Jazz and melodic minor

All the chords we will look at in this article are taken from the melodic minor harmony. Modern jazz uses melodic minor and its chords a lot. This article introduces you to three melodic minor chords used frequently in jazz by masters.

Working with these chord symbols, finding the notes and interval, deducting the chord – this process will make you more familiar with chord symbols and the considerations one makes when playing more involved chords.

The staff notation of each chord is given. Try finding the notes as an exercise with staff notation. The notes of treble clef and bass clef are given to the right. Click on the image for a larger view; save the image for future reference.

Sus ♭9

The 3rd and 7th notes are the most important notes for most chords. But in the case of Sus ♭9  chords, the characteristic notes are the ♭9, 4th and 6th notes.

Have a look at the figure given to the left. What are the notes? (try finding the notes as an exercise in staff notation)

On the bass clef (bottom set of staff lines), it is the same B♭ note played in two octaves.
On the treble cleff (top set of staff lines), the notes are : C♭, E♭, G, B♭ (bottom to top)

These notes form the B sus ♭9 chord :
B♭sus ♭9 chord : B♭ - root, C♭ -  ♭9 note, E♭ – 4th note, G – 6th note

More details and examples at: chords for all the seven modes of the melodic minor.

Δ#5  – Lydian augmented

• The term Lydian suggests that the chord or scale has the sharp 4th note.
• Augmented refers to a raised fifth (sharp 5th).

The complete chord symbol for a Lydian augmented chord should be XΔ#4#5 

This chord appears as part of the melodic minor harmony – the chord for the third mode of melodic minor scale.

Mostly used in jazz kind of situations, the long chord symbol of XΔ#4#5 is shortened to XΔ#5  for simplicity. Also, the musician probably is already familiar with the chord and knows what she is expected to make out of the symbol and play.

This is an example of a chord symbol which does not indicate all the notes the chord may have.

Lydian augmented without the Lydian

Have a look at the chord to the left.

The notes are indicated along with their respective interval name when G is the root.

• We see that the chord has a major 3rd and major 7th (doubled on two octaves) which satisfies the ‘Δ’ part of the chord name.
• The chord has a sharp fifth note, hence satisfying the #5 part of the chord name.

But the chord does not have a sharp fourth or raised fourth note which a lydian chord should have.

The chord notes in the image satisfies the chord symbol GΔ#5. Though GΔ#5 will be called a Lydian dominant, it does not have a Lydian note in it. Mark Levine calls it GΔ#5 on pg.62 of his Jazz Theory Book .

This is an example of how chord names can be interpreted with freedom, especially in jazz improvisation context. The chord has to be understood in relation to the third mode of melodic minor, from where it is usually derived.

7 #11 – Lydian dominant

As the name suggests, the chord has a sharp 4th (lydian) and the notes major 3rd and minor 7th (dominant). This chord is usually derived from the 4th mode of the melodic minor.

Have a look at the notes to the left.
•Major 3rd and minor 7th notes in the chord satisfies the ‘dominant’ part of the chord name.
•#11th note satisfies the Lydian part of the chord name
•The major 2nd note is an additional note which can be added when the Lydian dominant chord is derived from and used with the 4th mode of the melodic minor scale.

The notes in the figure form the E♭7 #11 chord.

The chord symbol usage goes beyond just finding the intervals mentioned in the name. The chord symbol should remind one of the respective scale, giving one the freedom to add other notes which will sound fine, which are included in the mode from which the chord is derived.

Lydian dominant chord – almost a scale

Find the notes in the figure.

Bass clef : A♭ (root) and G♭ (minor 7th) notes an octave away
Treble clef : C (major 3rd), F(major 6th), B♭ (major 2nd), D (#11th)
These notes form the A♭7 #11

• The #11th note satisfies the Lydian part of the chord.
• Major 3rd note with a minor 7th note is called the       ‘dominant’. Both those intervals are present in the chord
• Major 2nd note is present as with the first example
• Major 6th note is present in the chord

There are 6 notes in the chord. These notes form the notes of the 4th mode of the melodic minor scale. Add a fifth to the notes and you have the full scale of seven notes.

Here the chord symbol usage has gone to the extend of the chord symbol representing almost the scale from which it was derived.

Chord symbols, freedom and choice

We saw in the case of Sus ♭9, how one decides which notes are important to keep the sound of the chord or the scale. It is not enough to follow just maths, but one has to feel and take musical decisions based on how the final outcome should be.

We saw how chord symbols can become more of pointers or suggestions than strict representations of which notes to be played. How it gives freedom to the musician if she knows what musical ideas the chord symbol is pointing to. A chord symbols starts becoming a handle towards the scale, its mode and the kind of music.

More about chords and mastering them at The Chord Code

How can these ideas be used when harmonizing Indian ragas? –
will be discussed in one of the following articles. If you have not subscribed yet, please use the box below and i will let you know when there are relevant updates.

Related posts:

1. Know the modes & use indian raga for jazz improvisation – Melodic minor and Raga Charukesi
2. Raga Shivaranjini, minor 6th chord, its inversion and one more raga
3. What is in a name – chord naming – triads – major, minor, dim, aug

Click on the play button (top left) to listen to the phrase.

Raaga Hamsadhwani Phrase Example

|G , , , G , , R | SRG , , , , R| NRNR G , , R| NRNP

Each alphabet and comma is of a sixteenth note duration.

Let us find out the chords for D Hamsadhwani – Hamsadhwani raga or scale starting with D as the pitch, root or Sa.

Harmony for Raga Hamsadhvani – Part by part

Part 1. (G G R) = (F# F# E)

There are just two notes in the selection.

Any chord with both of the notes will naturally have no problem with the phrase.
 
We will take the possible chords of one of the notes out of all possible diatonic chords. Then we will add the other note in the part to each of the chords to get chords which have both the notes.

Then do the same starting with the second note.
 
This is a very analytical way of covering the whole possibilities. We will do it for just the first part. With the remaining three parts, we will try making choices in a simpler, human way.
 
The note F# is present in the following chords :

D, F#m, Bm 

(These chords are taken from the diatonic chords of D major scale, since D Hamsadhwani notes are a part of the D major scale)

Adding the other note in the phrase (E), to the above chords gives

D chord + E → D added 9th

F#m + E → F#m7

Bm + E → sus 4th

(In the case of Bm, you may skip playing the D when adding the E, though nowadays sus4th chords are found with both 3rd and 4th notes.)
 
The note E is present in the following chords :

E minor,  A, C#dim

Adding the other note in the phrase, F#, to the above chords gives

Eminor + F# à Eminor added 9th

A + F# à A6

C# dim + F# à C# dim/ F#

From the above exercise, here is the list of chords one could use for Part 1 :

D, F#m, Bm, E minor, A, C#dim – 3 note chords

D added 9th, F#m7, B sus 4th, Eminor added 9th, A6, C# dim/ F# – 4 note chords

Which chord to play?

Any of the above found 4 note chords have both the notes in the phrase, so they can't be wrong.

The phrase GGR has G in the beginning and stays on the G for 2/3rd of the phrase. If we were to do it in a simpler way, i would think that out of the possible options, it is a good choice to play a chord that belongs to Ga.
 
Let us examine the remaining 3 parts of the phrase.  We will stick to finding more obvious chords. We can use just triads and seventh chords while still making the phrase interesting by the way we arrange the chords between each other.

To understand and use chords better, use The Chord Code.

Part 2. S R G R

D major chord is the most obvious chord to play for this phrase starting with Sa.

D major has both Sa and Ri in it (D and F# notes are Sa and Ga when D is the root).

If you want to include the Ri (E note), we get D added 9th (D F# A E)

B minor is another quick option since the chord has both D and F# (Sa and Ga). 

Part 3. N R N R G R

The notes are : C# E F# (Ni Ri Ga)
 
A6th chord has all the above notes. (A C# E F#)

F#7 has all the above notes too. (F# A# C# E)
 
But how does F# major come into the D major scale harmony? D major scale has F#minor, not major in it, leave alone the dominant 7th chord of F#.

F# major is the 5th chord in the B minor scale harmony. B minor is the relative minor of D and is much used while harmonizing D Hamsadhwani. F# major or F#7 can be used while moving to the Bm chord if the melody notes don't clash.
 
F#7 chord, with its tension, could add some interest into the phrase in place of a pleasant chord like A6. In fact A6th has the same notes as F#m7, the F# chord we should have used if following D major harmony exactly.

For this reason I may choose to play F# major or F#7 when the melody notes match, which does in the case of part3.

Part 4. N R N P

The notes are C# E  A  (Ni Ri Pa)

A major chord (A C# E) is the most obvious choice.

You can change it to something else depending on which note or chord you are going on to in the next phrase.

How to form progressions from the possible options?

We will choose the final progression based on what sounds good for the whole phrase and the phrases before and after.

Here are two example chord progressions we could play :

1.      |F#m|D|F7|A|   or

2.      |D |F#m|F7|A|   – this could be interesting because of the change from F#minor to F#7 (major chord in its seventh form)

C Hamsadhwani – transposing to C as the root

|F#m|D|F7|A|  becomes |Emm|C|E7|G|

Raga Hamsadhwani with Western rhythm guitar backing

The rhythm guitar in this video is based on chord logic as above. In the video, I have sung and played with D as the root.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw9PTsP7OEE

Actions

1. Try working out 4 note chords for parts 2 3 and 4
2. Try finding triads and sevenths for more phrases of Hamsadhwani or other major scale based ragas
3. Try changing the different possible chords in the final progression.

Related posts:

1. What is in a name – Chord naming – 6th chords
2. 3 wrong chords and sorting for relevance
3. Diminished, diminished seventh and half diminished seventh chords

We can talk about chords in terms of Indian notation, especially when talking about chords for ragas.

Talk about major seventh note as the big Ni or the N3, and the major seventh chord spelling as S, big Ga, Pa and N3.

Using big Ga and N3 together, as above, is a mixture of notation, the first from the big/small system of referring to notes, while N3 comes from the karnatik notation. But as long as they serve the purpose … (Indian notation – 2 and 3 note systems)

Below i have listed the spelling of 13 frequently used chords in the big/small notation and also in carnatic notation.

