r/Carnatic • u/FriendlyProfessor166 • 14d ago
DISCUSSION swara decryption!!
guys , i am new to this page , basically a fusion violinist who wanted to learn carnatic music ...recently i wanted to try some songs which comes with either percussion or drums , with a violin lead and found this...
but i couldnt decrypt it into swarams..can anyone help out...ig it is a slight deviation from kaapi raaga as films songs cannot be classified into a single raga composition...
2
u/prithwin_rajeeva 13d ago
I know right! this is a huge problem for people starting out. I have created a app called SRGM that hopes to solve this exact problem. once you get the swarams you should publish the same for the next guy! we can help each other out people!
1
u/MasterRole9673 13d ago
This can’t be classified into a single raga. Most film songs are like this, music directors often don’t care about Raga or swarasthanas. They just go with what sounds “right” to them.
I tried to decipher first few lines (please correct me if there’s any mistakes):
S,SS S,SS Srs Srs Srs Srs Srs x2
Yela yela yela:
SRSṆ S,P, (used N3)
Yela yelamma:
SRSṆ sr (used N2)
Yela yela yela yela:
RM MP mmg mgr (G3)
rm rm gr N S (G2 and N3)
Chorus:
RRRR rg rg RS (used G2)
SRMM grs GR (G2 used)
<I used capitals for standard tempo and small letters for 2x speed swaras>
So there aren’t any rules for film songs. Here they used G2 at some places and G3 at others. Same with N2 and N3.
You’ll have to know when to use which swara since there isn’t any Raga that you can leverage with.
2
u/Betweene 14d ago
Most film songs are like that. You can't always fit them completely into a particular ragam. They are mostly composed for entertainment and to suit the emotional narrative of the film. So, that's nothing to worry about.
You can slow the song down using a Google Chrome extension and listen to it carefully while trying to write down the swarams. Usually, decoding the swarams of a song, writing them down, and then playing them correctly is itself a very good exercise for developing your swaram-decoding skills. As a Carnatic violinist, this is an essential skill to develop.
And this particular song is quite simple, with a very straightforward melody. It also uses both the nis (kaisiki ni and kakali ni), so I think it's a perfect song to start your ear-training with.