This is the first entry concerning melodic material on the blog. I am studying Carnatic vocals and melodic content at SAM under the direction of Sreyas Narayunun, a distinguished, grade “A” All India Radio Carnatic vocalist. I’ve notated lines he has sung in Raga Amirthavarshini from one of my lessons with him. Raga Amirthavarshini is a pentatonic raga with scale degrees 1 – 3 – #4 – 5 – 7. The gestures provide insights into how a raga is developed in a melodic sense, carefully outlining all the pitches in the raga and providing melodic movements that are characteristic of the raga. Play through the phrases and explore the melodic applications at the end of the lesson. A download link for a PDF of this lesson is at the bottom of the page.

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