The major chord

The minor chord

The diminished chord

The augmented chord

The dominant seventh chord (seventh chord)

The minor seventh chord

The major seventh chord

The minor major seventh chord

The sus 4 chord

The sus 2 chord

The 7sus4th chord

The minor seventh flat five chord (half diminished seventh)

Lydian augmented chord (Δ#4#5)

More about Lydian augmented and other advanced chords

For a complete easy to grasp resource on understanding and using chords, see The Chord Code

Based on the above, you can work out any other chord in terms of Indian notation.

Share this article with anyone whom you think may find it useful or interesting.

Related posts:

1. Big, small and one more – Indian music notation (Sa ri Ga ma) & Western Interval Naming – 2 & 3 note systems
2. Understanding South Indian Classical Music (Carnatic) Raga Mayamalavagowla – Interval structure, Basic analysis, Comparisons, Modes, Finding Chords
3. What is in a name – Chord naming – 6th chords

We will use the second mode of melodic minor as an example exercise in finding chords from the scale notes for two reasons:

1. The second mode of the melodic minor has a flat nine interval in it, which is present in many of the popular indian sounding ragas: Mayamalavagowla, Kamavardhani, Chakravakam etc.
2. The melodic minor is a much used scale in modern jazz improvisation, that much authoritative study has been done on the scale for us to use with confidence.

We will look at the different minors to be clear about what notes and intervals they have. Then we look at the second mode and find the chords. Then we see how to apply this knowledge on other ragas and scales to form chords that represent the characteristics of the parent scale.

Natural harmonic melodic

The three main minor scales we will encounter are the natural minor, harmonic minor and the melodic minor.

Comparing the minors with the major scale

• C major scale: C D E F G A B C
• C melodic minor: C D E♭ F G A B C
• C harmonic minor: C D E♭ F G A♭ B C
• C natural minor: C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭ C

Starting with the major scale, the three minor scales are got by flattening the appropriate notes:

1. melodic minor:    flatten the 3rd
2. harmonic minor: flatten the 3rd and 6th
3. natural minor:      flatten the 3rd, 6th and 7th

Second mode of the melodic minor scale

The second mode of the melodic minor scale would start from the second note of the melodic minor scale.

C melodic minor: C D E♭ F G A B C

2nd mode will start from D, through the notes of the C melodic minor to the D one octave higher.

2nd mode of the C melodic minor: D E♭ F G A B C

Chords for the second mode

The notes (bottom to top):

• B♭ note (played in two octaves)
• C♭ – ♭9 note (minor 2nd interval)
• E♭ – perfect 4th
• G – major 6th
• B♭ – root

These notes form the B♭ sus ♭9 chord.
The sus ♭9 chord comes as part of the second mode of the melodic minor scale.
B sus ♭9 chord is derived from the 2nd more of A melodic minor scale harmony. The second note of A melodic minor is B, from the where the 2nd mode of the scale starts.
The characteristic notes
The 3rd and 7th notes are the most important notes for most chords. But in the case of Sus ♭9 chords, the characteristic notes are the ♭9, 4th and 6th notes.

Playing the Chords for each of the 7 modes of the melodic minor scale and more

Chords for flat nine ragas

sus ♭9 raga

The sus ♭9 chord discussed above can be directly used for any raga or scale with:

• ♭9 interval: R1 / small Ri
• perfect 4th: Shuddha madhyamam / M1 / small Ma
• major 6th: D2/ big Dha
• any Ga, Ni because those notes are not used in the chord.

Try the chord, then listen to it and decide if the chord suits. Maybe the Ga and Ni of the specific raga you are trying may ask to be included in the chord to represent the characteristic sound of the raga. Try them

Sus♭9 with M2 instead of M1

If you have a raga with Prathimadhymam / sharp fourth/ M2 while all the other note remain the same as sus ♭9chord, then try shifting the perfect 4th note to a sharp fourth, listen to the resulting sound and decide if the chord suits the new raga. The chord will have the following intervals: root (Sa), ♭9(R1), #4(M2), Major6th (D2). The raga can have any Ga or Ni, put decide the final chord based on the sound.

Chord for Mayamalavagowla / Malahari

There are two ways we can apply chords on a raga

1. exact scale notes only included in the chord
2. triads and sevenths and other chords approximated to play over the raga.

Here since we are dealing with finding chords from the scale notes, we will talk about finding chords with only the scale notes of Mayamalavagowla.

C Mayamalavagowla: C D♭ E F G A♭ B C

By usual logic of finding obvious chords, we can take the root, 3rd, 5th and 7th notes: C E G B, which is the Cmajor7th chord.

C major seventh could be the chord for any major scale with a major 7th note, while the ♭9 and ♭6 of Mayamalavagowla gives it a distinct sound different from a major scale or lydian scale.

In order to find a chord for mayamalavagowla that truly represents the sound of the scale, try includiing the ♭9 interval to the chord. Start with the simple triad: C E G

Adding flat ninth

1. to the major chord (C E G) gives C E G D♭. You can play the ♭9 instead of the root in one of the octaves. (Usually when you play a c major chord on guitar or keyboard instrument, you will double the root. to play the ♭9, just change one of the doubled roots to a note above.)
2. to the major 7th chord (C E G B) gives C E G B D♭. On the guitar, playing all those notes maybe physically impossible, in which case you can actually omit the root, if there are other instruments playing or once you have sufficiently established the root or pitch of the song.

Try adding the ♭6th instead of the ♭9 to the triad and the major 7th. You may want to omit playing the 5th in this case, decide for yourself.

For a complete easy to grasp resource on understanding and using chords, starting from the basics, see The Chord Code

Practice

Take your favourite ragas. Using the process explained above, form basic chords, then try adding more characteristic notes to make the chord represent the sound of the parent raga you want to play it for.

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p.s. The title 'Natural Melodic Harmonic' reminds me of

1. Tinker Tailor Soldier (spy)
2. Blue sperm killer (whale)
   

Related posts:

1. Notes notes everywhere, where to play the C Major scale notes on guitar – string, fret and modes
2. How to play major scale patterns using raga app – any string, any root, 3 fingering patterns
3. Diatonic chords for the major scale – The ‘safe chords’ for a large number of songs

Kalyani is a prominently used raga in Indian music. Here we have a look at how to connect it with familiar western scales and harmonize Raga Kalyani using the relationships it has with the major scale and its modes.

Kalyani and the Lydian scale / mode

The Lydian mode / scale and raga Kalyani have the same notes. The scale becomes the raga by following the 'micro melodies' (gamagas and the connecting paths) prescribed at each step (swara or scale position). Since those raga movements are also made of the scale notes, we can safely use the chords of the Lydian scale to play over Raga Kalyani.

Kalyani from Lydian

For example when singing 'Sa Ri…' (notes:C D) in Kalyani, you could play the two notes as a phrase like 'S G3 R2 G3 R2' (notes: C E D E D)

'Sa Ri Ga' can be sung as 'S G3 R2 G3 R2 M2 G3 M2 G3'

In both the cases, the main note, Ri or Ga is emphasized and the phrase comes to rest on those notes, while touching the nearby notes to form the characteristic raga sound from the scale notes.

The lydian scale and the major scale has just one note different. The major scale has a perfect 4th while lydian has a sharp 4th. Shankarabharanam has a shuddha madhyamam while Kalyani has a prathi madhyamam.

If the lydian scale has just one note different from the major scale, we can get the diatonic chords of Lydian by changing just that one note in each of the diatonic chords of major scale, where the note to be changed exists.

Chords of Kalyani from the major scale chords

C major scale: C D E F G A B C

C Kalyani: C D E F# G A B C

Change the F to F# to get C kalyani from C major scale (or C shankarabharanam)

If we change the F note to F# in each of the diatonic chords of C major scale, where the F note is present, we get the diatonic chords or safe chords for C kalyani.

Raga Kalyani and the major scale

The lydian scale is the 4th mode of the major scale that has the same notes.

For example the F lydian scale has the notes: F G A B C D E F

Those are the exact same notes present in the C major scale: C D E F G A B C

The F lydian scale starts from the 4th note of the C major scale, and uses the same notes as the major scale.

When we play Kalyani from F as the Sa, we are using the notes of the F lydian scale. So, we can see Kalyani as based on the 4th mode of the C major scale. Raga Kalyani starting from F note as the Sa, uses the same notes as the C major scale.

This means that we can try using the diatonic chords of the C major scale to harmonize F kalyani (Kalyani starting with the F as Sa and therefore uses the notes of F lydian scale)

The diatonic chords of the C major scale are: C Dm Em F G Am Bdim

To use these chords over F lydian or F kalyani, start with F major over the Sa or root of the F lydian or F kalyani. Try G major chord over the Ri of the Kalyani, try Am over the Ga of F kalyani. Similarly with the other notes.

Since F kalyani and the C major scale have the same notes, the chords of C major scale are safe to be used over F kalyani. Begin with these chords, then add, reharmonize, change according to what sounds good or what sound is needed.

Example: which chords to use over C kalyani

To follow the above procedure,

1. find which major scale C kalyani or C lydian is a part of
2. find the diatonic chords of that major scale

Which major scale has the same notes as C lydian?

Remember that Lydian is the 4th mode of the major scale which has the same notes. We saw that F lydian is the 4th mode of the C major scale. Take a guess, count. You will find that if you start counting from G, the notes are G A B C. C is the 4th note of the G major scale. C lydian is the 4th mode of the G major scale

The diatonic chords of G major scale

The notes of the G major scale are: G A B C D E F# G.
You can find the diatonic chord notes by starting from each note of the scale, taking two more alternate notes. For example, if you start from B, skip C, take note D, skip E, then F# note. You get the notes B D F# which is the B minor chord. (diatonic means 'within the scale')

Another way of finding the diatonic chords is by remembering the pattern of minor, major and diminished found among the diatonic chords of the major scale. Above we wrote the chords of the C major scale. Follow the same pattern to write for G: G AM Bm C D Em Fdim G

More about chords? The chord code.

Try playing or singing Kalyani over the chords as discussed above. In the next post we will see how to play chords for Kalyani by understanding the one note difference Lydian has with the major scale.

