How to Play Raga Bhairavi in Hindustani Vocal Music

A raga is a series of notes that on which a melody is founded. Bhairavi is a Hindustani classical raga. It is traditionally sung early in the morning, but in modern times is used to conclude a concert as well. A raga is sort of a scale, and many beautiful songs are composed using the bhairavi raga.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Start the scale by singing "Sa" or saying "Ohm" to become one with cosmic universe. All Indian music is begun in this meditative state. The note sung is the equivalents of the doe note in the western scale, so it is somewhere around a C note. Base the scale on this beginning pitch.

2. Flow the notes of the scale or raga into one another. There is no clear or defined end or beginning to a note.

3. Sing the notes in a very nasally way, using much of the air through the nasal passages and keeping it out of your throat.

4. Keep your singing voice very close to your speaking voice in pitch and clarity. In western music, our singing voices are airy and full of breath with a fabricated sound.

5. Play the following western note sequence to get the basic sound of the Bhairavi raga. This is simply an outline, however. Play C, D flat, E, F, G, A flat, B and high C.

6. Note that in this minor scale, the C serves as the Sa, or the base for this raga. The Sa ends the raga as well, and is held for a greater length of time.