swars are italicized. After completion of “hare hare” from the “hare rama” portion, then matra 7 will begin with “hare” from the “hare krsna’ part.

nama oḿ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-taleśrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine

namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇenirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe

(jaya) śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu nityānandaśrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare

Chapter 13: Song Practice (I)

The last chapter discussed the mahamatra which involved only one form associated with it. With that one form, one could repeat the chant over and over again. In terms of music, this is the simplest scenario. The truth is that songs will have more than one form associated with it. In some cases, a song will contain a melody for the refrain, and a melody for the verses. Sometimes, the verses will have two melodies which will alternate themselves. A great number of combinations can exist when examining how songs are composed.

When discussing harmonium or any melodic musical instrument, it is important to be able to break the verses down into distinct melodic patterns. The principal melody that acts as a refrain is known as the asthayi or sthayi. Any subsequent musical patterns that follow the asthayi are known as antarā (lit. “verse”). Please keep in mind that asthayi describes the melodic, musical form, not the actual lyrics. For example, the song in this practice is the Gurvastakam. The song contains eight verses, which 1, 3, 5, and 7 uses the same principal melody. Thus, verses 1, 3, 5, and 7 are known as verses contains the asthayi, although lyrically, they are not refrains. In the same manner, verses 2, 4, 6, and 8 are verses that that contain the same melody (a sub-tune of the asthayi). Therefore, they are known as the antara melodies, even though lyrically, there are eight verses.

The song in this lesson is a Sanskrit astakam, or a set of eight verses. The format, as mentioned in the last paragraph, is that 1-3-5-and-7 contain asthayi melody and verses 2, 4, 6, and 8 bear the antara melody.Did one notice any striking resemblance with the antara and the asthayi. The last two lines sounded very similar. It is not uncommon to have the antara retain various properties of the asthayi, although very different melodic forms are acceptable with antara. Sometimes, antara portions will have a rhythmic change from the asthayi.


After completing the asthayi and the antara, what is next? This particular song is an example where the asthayi and the antara alternate.

It is common to sing only the first eight verses only, although occasionally the ninth verse is sung in the antara form.

The following is the lyrics colored out. The red indicates that the asthayi is used, while the orange indicates that the antara is used.

(1)
saḿsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvamprāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasyavande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

(2)
mahāprabhoḥ kīrtana-nṛtya-gīta-vāditra-mādyan-manaso rasenaromāñca -kampāśru-tarańga-bhājovande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

(3)
śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā-śṛńgāra-tan-mandira-mārjanādauyuktasya bhaktāḿś ca niyuñjato 'pivande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

(4)
catur-vidha-śrī-bhagavat-prasāda-svādv-anna-tṛptān hari-bhakta-sańghānkṛtvaiva tṛptiḿ bhajataḥ sadaivavande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

(5)
śrī-rādhikā-mādhavayor apāra-mādhurya-līlā guṇa-rūpa-nāmnāmprati-kṣaṇāsvādana-lolupasyavande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

(6)
nikuñja-yūno rati-keli-siddhyaiyā yālibhir yuktir apekṣaṇīyātatrāti-dākṣyād ati-vallabhasyavande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

(7)
sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrairuktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥkintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasyavande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

(8)
yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādoyasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto 'pidhyāyan stuvaḿs tasya yaśas tri-sandhyaḿvande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

(9)
śrīmad-guror aṣṭakam etad uccair
brāhme muhūrte paṭhati prayatnāt
yas tena vṛndāvana-nātha sākṣāt
sevaiva labhyā juṣaṇo’nta eva

Throughout the song practice portions of the website, this colored notation will be used. Generally, asthayis will be shown in red, while the other antaras are colored other colors.

HOW TO PRACTICE SONGS

The best way to study a new song is to take each line and say it out loud in terms of rhythm. Do not try to sing it yet.

Therefore, you would say out loud:

(PAUSE) saḿ sā ra dā ā vā ā ā nala lī ḍha lo o ka a

The PAUSE in the beginning indicates that the first beat is actually a pause. Therefore, after the rhythmic instrument, be it a mridanga, tabla, or kartal, makes it first correct strike, then one begins playing or singing.

The breakdown breaks the line down into its matras. For example, “nala” contains two syllables in its lyrics, but it fits in one matra. Likewise, many of the long vowels would take up two matras, like the syallable “dā” in “dāvā” two up two matras. In this manner, break each line down into its rhythmic components and then fill the swars in. It is the best practice to tackle most songs.

The next lessons will not give much commentary, but provide only practice for fingering and experience for songs.