Related posts:

1. How to play Chords for Indian Ragas and Scale – exact chords and the nearest triads
2. How to play chords for Indian ragas – songs and ragas based on the Major scale
3. How to play chords for Indian ragas – Chords from specific scale notes

In part I, we found the chords for Raga Kalyani using the relationship between the modes of the major scale. Lydian scale has the same notes of Kalyani. In this article, we see how to use the one note difference that Lydian has with the major scale to find the chords of Raga Kalyani. The chords of the major scale are essential study for any student of harmony. It is good to learn chords for ragas using the chords of the major scale as a reference. We will also see how 'changing the note' and 'using the chords of the Lydian mode' both lead to the same results, giving us a better grasp of how things work.

Relation between Kalyani and the major scale

Raga Kalyani has the same notes as the Lydian mode (4th mode of the major scale.)

The only difference between the Lydian mode and the major scale is that the lydian has a sharp fourth while the major scale has a perfect fourth. Below, we will find the chords of the major scale and change the perfect 4th note to the sharp 4th note wherever the 4th note of the scale occurs.

Knowing this relation between the chords of the major scale and the lydian is useful in practice also, because once you know how to play the chords of the major scale, you can play the chords of Kalyani by just one finger shift.

Perfect to sharp

Table shows the diatonic chords of the C major scale and the notes in each chord.

The C major scale and C lydian scale has just one note different. The perfect 4th of the C major scale becomes a sharp 4th in the C lydian scale.

C major scale: C D E F G A B C

C Lydian scale: C D E F# G A B C

Change F to F# in each of the C major scale chord that has an F note to get:

Note the type of chords we get for each position: Major – major – minor – dim – major – minor – minor

We will use the above sequence to get the Kalyani chords from any pitch: C, Db, Eb etc

Chords of the lydian mode

Lydian is the 4th mode of the major scale.

Chords of the C major scale are: C major, D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, B dim

Chords of the F lydian scale are (start from F): F major, G major, A minor, B dim, C major, D minor, E minor.

Note that the sequence of the type of chords we got here is same as the sequence got when we sharpened the 4th note in each chord where it appears.

So by changing the 4th note on each chord, or by finding the lydian mode chords from that root, we get the same chords. Just a double check.
For more about chords: The Chord Code.

Transposing the chords to any root / pitch

1. Write down the major scale from that root
2. change the 4th note from perfect fourth to sharp fourth (sharpen the note)
3. Use the sequence of the type of chords. (Major – major – minor – dim – major – minor – minor)

If you can directly write the lydian scale from any root, you can skip 1 and write the Lydian scale including the sharpened note.

Example: Chords for Kalyani from Db

1. Major scale from Db: Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C
2. Sharpen the 4th note to get the lydian:  Db Eb F G Ab Bb C
3. Apply the sequence of the type of chords on each note position: DbMajor – Ebmajor – Fminor – Gbdim – Abmajor – Bbminor – Cminor

The exact chords for the Lydian scale

Which chord would represent the lydian scale well, sounding the characteristic lydian sound? We could choose a few notes from the lydian scale to start with and then add all the notes in the scale to see what chord that would form.

Starting point

Usually, notes in the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th positions of a scale is a good starting point to make chords for the scale.

The lydian scale has a major 3rd interval and a major 7th interval. Along with the root and 5th, we get the following intervals:

Root – major 3rd – 5th – major 7th

These are the notes in a major 7th chord. The major 7th chord could be the chord for the major scale, or any scale with a major 3rd and major 7th notes in it.

Characteristic

How do we make the major 7th chord to represent lydian scale?

What is the difference between the major scale and the lydian scale? Just one note: the major scale has a perfect 4th note while Lydian has a sharp 4th.

To differentiate the chord of the lydian scale from that of a generic major scale, add the sharp 4th note to the chord we got before.

Add the #4th to the major7th chord.

We get the major 7th #4th chord

C major 7th #4th can be written as C^Δ♯11 or CM7#4 or Cmaj7#4 etc. This chord is simply called the Lydian chord – the chord from the first note of the Lydian mode.

So if we need a single chord to represent Raga kalyani, we could try the Lydian chord which is the major 7th sharp 4th chord.

Chord using all the notes of the lydian scale

Major 7th #11 has the notes: root – major 3rd – fifth – major 7th – #4 (5 notes)

There are only 2 more notes in the lydian scale, which are not in the chord: major 2nd (9th) and major 6th (6th or 13th)

Let us add these two notes to the lydian chord (major 7#11)

Adding major 2nd to a major 7th chord  (without the #11 note) gives a major 9th chord.

Adding major 6th note to the major 9th chord gives the Major 13th chord.

Adding the #4 note to the major 13th chord gives the Major 13 #4 chord, which is the chord we get when we use all the notes of the Lydian scale.

The notes of kalyani are equivalent to the major 13th #4 chord.

Find out the diatonic chords of the major scale from any pitch of your choice. Note the 4th note of the major scale. Note the note you get when you sharpen the fourth. See which chords you get when you change the 4th note wherever it appears in the major scale chords. If you play an instrument, play the major scale chords. See how one finger shift will give you the chords of Lydian, which can be used as the chords of raga Kalyani. Use the example given in this article as a guide.

Related posts:

1. How to play chords for Indian Raaga Kalyani by using modes
2. Diatonic chords for the major scale – The ‘safe chords’ for a large number of songs
3. How to play chords for Indian ragas – songs and ragas based on the Major scale

Past articles have discussed using exact chords and nearest triad for a raga, deriving chords for ragas from the raga notes and understanding raga mayamalavagowla.

Many of us prefer to use simple three note major, minor and 7th chords over Indian ragas even when such chords may have notes outside the notes of the raga. Most often this is done by choosing two notes within the raga and the third note to form the major or minor chord, the third note being from the scale or outside.

Below, we find out triad chords for Raga Mayamalavagowla or Malahari (janya raga or raga derived from Mayamalavagowla on which four carnatic geetams are based on) starting from the root G. You can extend the method to find out chords for other ragas in a key of your choice.

Notes of G Mayamalavagowla: G G# B C D D# F# G G# B C D D#

Below is a preliminary, starting point chord finding for G Mayamalavagowla.

+ Chords for the 4 Malahari Geethams
Click to see details

Make groups of 3 notes each, skipping one note in between, starting from each note of the mayamalavagowla scale. See the detail of the process below.

Triad chord from the First note G

• choose G
• skip G#
• choose B
• skip C
• choose D

We get the three notes: G B D

The notes G B D forms the G major chord.

Therefore, the G major chord is an obvious choice for the note G (swara Sa) in the Mayamalavagowla scale.

Four note chord for Mayamalavagowla from G

Add the seventh note F# (again, skip D# add F#)

We get the notes G B D F# which forms the G major 7th chord.

The G major 7th chord is an obvious choice of 4 note chord for Mayamalavagowla in G. (More 4 note chords based on the scale notes.)

Chord from the second note

G# C D# – G# major chord

Third note B

We could try the reverse method: check if the major and minor chords from the note B have notes from Mayamalavagowla.

Suppose we take the B major chord – notes B D# F# – all the notes present in G Mayamalavagowla
Suppose we take the B minor chord – notes B D F# – again all notes present in G Mayamalavagowla

Chords from the note C of G Mayamalavagowla

C D# G – C minor chord

Chords from the Fifth note D

Finding major and minor triads using two notes of the scale or phrase, by adding an approximate third note reminds one of curve fitting in maths classes

D F# G# – D flat fifth

D F# B – B minor chord (B D F#)

D F# A would give us the D major chord, though the note A is not present in G Mayamalavagowla. We can try the D major chord when the notes D (Pa) or F# (Ni) comes in the melody, or as the Vth chord played before going back to the root chord G.

D F# C – root, major 3rd, minor 7th. If we add the A to the three notes, we get the D7th chord, the Vth chord of G major scale, in its dominant function. Try D7 when the melody line has the suitable notes. Listen, decide for yourself if you like the sound.

Chord from the sixth note D#

D# G B – D# augmented chord.

Try other notes from the scale which are nearby to any of the notes in the chord, to make a minor or major.

D# G C – C minor chord

D# G Bb – D# major chord, though the note Bb is not present in G Mayamalavagowla.

Chord from the seventh note F#

F# G# C – does not form any of the triads, or seventh chords, but add D# to it:

F# G# C D# – G#7 chord. (G# C D# F#: root-major3rd-fifth-minor7th)

The D major chord also has the F# note. D7th also has the F# note. In case the F# note comes just before going back to the root chord, try the D or D7 chord since they are V and V7 chords respectively, which usually precedes the root note giving the perfect cadence.

More chords from the scale notes

G C D – notes from within the scale, gives G sus 4th chord. Try it on the swaras Sa, Ma, Pa.

Similarly, combine notes from the scale notes of Mayamalavagowla to find chords that will fit for the Raga melody. You are free to choose and then decide based on your taste.

More chords for ragas

Related posts:

1. Raga Shivaranjini, minor 6th chord, its inversion and one more raga
2. Understanding South Indian Classical Music (Carnatic) Raga Mayamalavagowla – Interval structure, Basic analysis, Comparisons, Modes, Finding Chords
3. How to play Chords for Indian Ragas and Scale – exact chords and the nearest triads

Chords of Raga Kalyani

The one note difference between natural minor scale and Raga Kharaharapriya
(image made using the Raga app)

Chords can be found for Raga Kalyani, in two ways:

1. as a mode of the major scale (the 4th mode of C major scale is F kalyani scale)
2. as a scale with just one note different from the major scale (major scale has the perfect 4th interval while kalyani has the sharp 4th)

The same two approaches are possible with Raga Kharaharapriya also.

Raga Kharaharapriya

The long list of janya ragas of Raaga Kharaharapriya makes clear it's prominence and importance in Indian classical music. Raga Shree, Kanada (Alaipayuthey), Abheri, Abhogi are all popular names.

Kharaharapriya is a melakarta raga, which means ascending and descending note are the same, in the linear order from Sa to Ni. A scale definition, without any written note order or note skip rules as with the janyas.

Intervals and notes of Kharaharapriya

Arohana of Kharaharapriya: S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N2 S

Avarohana of kharaharapriya : S N2 D2 P M1 G2 R2 S

Use the Indian notation to Western notation relation chart to find the intervals of Raga Kharaharapriya.

