The Bhairav Thaat is one of the ten that make up the melakarta system, which categorizes all 72 melakartas into ten distinct groups. Bhairav thaaat is a combination of Kalyan raga and its fifth variant called Varunapriya (Dheerashankarabharanam). Bhairav thaat is one of the ten basic thaats used in Hindustani music. A thaat is a set of seven notes upon which a melody can be constructed using various swarams. The bhairav thaat is popularly known as the Bhairavi thumri, though it has no connection with the raga of the same name.
The Bhairav Vadi & Samvadi Theory is a musical concept that was first introduced by the ancient Indian musician and musicologist, Matanga. This theory states that there are certain notes in a musical scale that work well together, while others do not.
These notes are called vadi and samvadi, respectively. The word ‘vadi’ means dominant or pleasing, while ‘samvadi’ means subdominant or pleasing.
The vadi of a scale is the note that gives it its characteristic flavour. It’s the note around which a particular raga revolves. The Bhairav Vadi/Samvadi theory is one of the oldest Indian theories for choosing musical notes. It is based on the idea that certain notes sound well together, while others do not.
The theory was developed over thousands of years and has a proven track record in Indian music. It was first mentioned by Indian Sanskrit grammarian Pingala around the 5th century B.C. Pingala’s work was later translated into English under the title Pingala’s Chord Theory: A Musical Application of Numerical Series.
Bhairav Rishabh is one of the most popular melodic patterns in Indian classical music. It is a combination of two notes – Rishabh and Gandhar – that together create a musical rishabh, or scale. The Bhairav rishabh is used to set a deep mood when playing the tanpura by filling up the lower end of the raga.
The Shadja Prayogas are a family of melodic patterns that have been used as compositional devices in Hindustani classical music for centuries. The theory is named after the raga Bhairav, which means “terrible” in Sanskrit; but is more commonly known today as the fifth raga of the Carnatic music system (the Indian equivalent of the Western major and minor scales).
Shadja Prayogas are special combinations of Shadja swaras in a raga. They are often used in an ascending or descending order, from S R G M P D N S’. When these combinations are used in a single phrase or melodic line, it is called a Shadja Bhedam. However, you can use any combination, provided the notes are close to each other and the phrases flow in a continuous manner.
With this comprehensive guide, you’ll have an easier time understanding the Bhairav Thaat. The Bhairav is a very important concept in North Indian Classical music. It has a particular structure and any raga that is set to this thaat follows this structure.
Select Option