Chapter 14: Song Practice (II)

After learning the Gurvastakam, it is only appropriate to learn the Nrsimha prayers. While there are variations as to which song is defined as the Nrsimha prayers, this song is the song that begins with the first words “Namaste Narasimhaya.” There is one asthayi and one antara form. The asthayi is repeated for the first two verses. The antara consumed the third verse.

Sometimes, the asthayi or antara might be quite lengthy. Therefore, in this presentation, it may split up, as the antara is split up into two parts.

LYRICS:
(1)
namas te narasiḿhāyaprahlādāhlāda-dāyinehiraṇyakaśipor vakṣaḥ-śilā-ṭańka-nakhālaye

(2)
ito nṛsiḿhaḥ parato nṛsiḿhoyato yato yāmi tato nṛsiḿhaḥbahir nṛsiḿho hṛdaye nṛsiḿhonṛsiḿham ādiḿ śaraṇaḿ prapadye

(3)tava kara-kamala-vare nakham adbhuta-śṛńgaḿ
dalita-hiraṇyakaśipu-tanu-bhṛńgamkeśava dhṛta-narahari-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare

UNIT FOUR: CHORDS AND ACCOMPANIMENT

Chapter 15: Murchana and Accompaniment

From the world of practice in the last five chapters, a nice break is needed in order to discuss more accompaniment theory. Everything discussed up to this point existed only in the perfect world.

The actual keys have specific pitches. Pitch is a qualitative measure of how high or low it sounds. Quantitatively, pitch is a description of frequency which is measured in Hertz. In Western music, the pitches are represented by letters of the alphabet, from A to G.
The pitches or frequencies of all of the other notes are based on the fact that sound frequency of A equals to 440.0 Hertz. This is the Western system of tones. Maybe Indian musicians, unfortunately, equate C, D, E, F, G, A, and B as the “Western version of S, R, G, m, P, D, and N” respectively. This is not the case at all.

Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, and ti are the Western equivalents of the sa, re, ga and ma system. Both “do re mi” and “sa re ga” are examples of solfeges.

INTRODUCTION TO CHANGING KEYS

WESTERN TONE WESTERN SARGAM INDIAN SARGAM

C Do S

D Re R

E Mi G

F Fa m

G So P

A La D

B Ti N

This is true when your Sa = C. When you will be accompanying another singer, they might not always be singing using the Sa being equal to C. Just as people are different, so are their natural ranges and singing pitches. Someone could have their Sa being equal to the pitch of D. What will happen then? Figure 18.1 will have absolutely no use to you at all. What will you do?

There are twelve keys amongst scales. It would be difficult to write out every single raga with each of the twelve key changes. The simplest way to convert between keys is by understanding the concept of the whole step and half step. If you don’t remember from Chapter 5, half step is the distance from a key and its next consecutive key. The whole step is the distance from a key and two keys after it. Using the suddha scale, we will examine the step differences.

Notice from the G to m and N to S’ change, there was a half-step difference. Remember this and we will use this application to do our shift in Sa.

Before we move on, let us examine the Western system of tones. We only looked at the white keys. The black keys, which correspond to vikrta swars in Indian music, have special names. The nomenclature is a bit difficult, but # after a note, means a sharp, while a b after a note means its flat. Unlike Indian music where each vikrta swar has its own name, each vikrta swar in Western music has two names: a sharp name (#) and a flat name (b).

MURCHANA AND SUDHA RAGAS

When Indian musical theorists studied scales, experimentation of changing the Sa with respect to any of the other six notes of the sargam have been done before. The movement of the Sa upon any of the notes is known as the murchana. If one takes the Bilawal Thāt of all suddha notes, one can clearly see how six other scales are hidden.

TRANSPOSE SCALE TRANSPOSED NAME OF NEW SCALE

S S R G m P D N S’ Bilawal

S moves to R S R g m P D n S Kafi
S moves to G S r g m P d n S’ Bhairavi
S moves to m S R G M P D N S’ Kalyana
S moves to P S R G m P D n Khamaja
S moves to D S R g m P d S Asavari
S moves to N S r g m M d n S' Non-existant

Notice how we moved the Sa upon each of the other six notes of the sargam. By doing that, we created six other musical scales which introduced vikrta swars. The way these were introduced is through the exact same process we did when we found the Bhairavi Thāt for Sa being equal to E. In that, we noticed it is all white keys. This should now be no surprise that we expect the white key scale of E (given that Sa = C) will have the Bhairavi Thāt. This is not only true for Bhairavi Thāt. There are others which are white key scales. In fact, there are seven; given that Sa equals each of the seven white keys.