• root
• major 2nd
• minor 3rd (so it is a minor scale)
• perfect 4th
• fifth
• major 6th (one note difference from the natural minor scale)
• minor 7th

Notes of A minor Kharaharapriya vs A natural minor

Starting from A note as the root, below are the notes of Raga Kharaharapriya:

A natural minor scale has a minor 6th (F note) while kharaharapriya has a major 6th (F#) note. (Natural minor scale has the same notes as Raga Natabhairavi)

We chose A natural minor for the comparison, since A minor is the cleanest or simplest natural minor, with no sharpened or flattened notes. Start with any natural minor and shift the 6th note one up, and you have the notes of Kharaharapriya scale.

Chords of Raga Kharaharapriya by changing one note

The diatonic chords (chords using the scale notes) of A natural minor scale are same as that of C major scale, because A natural minor and C major scale both have the same notes, they just start from different positions.

C major scale: C D E F G A B C

A natural minor: A B C D E F G A

A kharaharapriya : A B C D E F# G A

Chords of Kharaharapriya will be same as that of the chords of C major scale, except that any F note in the chords should be changed to F#.

Chords of C major scale / A natural minor scale

Chords of A Kharaharapriya

Change any F to F# in the notes of the chords of C major/ Aminor above.

Notes of D Kharaharapriya vs D Dorian

None of the notes have a sharp or  a flat, indicating the possibility that D Kharaharapriya is a mode of the C major scale – C major scale is the major scale whose notes do not have any sharps or flats.

D being the second note of the C major scale, and since D kharaharapriya has no sharp or flat notes, Raga kharaharapriya can be concluded to have the same notes as the second mode of the major scale – the Dorian mode.

Chords of Raga Kharaharapriya based on mode relation

D dorian has the same diatonic chords as the C major scale. They both have the same notes – all alphabets, no flats or sharps.

So the chords of D dorian, same as that of C major, can be used for D Kharaharapriya:

Chords of C major scale / D dorian/ D kharaharapriya

Find chords for Dorian scale/ mode

In the case of the C major scale, Dorian starts on D note, the second note of the C major scale. (Dorian is the 2nd mode of the C major scale)

For any Dorian scale, the root of the major scale is two notes before the root of the Dorian scale.

In the case of D Dorian, we know it is C (C – C# – D)

In the case of E Dorian, the major scale will start from D (D D# E – D is two notes before E). Therefore D major scale chords can be used for E kharaharapriya.

G# Dorian will be part of F# major scale (F# – G – G#). F# major scale chords for G# kharaharapriya.

F Dorian will be part of Eb major scale. (Eb – E – F). Eb major scale for F Kharaharapriya.

More Raga – Chord relations?

Related posts:

1. Chords of Raaga Kalyani – the one note difference with the major scale
2. How to play chords for Indian Raaga Kalyani by using modes
3. How to play major scale patterns using raga app – any string, any root, 3 fingering patterns

Remembering just one set of chords – the chords of the major scale – can help us play chords for a lot many number of ragas by comparing the new raga with the major scale.

Let us take for example, the 6 ragas from each mode of the major scale. The first one Raga Shankarabharanam has the same notes as the major scale.

There are three major scale ragas among the ragas from modes – Shankarabharanam (1st mode, major scale), Kalyani (4th mode) and Harikamboji (5th mode).

Comparing Kalyani and Harikamboji with the major scale shows that each of them are just one note different from the major scale. Use the major scale chords to play chords for Kalyani and Harikamboji with just the one note changed in any chord where it appears.

There are three minor scale ragas among the ragas from modes – Raga Natabhairavi (natural minor scale – 6th mode), Raga Hanumatodi (3rd mode), Raga Kharaharapriya (2nd mode).

Raga Hanumatodi, Raga Kharaharapriya are each just one note different from the minor scale (Natabhairavi). Use this comparison to use minor scale chords for Raga Hanumatodi, Raga Kharaharapriya.

Being able to play chords for a lot many number of scales and ragas by remembering just one set of chords and then changing by comparing, makes playing music much simpler.

Relative minor and major relationship

The natural minor scale chords are same as that of the major scale chords, starting from a different position. So to play chords for the minor scale, you still need to remember the major scale chords only.

A natural minor scale and C major scale are relative minor and major to each other. C major scale and A natural minor scale use the same chords.

C major and A natural minor as basis

A natural minor is the 6th mode of the C major scale. The A natural minor which uses the same notes as the C major scale, only starting from A instead of C. Since C major scale does not have any sharps or flats, neither does A natural minor.
A natural minor chords are same as that of the C major scale.

C major scale chords: C Dm Em F G Am Bdim
A natural minor chords: Am Bdim C Dm Em F G
Look at the above sequence of chords for A natural minor, and you can use it to find the chords for natural minor from any root or Raga Natbhairavi starting from any pitch.

Sequence of chords of natural minor: Minor- dim – major – minor – minor – major – major

C natural minor (C  natabhairavi) notes : C D Eb F G Ab Bb
Chords of C natural minor: C minor – D dim – Eb major – F minor – G minor – Ab major – Bb major

Kharaharapriya chords from Natural minor chords

Kharaharapriya has the same note as Natabhairavi (natural minor) except for the dha or 6th note.
Change Ab note to A in each chord of C natural minor (Natabhairavi) where the Ab note appears, to get chords of C Kharaharapriya.

More raga chords.

Related posts:

1. How to play chords for Indian ragas – Chords from specific scale notes
2. How to play chords for raga kalyani, kharaharapriya – the one note difference
3. How to play chords for Indian ragas – songs and ragas based on the Major scale

We have already discussed Mayamalavagowla with the G root, and about finding major and minor chords for the raga.

Below we use Mayamalavagowla with D root as an example of finding simple major and minor chords for ragas which do not naturally let us use such simple triads.

Then we use these chords to find progressions for the raga, using a phrase of Padumanabha geetam in Raga Malahari as an example.

Please note that Malahari is a janya raga derived from the parent melakarta raga Mayamalavagowla. Since Malahari uses the same notes as Mayamalavagowla, the chords found for D Mayamalavagowla will apply for phrases in D Malahari also.

The D mayamalavagowla scale

D Mayamalavagowla: D Eb F# G A Bb C# D

Triad chords for D mayamalavagowla

The above table shows chords found from each swara or note position of the scale.

The third row shows the chords we get naturally by picking alternate notes starting from each scale note.

The fourth row shows the chords after converting chords in the third column, which are other than major and minor also to major and minor chords, by adding notes outside the scale.

|Ri Sa Dha Sa, Sa,| Ma Ga Ri Ma Ma Pa , |

These are the notes of the first two bars of the Malahari Geetham Padumanabha Paramapurusha. Below we find chords for each part of the phrase. The song is in 7/8, therefore each bar has notes equivalent to 7 eighth notes.

Ri sa dha

Notes: Eb D Bb

Look at the table of chords above. See if any of the chords has at least two of the notes above.

Eb major chord has both Eb and Bb notes in it. Chord for the phrase: Eb major

Sa, sa,

Note: D

It is the root note. Obvious chord: D major

Ma ga ri

Notes: G F# Eb

G and Eb are found in the chord Eb.

Ma ma pa

Notes: G G A

We could play one chord each for the two parts:

• Part 1: Ma ma.  Note: G. Chord: Gm
• Part 2: Pa. Note: A. Chord: A major

Using the chords chosen above, the chord progression will be as follows:

|Eb     |D      |Eb      |Gm     A|

|R S D|S , S ,|M G R|M M  P ,|

Another chord option for M G R

M G R notes are: G F# Eb

Choose the notes G and Eb.

C Eb G is the C minor chord. The C note is not present in D Mayamalavagowla.

Try the C minor chord over phrases that have Ri and Ma, especially where Ri is prominent.

Using Cm for MGR, the chord progression will be as follows:

|Eb     |D      |Cm     |Gm     A|

|R S D|S , S ,|M G R|M M  P ,|

Similarly we can find chords for the whole song, and make Complete Chord sheets for all the 4 Malahari Geetams. Try using different chord possibilities for the same notes. Try using different chord progressions based on the note – chord relations, when repeating phrases, to bring variety to your arranging or playing.

Get the complete resource on Raga Chords

Related posts:

1. A minor in relation – relative minor scales and chords
2. What is in a name – chord naming – triads – major, minor, dim, aug
3. The ‘root’ case : a major, his relative, a sharp object and a minor

Any raga, scale or phrase has a group of notes. Choosing from within the notes gives us chords.

Below is an example using the Hindustani ragas Marwa, Pooriya and Sohani each of which are based on the notes: C Db E F# A B C.

As the chord player, our job is to find chords that fit the phrase or using the notes within the scale (you can choose to use notes outside the scale if that is your personal taste of harmonization, about which we won’t be discussing here).

The grouping, combination and dynamics of the notes according to the raga is mainly the responsibility of the melody player [chalan bheda (differences in melodic formulation), uccharana bheda (differences in intonation of swara) and vadi bheda (differences in relative emphasis of swara) etc that differentiates one Raga from the other even though the same notes are used].

But, knowing the emphasis of swaras is useful for us to decide which notes out of a phrase to consider for the chords.

Chords from the notes

The notes: C Db/C# E F# A B C

• Consider the notes C E and A (alternate notes starting from C) which gives us the chord Am (notes: A C E: root – minor 3^rd – fifth. Swaras: Dha, Sa, Ga)
• The notes: A C# E gives us the A major chord. (Swaras: Dha, Ri, Ga)
• Consider the notes F# A C# – gives us the F#m chord (Swaras: Ma, Dha, Ri)

The Lydian Flat 9^th scale

C Lydian: C D E F# G A B C

C Lydian b9: C Db E F# G A B C

The notes of the raga Marwa or Pooriya or Sohani are same as that of the Lydian b9 scale. In the raga, we don’t use the Pa or 5^th note (G) – that is the only difference.

Go through the information about chords for each mode of the Major scale, chords for the Lydian scale/Kalyani, and chords for b9 scales. Practicing these parts gives us further idea about find chords for ragas with #4^th (lydian) and b9 notes.

Chords for Raga Marwa

The raga Marwa has the characteristic use of Ri and Dha, which can be emphasized by the A major and F#m chords which have both the Ri and Dha swaras.

