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SWARAS
AND SWARASTHANAS
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Carnatic music is based not on
logarithmic division but on rational division. An octave is based on the
ratio 1:2; Pa is located through the ratio 2:3; similar definitions
exist for
all the twelve swara sthanas. A few centuries ago, Western classical
music too was based on rational division (the resulting scale was called as the natural scale), but this
has given way to the equally tempered (also called chromatic) scale produced by logarithmic
division. The difference is subtle, but quite important. The rational
division claim is supported by the fact that tuning of instruments (for
example, in setting the frets of veena) is performed mostly by the
ear and not by reference to standards. Further, the swara
sthanas of Carnatic music define only nominal locations for the
swaras. Depending on the raga in which the swara is used,
it manifests a deviation from the nominal sthana. Actually, the
deviation from the nominal sthana depends on the swara phrase in
which the swara occurs; thus, a single swara in a given raga can
appear at different deviations from its nominal sthana when
occurring along with various other swaras of the same raga.
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Swaras And Swarasthanas |
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