1) Identify the raga or thāt
If you can identify what is being sung, then you are a quarter way there. Knowing what is being played will help you map out your half-steps, whole-steps, as well as the actual keys which will be played after you find the Sa.

2) Identify the Sa
Once you know what is being played, then find the Sa. If you are performing in public, then you should collaborate with the main musician and see what key everything is being played in. If you have a scale-changing harmonium, change your scale to that key. If you don’t, then find that corresponding key on the harmonium in advance and keep that as your focal point. If your Sa will be changing from song to song, then keep that in mind as well. Don’t worry, as this is Indian music; traditionally classical Indian music does not believe in changing Sa in the middle of a particular song. If the song started in Sa being equal to F, then the song will end in Sa being equal to F. Of course, raga change and grace-notes may be used here and there but remember to keep your Sa focused.

If you are playing for a crowd with no advanced planning, then while the singer is singing, softly pump some air in the harmonium and test some likely notes. Whichever sounds the most compatible is most likely the Sa. Once you feel confident that the note is your Sa, play Sa to confirm that your choice is correct.

3) Map out the rest of the notes slowly
This requires some thought as you will have to meditate on the raga being performed and the keys which will correspond to it. Remember to think of half-steps and whole-steps to decipher where your notes will fall. For example, Raga Malkauns has a five swar set of S, g, m, d, and n. The distance from S to g is three-half steps. The distance from S to ma is five half-steps. Keep thinking like this, but do so quickly, because it would be pretty embarrassing to have the song be over by the time you finally get the gist of the melody on the new Sa.

UNIT FOUR: PRACTICE

Chapter 16: Song Practice

After taking a brief break from learning new songs, we continue learning more bhajans and kirtans. Just as the last unit had bhajans and aratis in the morning, this will focus on common bhajans sung by Gaudiya Vaisnavas. The first in the selection is the Gaura Arati, the ceremony glorifying Lord Caitanya. There is one asthayi and two antaras. Antara 2, as in the Gurvastakam (Chapter 13), alternates with the asthayi, some may reverse the order. In addition, a few will sing everything with Antara 2. Antara 3 is used for the refrains featured below. Other Gaudiya Vaisnava groups have more alankaras (refrains in the middle of the song) so the others may have different tunes.

LYRICS:
(1)(kiba) jaya jaya gorācānder āratiko śobhājāhnavī-taṭa-vane jaga-mana-lobhājaga-jana-mana-lobhā
(Refrain 1)(gaurāńger ārotik śobhā jaga-janer-mana-lobhā)

(2)dakhiṇe nitāicānd, bāme gadādharanikaṭe advaita, śrīnivāsa chatra-dhara

(3)bosiyāche gorācānd ratna-siḿhāsaneārati koren brahmā-ādi deva-gaṇe

(4)narahari-ādi kori' cāmara dhulāyasañjaya-mukunda-bāsu-ghoṣ-ādi gāya

(5)śańkha bāje ghaṇṭā bāje bāje karatālamadhura mṛdańga bāje parama rasāla
(Refrain 2)(śankha bāje ghaṇṭā bāje madhur madhur madhur bāje)

(6)bahu-koṭi candra jini' vadana ujjvalagala-deśe bana-mālā kore jhalamala

(7)śiva-śuka-nārada preme gada-gadabhakativinoda dekhe gorāra sampada

Chapter 17: Song Practice

A common bhajan sung is Bhaja Hu Re Mana. Structurally, it is a very simple song based off a sixteen matra cycle known as tintal (though many mridanga players tend to play a slow eight matra Prabhupada tala). Though the easiest way is to repeat the asthayi and Antara 1 over and over again, the approach taken here is a refined approach to distinctly give it a new verse form.

(1)bhajahū re mana śrī-nanda-nandanaabhaya-caraṇāravinda redurlabha mānava-janama sat-sańgetaroho e bhava-sindhu re

(2)śīta ātapa bāta bariṣaṇae dina jāminī jāgi rebiphale sevinu kṛpaṇa durajanacapala sukha-laba lāgi' re

(3)e dhana, yaubana, putra, parijanaithe ki āche paratīti rekamala-dala-jala, jīvana ṭalamalabhajahū hari-pada nīti re

(4)śravaṇa, kīrtana, smaraṇa, vandana,pāda-sevana, dāsya repūjana, sakhī-jana, ātma-nivedanagovinda-dāsa-abhilāṣa re