The absence of Pa, (note G) and the phrasing with importance to Dha and Ri, often gives us a feeling that the phrases are based on the Dha and Ri based chords: A or F#m. When the phrase lands on Sa, the absence of Pa and dominance of Dha may lead us to use the A minor chord for Sa.

Below are a few phrases of Raga Marwa, which are good examples of the sound of Raga Marwa.

Phrase 1: D, m G r G m D, D m G r 

Phrase written as Notes: A F# E C# E F# A, A F# E C #

The whole phrase is made of the notes: F# A C# E.

1. As mentioned before, F# A C# is the chord F#m, which can be used in places where the swaras Ma, Dha and Ri appear.
2. Using all the notes in the phrase: F# A C# E gives us the F#m7 chord (notes: F# – A – C# – E = root – minor 3^rd-5^th - minor 7th) which is a definite ‘safe chord’ for the phrase.
3. The notes ‘A C# E (Dha, Ri, Ga)’ gives us the A major chord, which can be used in phrases where the swaras Dha and Ri are prominent (which happens a lot in Raga Marwa)

Phrase 2: D’ N’ r G r, N’ D’, m’ D’ S N’ r, S

Phrase as notes: A B C# E C#, B A, F# A C B C#, C

D’ N’ r G r (A B C# E C#)

The notes used in the phrase are: A C# E B

A C# E gives the A major chord.

Adding the note B to the A major chord gives the A major added 9^th chord (A add 9th).

The note B is a major second interval from the root note A (A-root, A#- minor 2^nd, B – major 2nd). The major 2^nd note is also known as the 9^th note. Therefore adding the B note to the A major chord gives us a chord with the name: A add 9^th. (The A 9^th chord is slightly different from the A add 9^th chord. The A9th chord will need a 7^th note in addition to the notes of A add 9th).

N’ D’

Notes: B A

Usually in Marwa, Dha will be the emphasized note. Therefore, use a Dha based chord for the phrase. Try A major, F#m or even Aminor and use whichever suits according to you.

If we want to include both the notes B and A, A sus 2 (notes: A B C# = swaras: Dha Ni Ri) will be apt. All the notes are from within the scale of Marwa.

m’ D’ S N’ r, S

Notes: F# A C B C#, C

Example chords 1

• m’ D’ S N’: Let us choose (m’ D’ S) as the swaras for the chord. Swaras (m’ D’ S) = notes (F# A C). The notes F# A C give us the F# diminished chord (Notes: F# – A – C = Root – minor 3^rd – flat 5th)
• Ri: use the A major chord
• Sa: use the A minor chord

Example chords 2

If we were to give importance to the swaras (m’ D’ r) out of (m’ D’ S N’ r), the notes of (m’ D’ r) = (F# A C#) give us the chord Fm.

Sa, again Am

Example chords 3

If (m’ N’ r) is given importance, the notes (F# B C#) give us the chord F# sus 4. Since usually Dha and Ri are given prominence in Marwa, use Ni based chord only if sounds suitable.

Phrase 3: D N r” N D, m D N D S” 

Try it on your own. Explanation available within the Raga Chords Resource.

Raga Pooriya

Phrase 1: N’ r G, G r N’ D’ N’, N’ m’ D’ S

N’ r G, G r N’ D’ N’

The swaras: D’ r G (notes: A C# E) form the A major chord, which will sound fine.

N’ (note B) is the major 2^nd note (same as the major 9^th note) with respect to the root A. Therefore adding the note B to the A major chord gives us the A add 9^th chord, which has all the swaras (D’ N’ r G) from the phrase, with emphasis on the Ni’ swara.

More phrases and examples?  Explanation from the basics, for different ragas, in the Raga Chords Resource.

Sohani

Phrase: G m D N S”, S”r” S”r” N S” N D, N D-G m G

G m D N S”

Notes: E F# A B C

G m D N: The notes (E F# A B) form the B7sus4 chord.

S”: Shift the Ni (note:B) to a Sa (note:C), and we have the notes: (E F# A C), which is the F#m7flat5 chord as seen in Phrase 3 of Raga Pooriya.

The notes (A E C F#) form the Am6th chord, which may suit the sound of the phrase.

More phrases and examples?  Explanation from the basics, for different ragas, in the Raga Chords Resource.

Related posts:

1. Raga Shivaranjini, minor 6th chord, its inversion and one more raga
2. Chords for Raga Jayanthashri – ragas based on the minor scale
3. How to play chords for Indian Raaga Kalyani by using modes

Rag Bhopali, also known as Bhoop, Bhoopali or Bhupali, is a Hindustani classical raga, is a pentatonic scale (uses 5 notes in ascending and descending scale) with the same notes as the major pentatonic scale.

Raga Bhoopali has the same notes as in the Carnatic raga Mohanam.

Notes/ Swaras/Intervals of Raga Bhopali

Notes

If we were to play the notes with C note as the Sa,

Raaga Bhupali/ Raga Mohanam notes: C D E G A C

(see the end of this article for more about playing it on a western instrument – C major /F major scale etc)

Aroha & Avaroha of The scale of Bhopali (Hindustani)

Aroha (ascent): Sa Re Ga Pa Dha Sa

Avaroha (descent): Sa Dha Pa Ga Re Sa

Where all the notes – Sa Ri Ga Pa Dha – are Suddha Notes

Arohana Avarohana in Carnatic terms

Arohana: Sa Ri2 Ga3 Pa Dha2 Sa

Avarohana: Sa Dha2 Pa Ga3 Ri2 Sa

Raga Bhoopali notes in terms of Intervals

Root – Major 2nd – Major 3rd – perfect 5th – Major 6th – Octave

Example movements for Raaga Bhopali

Below are a few phrases which are characteristic to Raag Bhoopali, along with example chords.

See how the chords match with the melody phrase or notes at that point. Understand the method behind it, and then you can use it for any phrase.

An underlined swara indicates the mandra saptak (lower octave) and ‘ indicates the taar saptak (higher octave).

Usual pakads (characteristic phrases):

1. S R G R S D S R G
2. S R G R S D S R G P G D P G R S

See the video or image below to see chords for the melody phrases.

Download or click to see the melody and chords as image

1. G R P G G R S R D S
2. G R S D S R G R P G D P G R S

See the video or image below to see chords for the melody phrases.

 Download of click to see the chords and melody as image

The chords given above use 2 note groups from the phrase as the basis. Consider them example chords, use the same method for any note grouping within a phrase of your choice.

How to find and use chords from melody phrases

Let us take a few chord examples from the above melody chord set.

Swaras: Ga Ri

Equivalent to the notes: E D

The Em7 chord has the notes: E G B D

The E7 (dominant 7th chord) has the notes: E G# B D

Since both the 7th chords have the notes E and D in it, we have tried each chord and used both in two places for the same notes (see 2nd video).

The Em chord is part of the family of C major scale chords. Em7 is an extension, adding another note from within the C major scale (from which the major pentatonic Raga Bhoopali is derived). The E7 chord has the G# note which is note in the C major scale. Try it and if you find it sounds good, use it. The theory is for guidance or for a path or a hint or idea to begin with. The final arrangement is about choices.

Swaras: Sa Ri

Notes: C D

We have used both the Cadd9 and Dm chords for the two notes (C D)

The Cadd9 chord (notes: C E G D) has both the notes C and D

The Dm chord (notes: D F A) has the D note. When the C note is sounded in the melody along with the Dm chord, the resulting sound is that of the Dm7 chord (notes: D F A C).

Notice how the above logic works in the given situations, extend them to new situations.

Swaras: Sa Ri Dha

Notes: C D A

The chord D7 (Notes: D F# A C) has all the notes.

One can try the Dm7 chord (notes: D F A C) too, which has all the notes completely within the C major scale.

More at: How you can learn to play Chords for any Song, Raga, Melody or Phrase

Few more phrases:

Some chalans (elaborations of the pakad):

1. G P D P D D S’
2. P G P D P D S’ R’ G’ R’ G’
3. S R G P |R G P D|
4. S’ _ D2 P |G2 R2 S _|

See the video or image below to see chords for the melody phrases.

Download/ Click to see the melody/chords as image

The missing Madhyam – Kalyani thaat, F Major scale etc

Bhupali is classified under Kalyan that (Lydian scale notes). Deshkar is another raga with the same notes as Bhupali, and is included in the Bilawal Thaat (Major scale notes).

Kalyan that has the Theevra Madhyam (note F# when C is the Sa), while Bilawal has the Suddha Madhyam (note F when C is the Sa). The 4th note Ma, makes the difference between Kalyan or Bilawal – Major scale or Lydian.

The original thaat decides the movements, nyasa etc in Bhoopali and Deshkar, which brings the difference in the ragas though the notes are the same. The movements, the note groupings etc are different but the notes are the same.

Since the Madhyam is completely missing in either raga Bhupali or Deshkar, in practice, as far as the scale notes concerned, the raga doesn’t show if it belongs to Bilawal or Kalyan. If it is seen as part of the Major scale or Lydian scale won’t make any difference since the 4th note which brings the difference between the two scales is completely absent in the notes of Raga Bhopali or Raga Deshkar.

It has also been noted that F major scale is mentioned in some places as the scale on which Bhupali is based.

The C major scale notes, when played from the F note as Sa, gives us Kalyan or Lydian with F as the Sa.

F Lydian has same notes as Kalyan, while F major scale will still have the notes as Bilawal, with F as the Sa.

Just remember that ‘Major scale’ or ‘Lydian’ etc is the part which tells us the pattern of the raga, while the preceding alphabet C or F purely tells us what the Sa or the root pitch has been chosen as, which can vary from singer to singer, need to need, song to song.

Playing the white keys on the keyboard or harmonium, starting from the C note gives the notes of Bilawal. While starting from the F note and playing the white keys gives Kalyan. The only note difference is in the 4th note.

To define the raga, the movement of notes from the original thaat are important. But when playing on an instrument, the notes used are the same, and won’t affect the scale whether you start with C or F and play the white keys or respective frets.

In the case of Rag Bhopali, since the Ma is absent, whether you start with C or F and play the needed white keys, it is the same scale with a different Sa.

When applying chords, please remember that the chords from The Lydian scale will have the #4th note while the major scale chords will have the perfect 4th note.

That is, the C major scale chords will have F note in it while the Kalyan/Lydian scale will have the F# note in it. Whether to use F or F# included chords be decided as you find suitable in a case to case basis.

More at Raga/Song chord resource – Chords for any Song, Raga, Melody or Phrase

Related posts:

1. How to play chords for Indian Raaga Kalyani using modes
2. Understanding South Indian Classical Music (Carnatic) Raga Mayamalavagowla – Interval structure, Basic analysis, Comparisons, Modes, Finding Chords
3. Chords for Raga Mayamalavagowla

The Western scale equivalent of Raga Mayamalavagowla is the double harmonic major scale.

Notes of the Mayamalawagowla scale when C is the root: C Db E F G Ab B

Finding basic chords for ragas scales songs

Any phrase can be shortened enough and reduced to two prominent notes, based on which a chord can be found. It is also possible to include more notes from the phrase and find more exact chords.

Below we try to find out chords possible for the scale of Mayamalavagowla (at times referred to in this article as MMG or similar, since the name is pretty long!), phrase by phrase.

Let us start by finding chords for pair of notes,  the note C paired with each other note in the scale of Mayamalavagowla. The intention is to get familiar with the possible western chords and related raga notes, so that one has options to choose from and use in phrase situations. 

Follow similar logic to find chords for any song raga scale or phrase.

Notes paired with the root, C

C Db (Sa Ri)

We try to match the two notes with a pattern of a familiar chord.

C and Db are notes adjacent to each other, with no notes in between.

The major 7th note and the root note in a major 7th chord are adjacent notes. C would be the major 7th note and Db the root. So, the DbM7 chord (notes: Db F Ab C) is an example chord that has the both the C and Db notes and can be tried as a possible chord option. Interestingly, if we check the notes of the chord with the notes of the Mayamalavagowla scale (see beginning of the article), we see that all the notes in this chord are within the scale of the raga, which is good, because that means there is no possibility of any notes clashing in sound; safe chord.

The major 2nd note and the minor 3rd note in a Minor added 9th chord are adjacent notes. C will be the Major 2nd note and Db the minor 3rd note. When C is the major 2nd note, Bb is the root. So, the Bbmadd9 chord (notes: Bb Db F C) is another chord option with both the notes C and Db. The Bb note in the chord is not part of the Maayamalavagowla scale. So be careful to make sure that the chord is not clashing with any possible B note usage in the melody phrase.

C E (Sa Ga)

C major chord (notes: C E G) has all the notes within the MMG scale.

A minor chord (notes: A C E) is the other usual possible chord from within the C major scale chords, for the notes C and E. In the case of MMG, the A note can be changed to Ab, to give the Ab augmented chord (notes: Ab C E). Try both the Aminor and Aaug chords and decide if they suit the purpose.

Also, if the phrase has other notes, try adding those notes to the C major chord to get chords with more of the phrase notes.

C F (Sa Ma)

The F major chord (notes: FAC) is an option. Try it and make sure that the A note (not within the MMG scale) doesn’t clash with any notes in the phrase, especially if Ab note is used in the rest of the phrase.

Change the A note to Ab note and we have the Fminor chord (notes: F Ab C) which is a safe chord with notes only from the MayaMalawaGowla scale

C sus 4th chord (notes: C F G) is another option, all notes within the MMG scale.

C G (Sa Pa)

Since C is the root and G is the fifth note of the C scale, naturally the C major chord is an option for the notes C and G (Sa Pa) and so is the C minor chord. The raga mayamalavagoula scale is a major scale (presence of the major third note E instead of the minor third Eb), so try the C major chord first. But in phrases where the third note (E or Eb) is not specified or present, try the C minor chord too.

For some reason, it is found that the C minor chord does work emotionally, for some phrases for Mayamalavagowla, contrary to the major scale, hence major chord logic. Personal choice/ taste.

C Ab (Sa Dha)

The F minor chord (notes: F Ab C) is a minor chord with both the swaras, and all the notes from within the raga’s scale.

C B (Sa Ni)

C and B notes can be the Sa and Ni (Ni3 or big Ni or shuddh Ni) when C is the Sa.

B is the major 7th note when C is the root.

The C major 7th chord (notes: C E G B) has the notes of the C major chord and the additional B.

More note pairs and phrases from Mayamalavagoula

Ri Sa Dha (Db C Ab)

We have already looked at the possible chord options for Sa Ri and Sa Dha separately.

The DbM7 (notes: Db F Ab C) chord was seen as an option for Sa Ri. The same chord has Dha (note: Ab) also, hence a possible option for the given phrase.

F Db (Ma ri)

The notes Db and F are separated by a major 3rd interval. Add the Ab note (the 5th of Db) and we have the Db major chord (notes: Db F Ab).

E Db (Ga Ri)

The notes Db and E are separated by a minor third interval. Add the Ab note (the 5th note of Db) to get the Db minor chord (notes: Db E Ab)

F E (Ma Ga)

E and F are two consecutive notes: nearby keys or nearby frets. The E note is the major 7th note when F is the root.

Usually we can try the Major 7th chord. F major 7th (notes: F A C E) has both the notes E and F. C is the root of the scale. The note A is not within the scale. Still you can try the chord as long as it sounds appropriate and doesn’t clash with the melody especially if the Ab note is present in the extended melody.

If you change the A note to Ab note, in the FM7 chord, we get the FmM7 chord. The sound of the chord may prevent it from being used in all situations.

Ma Ga ri (F E Db)

It is a combination of the above two situations: Ma ri and Ga ri and Ma Ga.

Since these are three consecutive notes, it is alright to try a chord that suits two of the three, while the third one can be present in the melody. Try one of the three chords Dbmajor, Dbminor, FM7. I would finally choose the Db major chord since it sounds appropriate (probably also because it has the beginning and ending notes of the phrase).

Ma Ma Pa (F F G)

F and G notes can use the G7th chord (notes: G B D F). Try it on the phrase.

If there is enough time to play two chords, we could use separate chords for Ma and Pa.

• The Fminor chord, for example for the Ma note.
• The C major chord/ G7 or even C minor chord for the Pa. Try the C minor (I find it very emotionally suiting for the situation) even though technically C major is the safe chord for the scale.

Chords for Geethams: Malahari Geetham

Click to see the chords for the Malahari Geetham Padumanabha Paramapurusha written for the root D, using the same logic as above.

Here is the Pallavi:

More chords for Geethams, Ragas, Scales, Melodies and Songs at Resource on how to play chords for any Song Raga Melody Phrase Scale.

Another chord example

The video below starts with chords similar to above, and then adds a few extra chords.

Related posts:

1. Chords for Raga Mayamalavagowla
2. Notes notes everywhere, where to play the C Major scale notes on guitar – string, fret and modes
3. Chords for Malahari geetams using simple minor and major chords only

Raga bhairav-aroh chords (‘N S G M P G M, P G M (N)d, G M (N)d, (N)d N S’)

The full article with explanations, at Chords for Raga Bhairav and related Ragas

Raga Bhairav Avarohana: N S’ (N)d N d P, P G M P G M (G)r S

G M P G M (G)r, S, G M (N)d, d, P

G M (n)d, (n)d, P, P G M (G)r, S

Version: G M (N)d, (N)d, P, P G M (G)r, S

Detailed, organized Chords for Indian ragas at Raga Chord Resources

Raga Bhairav

Raaga Bhairav has the same swara or note positions as the 15th Carnatic melakarta Raaga Mayamalavagoula.

Raga Bhairav has the same scale notes as the western Double Harmonic major scale. The double harmonic major scale has all the notes as the major scale with the 2nd and 6th notes flattened (reduced by one note – the shuddh notes become komal).

Raga Bhairav swaras be written as S r G M P d N, where:

•         ‘r’ represents the komal ri, minor 2nd interval
•         ‘d’ represents the komal dha, minor 6th interval
•         G M N are shuddh Ga Ma and Ni respectively (major 3rd, perfect 4th, major 7th)
•         P represents Pa, the 5th note.

The notes / swaras / intervals

Swaras

Carnatic: Sa Ri1 Ga3 Ma1 Pa Dha1 Ni3 Sa

Hindustani: All swaras shuddh except Ri and Dha.

Notes

When C is the root: C Db E F G Ab B C

When D is the root: D Eb F# G A Bb C# D

etc…

Intervals

Root – minor 2nd – major 3rd – perfect 4th – perfect 5th – minor 6th – major 7th – octave

Detailed ascend and descend patterns

•         Aroha: ‘N S G M P G M, P G M (N)d, G M (N)d, (N)d N S’
•         Avroha: N S’ (N)d N d P, P G M P G M (G)r S

Chords based on Arohana Avarohana of Raga Bhairav

Below we look at the Arohana and Avarohana of the Raag Bhairav and find chords for each by dividing them into manageable parts or pieces.

Raaga Bhairav arohana: ‘N S G M P G M, P G M (N)d, G M (N)d, (N)d N S’

‘Ni Sa Ga Ma Pa Ga Ma

Notes: B C E F G E F

The FM7add9 chord (notes: F A C E G) has F,E,C and G notes from the phrase.

The CM7add11 chord (notes: C E G B F) has the notes B C E F G from the phrase, therefore being a chord that has all the phrase notes.

The notes C F G gives the Csus4^th chord.

The Em add b9 chord (E minor added flat ninth chord notes: E G B F) has 4 of the notes.

Pa Ga Ma (Ni)dha G M (N)d

Notes: G, E F B Ab, E F B Ab

The F dim Chord (notes: F Ab B) has three of the notes in the phrase

The E add b9 chord (E added flat ninth chord notes: E Ab B F) has 4 of the notes in the phrase

The Em add b9 chord (E minor added flat ninth chord notes: E G B F) also has 4 of the notes.

(N)d N S’

Notes: B Ab B C

The E major chord (notes: E Ab B) has two of the notes in the phrase, plus the Ga note within the scale

Use the C major chord for the Sa note C.

The F minor chord (notes: F Ab C) has two of the phrase notes and the Ma note F.

Chords for Raga Bhairav Arohana Phrase Video

The chords and melody as an image at Raga Bhairav Chord Melody Arohana images

Raga Bhairav Avarohana: N S’ (N)d N d P, P G M P G M (G)r S

View or Download Chords for Raaga Bhairav Avarohan jpg

Raga Bhairav Phrases

G M P G M (G)r, S, G M (N)d, d, P

GMPGMG part has the same notes as a major scale – Major 3rd (Ga3), perfect 4th (Ma1) and Pa. The difference comes with the Ri (‘r’), since Raga Bhairav has the small Ri/ R1 (Komal Ri)/ minor 2nd while the major scale has a Shuddh Ri/R2/major 2nd.

G M

Notes: E F (when C is the root note – Sa)

The FM7 chord (chord notes: F A C E) has the notes E and F in it.

P G M

Notes: G E F

The Csus4 chord (chord notes: C F G) has the F and G notes in it. We have not included the E note of the phrase in the chord. This is alright, especially if the E note is not very prominent in the melody. Anyway, we don’t have to include all the melody notes in the chord; the melody note + the chord will give us a denser total chord variation.

Another possible chord you could try is, adding the F note to the C major scale.

For example when playing the C major scale with open strings in the first 3 frets of the guitar, the F note can be added on the first string 1st fret or 4th string 3rd fret. Below images show how they look on the fret board. Try them, and decide if you like it for the situation.

(G) r

Notes: E C#

We have used the C# major chord (notes: C# F G#) for these two notes. One could try using the A major chord (notes: A C# E) which has both the melody notes in it.

S

The C major chord would be the most obvious option – being the root chord.

G M (N)d, d, P

Similarly one can find chords for the second part of the phrase. Below video shows the chords derived.

G M (N) d

Notes: E F B G#

The E major chord (chords notes: E G# B) has been used for this part of the melodic phrase. Only the F note from the melody has been omitted in the chord. The F note can also be added to the E major chord (on the 4th string on the guitar, for example)

d

The C# chord (notes: C# F G#) has been used when the ‘dha’  is repeated. The E major chord used before is ‘enough’ but variety or change is always welcome – like changing the context while keeping the idea the same.

P

The C major chord (chord notes: C E G), which is the basic chord from the root note Sa (when Sa is C), can be used for the Pa too.

Download or view the chord – melody as image

G M (n)d, (n)d, P, P G M (G)r, S

The small Ni, minor 7th note, Komal Ni is not a part of the Bhairav raaga usually, but in this phrase, the dha note is arrived to from the komal ni note.

G M

Notes: E F

The FM7 chord (notes: F A C E) is a possibility.

(n) d

Notes: Bb A#

The Bb7 chord (notes: Bb D F Ab) is a possibility, with all notes except the D note within the raga.

The Bbm7 chord (notes: Bb Db F Ab) has all the notes of the phrase and within the raga.

The Db6 chord (notes: Db F Ab Bb) is another chord with all the phrase notes.

P

The Em chord, the C major chord

P G M

PM (notes: GF) gives us the option of the Csus4 chord (notes: CFG).

(G)r

‘r’ the R1 note, minor 2nd note. Db note when C is the root.

The Db major chord (notes:Db F Ab) is an option with all notes within raga.

The A#m chord (notes: A# Db F) is another option with the Db note, though the A# note is not within the strict raga notes.

S

The C major chord.

The below video uses some of the chord options in one possible way. You can find your own ways of arranging the chords, following the basic logic.  Download or view as jpg

Version: G M (N)d, (N)d, P, P G M (G)r, S

If the same phrase had ‘N’ – the shuddh Nishad, major 7th note, the chords for the n-d part will change.

(N)d

Notes: B Ab

The E major chord (notes: E G# B) has both the notes of the phrase and all the notes are within the raga.

The Db6 chord above will become Db7 chord (notes:Db F Ab B) when the Bb note is changed to a B note.

Here are a few more usual phrases.

• G M (N)d, (N)d N S”, N S” (N)d N d P
• S G M P G M, G M (G)r, S r G M P
• S, (G)r (G)r S, (N’)d’ N’ S, N’ S G M, G M (G)r, S
• S r G M P, P G M (N)d, d, P, P GMPGM (G)r, r S
• G M (N)d, d, P, G M P d N S”, r” S” N S” (N)d, d, P

Detailed, organized (the full story starting from the basic logic) Chords for Indian ragas at Raga Chord Resources

Chords for more ragas in the Bhairav family

Chords for the following ragas can also be found in a similar manner, phrase by phrase, exact and safe, within the scale or with conscious additional notes.

All the following ragas are associated with the Bhairav family in one way or the other.

1. Raga Bairagi
2. Raaga Kshanika
3. Raga Anand Bhairav
4. Raga Saurashtra Bhairav
5. Raga Mangal Bhairav
6. Raga Bhatiyari Bhairav
7. Raga Ahir Bhairav
8. Raga Virat Bhairav
9. Raga Kabiri Bhairav
10. Raga Shivmat Bhairav
11. Raga Devata Bhairav
12. Raga Beehad Bhairav
13. Raga Prabhat Bhairav
14. Raga Bhavmat Bhairav
15. Raga Ramkali
16. Raga Roopkali
17. Ragas Hussaini Bhairav
18. Raga Bakula Bhairav
19. Raga Basant Mukhari
20. Raga Kaushi Bhairav
21. Raga Zeelaf
22. Raga Devaranjani
23. Raga Nat Bhairav
24. Raga Asa Bhairav
25. Raga Jaun Bhairav
26. Raga Gunakali/Gunakri
27. Raga Bhairav Bahar

Raga Jogiya

Let us find out chords for ragas which are similar to Raag Bhairav. Raag Jogiya has all the swaras of the Bhairav thaat plus komal nishad : (when C is the root) C Db E F G Ab B C + Bb (komal Ni)

Chord implications:

1. The komal Ni (minor 7th note) implies the possibility of the Cdominiant7th chord (the usual C7)with the notes: C E G Bb.
2. Use all the chords of Bhairav, but when the melody phrase has the komal Ni or minor 7th note or Bb note in it, make sure that the chord doesn’t have a B note, in case the two sounds (B and Bb consecutive notes) clashing is not desirable. You can do this by:
   1. avoiding chords with the B note while the melody phrase has the Bb note, or
   2. if a chord has the B note, change the B note to a Bb instead. For example, the C major 7th chord has the B note, which when flattened to the Bb note gives us the C7 chord mentioned above.

The Ma note is nyaasa, paused and important. We may encounter phrases where the Ma is important. So in case of doubt on which chord to choose, during phrases with Ma important, try the Ma important chords like (when C is the root) the F minor chord (notes: F Ab C, the chord based on the 4th note Ma, all notes from within the scale) or C# major chord (notes: C# F Ab, all notes from within the scale), C sus 4, G7(Especially when Ma and Pa are present) etc… See below for usage examples.

Example Raaga Jogiya phrases

M1 P D1 S”, S” (N2)D1 P, M1 P D1 N1 D1 M1, M1 R1 S

M1 P D1 S”

Notes: F G Ab C

FAbC is the Fminor chord. G note along with the F minor chord gives Fmadd9 (F minor added 9th chord)

S” (N2)D1 P

Notes: C B Ab G

The notes CAbG are in the Fmadd9 as found in the above phrase.

C G B note are found in the CM7 (C major 7th) chord.

M1 P D1 N1 D1 M1

Notes: F G Ab Bb Ab F (remember that Bhairav has B as the Ni, but Jogiya includes Bb note also as the Ni in some of its phrases)

F G Ab are included in the Fmadd9 chord.

Bb Ab F are included in the Fm11 chord. Fsus4 chord (notes: F Bb C) has two of the notes of the phrase.

Other Chords from the Raga phrase notes

The phrase is made of the notes: F G Ab Bb

If we need a chord that has all the notes, the Gm7b9 chord would be an example, with the notes:

• G(root)
• Bb(minor 3rd)
• D(5th – can be omitted)
• F(minor 7th)
• Ab (flat 9th)

The Fm11 chord is another example, which has the following notes:

• F(root)
• Ab(minor 3rd)
• C(fifth)
• Eb (minor 7th – maybe omitted, not in the raga nor phrase)
• G (9th)
• Bb (11th)

Other example options:

F Ab notes are in the Fm chord

G Bb notes in the G minor chord.

Ab and F in the F minor chord.

Try the chords, depending on how frequently you want to change chords within the phrase and also depending on which note or part of the phrase you want to base the chord on.

M1 R1 S

Note: F Db C

The Db Major 7th chord (notes: Db F Ab C) has the notes of the phrase and the extra note Ab is also from within the raga/scale.

Raga Kalingada

Another example of finding chords for Raga similar to or based on the Raga Bhairav family. Folk forms and bhajans may have elements of the raga Kalingada.

An example chalan (melodic pathway):

S r G M P, d P M P M G, M G r G

S r G M P

Notes: C Db E F G

C E G -> C major chord

C F G -> C sus 4 chord

All the notes together, is a major added 11th chord with a b9 note.

The notes Db F G and C can form another chord which sufficiently expresses the whole phrase. It is a C sus 4 chord with the b9 note. Maybe we could call it the susb9 chord (suspended flat 9th chord).

This is how one could play the chord on the guitar, with open strings:

1. C# – b9 note – 5th string
2. F – 4th note – 4th string
3. C – root – 2nd string,
4. E – major 3rd note – 1st/6th string
5. G – 5th note – 3rd string

(the ‘1’ on top left of the image indicates 1st fret.)

d P M P M G

Let us divide the phrase into two parts using the ‘|’.

Notes: Ab G F G | F E

Chords for the phrase:

• Fm | C
• Fm2 | C
• G7 | C
• Fm2 | C with 4th note added (Cadd11)

M G r G

Notes:  F E Db E

Db F Ab -> Db major chord, has two of the notes (F Db) of the phrase.

Db E Ab -> Db minor chord has two of the notes (E Db) of the phrase.

Try and use what suits.

The notes B and G could suggest the G major chord (notes: G B D, where D is not a note within the scale – try the chord and decide).

Based on the notes Ab and B, we get the Db7 chord (notes: Db F Ab B) which has all the notes within the scale of Bhairav (or Mayamalavagowla)

Choose a chord based on the sound you need.

Chords are based on the raga notes, regardless of the specific movements etc

Ragas Kalingda and Gouri of the Bhairav thaat use the same notes and therefore have the same family of chords to choose from. The melody player makes different ragas with the same group of notes, by playing the notes in different combinations, different ragangas, different usage of nyasa (which notes are paused) etc.

As a chord maker our job is to find chords that suit the notes.

Ragas that have the same notes will have the same group of chords to choose from, but depending on the difference in phrases, naturally some chords are more obvious choices than others for a particular raga.

Also, the notes that begin and end each phrase, the emphasized note, the paused note etc make the decision easier, distinguishing one raga from the other and thereby making some of the chords a better choice over the others.

Detailed, organized basics and step by step logic for Chords for Indian ragas at Raga Chord Resources

Based on the phrase notes, the song Kathal Rojave by a r rahman from the movie Roja has been harmonized as below. (how to play the song?)

Instead of following a generic family of chords based of approach, here the phrase notes have been closely followed, wrapping them in chords closest to the phrases used and within the scale.

More expertise with chords for ragas, songs, scales, phrases? Would like to learn music?

The E major scale family has the C#m, G#m and B major (the Vth) chords.

This song brings in the C major chord, G major chord etc into the harmony in a smooth and easy manner through the melody.

Below are the chords of the song based on the phrases. These are different at least partially, from the chords used in the original recording. The aim has been to find suitable chords based on the phrases, the melody notes.

The chord chart is below is the video

Chords of Raga Kalyani

The one note difference between natural minor scale and Raga Kharaharapriya
(image made using the Raga app)

Chords can be found for Raga Kalyani, in two ways:

1. as a mode of the major scale (the 4th mode of C major scale is F kalyani scale)
2. as a scale with just one note different from the major scale (major scale has the perfect 4th interval while kalyani has the sharp 4th)

The same two approaches are possible with Raga Kharaharapriya also.

Raga Kharaharapriya

The long list of janya ragas of Raaga Kharaharapriya makes clear it's prominence and importance in Indian classical music. Raga Shree, Kanada (Alaipayuthey), Abheri, Abhogi are all popular names.

Kharaharapriya is a melakarta raga, which means ascending and descending note are the same, in the linear order from Sa to Ni. A scale definition, without any written note order or note skip rules as with the janyas.

Intervals and notes of Kharaharapriya

Arohana of Kharaharapriya: S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N2 S

Avarohana of kharaharapriya : S N2 D2 P M1 G2 R2 S

Use the Indian notation to Western notation relation chart to find the intervals of Raga Kharaharapriya.

• root
• major 2nd
• minor 3rd (so it is a minor scale)
• perfect 4th
• fifth
• major 6th (one note difference from the natural minor scale)
• minor 7th

Notes of A minor Kharaharapriya vs A natural minor

Starting from A note as the root, below are the notes of Raga Kharaharapriya:

A natural minor scale has a minor 6th (F note) while kharaharapriya has a major 6th (F#) note. (Natural minor scale has the same notes as Raga Natabhairavi)

We chose A natural minor for the comparison, since A minor is the cleanest or simplest natural minor, with no sharpened or flattened notes. Start with any natural minor and shift the 6th note one up, and you have the notes of Kharaharapriya scale.

Chords of Raga Kharaharapriya by changing one note

The diatonic chords (chords using the scale notes) of A natural minor scale are same as that of C major scale, because A natural minor and C major scale both have the same notes, they just start from different positions.

C major scale: C D E F G A B C

A natural minor: A B C D E F G A

A kharaharapriya : A B C D E F# G A

Chords of Kharaharapriya will be same as that of the chords of C major scale, except that any F note in the chords should be changed to F#.

Chords of C major scale / A natural minor scale

Chords of A Kharaharapriya

Change any F to F# in the notes of the chords of C major/ Aminor above.

Notes of D Kharaharapriya vs D Dorian

None of the notes have a sharp or  a flat, indicating the possibility that D Kharaharapriya is a mode of the C major scale – C major scale is the major scale whose notes do not have any sharps or flats.

D being the second note of the C major scale, and since D kharaharapriya has no sharp or flat notes, Raga kharaharapriya can be concluded to have the same notes as the second mode of the major scale – the Dorian mode.

Chords of Raga Kharaharapriya based on mode relation

D dorian has the same diatonic chords as the C major scale. They both have the same notes – all alphabets, no flats or sharps.

So the chords of D dorian, same as that of C major, can be used for D Kharaharapriya:

Chords of C major scale / D dorian/ D kharaharapriya

Find chords for Dorian scale/ mode

In the case of the C major scale, Dorian starts on D note, the second note of the C major scale. (Dorian is the 2nd mode of the C major scale)

For any Dorian scale, the root of the major scale is two notes before the root of the Dorian scale.

In the case of D Dorian, we know it is C (C – C# – D)

In the case of E Dorian, the major scale will start from D (D D# E – D is two notes before E). Therefore D major scale chords can be used for E kharaharapriya.

G# Dorian will be part of F# major scale (F# – G – G#). F# major scale chords for G# kharaharapriya.

F Dorian will be part of Eb major scale. (Eb – E – F). Eb major scale for F Kharaharapriya.

More Raga – Chord relations?

Remembering just one set of chords – the chords of the major scale – can help us play chords for a lot many number of ragas by comparing the new raga with the major scale.

Let us take for example, the 6 ragas from each mode of the major scale. The first one Raga Shankarabharanam has the same notes as the major scale.

There are three major scale ragas among the ragas from modes – Shankarabharanam (1st mode, major scale), Kalyani (4th mode) and Harikamboji (5th mode).

Comparing Kalyani and Harikamboji with the major scale shows that each of them are just one note different from the major scale. Use the major scale chords to play chords for Kalyani and Harikamboji with just the one note changed in any chord where it appears.

There are three minor scale ragas among the ragas from modes – Raga Natabhairavi (natural minor scale – 6th mode), Raga Hanumatodi (3rd mode), Raga Kharaharapriya (2nd mode).

Raga Hanumatodi, Raga Kharaharapriya are each just one note different from the minor scale (Natabhairavi). Use this comparison to use minor scale chords for Raga Hanumatodi, Raga Kharaharapriya.

Being able to play chords for a lot many number of scales and ragas by remembering just one set of chords and then changing by comparing, makes playing music much simpler.

Relative minor and major relationship

The natural minor scale chords are same as that of the major scale chords, starting from a different position. So to play chords for the minor scale, you still need to remember the major scale chords only.

A natural minor scale and C major scale are relative minor and major to each other. C major scale and A natural minor scale use the same chords.

C major and A natural minor as basis

A natural minor is the 6th mode of the C major scale. The A natural minor which uses the same notes as the C major scale, only starting from A instead of C. Since C major scale does not have any sharps or flats, neither does A natural minor.
A natural minor chords are same as that of the C major scale.

C major scale chords: C Dm Em F G Am Bdim
A natural minor chords: Am Bdim C Dm Em F G
Look at the above sequence of chords for A natural minor, and you can use it to find the chords for natural minor from any root or Raga Natbhairavi starting from any pitch.

Sequence of chords of natural minor: Minor- dim – major – minor – minor – major – major

C natural minor (C  natabhairavi) notes : C D Eb F G Ab Bb
Chords of C natural minor: C minor – D dim – Eb major – F minor – G minor – Ab major – Bb major

Kharaharapriya chords from Natural minor chords

Kharaharapriya has the same note as Natabhairavi (natural minor) except for the dha or 6th note.
Change Ab note to A in each chord of C natural minor (Natabhairavi) where the Ab note appears, to get chords of C Kharaharapriya.

More raga chords.

We have already discussed Mayamalavagowla with the G root, and about finding major and minor chords for the raga.

Below we use Mayamalavagowla with D root as an example of finding simple major and minor chords for ragas which do not naturally let us use such simple triads.

Then we use these chords to find progressions for the raga, using a phrase of Padumanabha geetam in Raga Malahari as an example.

Please note that Malahari is a janya raga derived from the parent melakarta raga Mayamalavagowla. Since Malahari uses the same notes as Mayamalavagowla, the chords found for D Mayamalavagowla will apply for phrases in D Malahari also.

The D mayamalavagowla scale

D Mayamalavagowla: D Eb F# G A Bb C# D

Triad chords for D mayamalavagowla

The above table shows chords found from each swara or note position of the scale.

The third row shows the chords we get naturally by picking alternate notes starting from each scale note.

The fourth row shows the chords after converting chords in the third column, which are other than major and minor also to major and minor chords, by adding notes outside the scale.

|Ri Sa Dha Sa, Sa,| Ma Ga Ri Ma Ma Pa , |

These are the notes of the first two bars of the Malahari Geetham Padumanabha Paramapurusha. Below we find chords for each part of the phrase. The song is in 7/8, therefore each bar has notes equivalent to 7 eighth notes.

Ri sa dha

Notes: Eb D Bb

Look at the table of chords above. See if any of the chords has at least two of the notes above.

Eb major chord has both Eb and Bb notes in it. Chord for the phrase: Eb major

Sa, sa,

Note: D

It is the root note. Obvious chord: D major

Ma ga ri

Notes: G F# Eb

G and Eb are found in the chord Eb.

Ma ma pa

Notes: G G A

We could play one chord each for the two parts:

• Part 1: Ma ma.  Note: G. Chord: Gm
• Part 2: Pa. Note: A. Chord: A major

Using the chords chosen above, the chord progression will be as follows:

|Eb     |D      |Eb      |Gm     A|

|R S D|S , S ,|M G R|M M  P ,|

Another chord option for M G R

M G R notes are: G F# Eb

Choose the notes G and Eb.

C Eb G is the C minor chord. The C note is not present in D Mayamalavagowla.

Try the C minor chord over phrases that have Ri and Ma, especially where Ri is prominent.

Using Cm for MGR, the chord progression will be as follows:

|Eb     |D      |Cm     |Gm     A|

|R S D|S , S ,|M G R|M M  P ,|

Similarly we can find chords for the whole song, and make Complete Chord sheets for all the 4 Malahari Geetams. Try using different chord possibilities for the same notes. Try using different chord progressions based on the note – chord relations, when repeating phrases, to bring variety to your arranging or playing.

Get the complete resource on Raga Chords