Bihag
Encyclopedia
| Bihag | |
| Thaat | Bilawal |
| Related ragas | Maru Bihag, Nat Bihag, Pat Bihag |
| Aaroha | Ni Sa Ga Ma Pa Ni Sa |
| Avroha | Sa Ni Dha Pa , Ga Ma Ga, Re Sa |
| Pakad | Pa Pa Ga Ma Ga |
| Vaadi | Ga |
| Samvaadi | Ni |
| Prahar (Time) | Night |
Bihag is a Hindustani classical
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian Classical Music or Shāstriya Sangeet...
raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
.
Theory
Writing about the musical theory of Indian classical music is fraught with complications. First of all, there have been no set, formal methods of written notation. Indian music is an aural tradition, and therefore writing is not an essential part of attaining talim (knowledge).Arohana and Avarohana
ArohanaArohana
Arohana, Arohanam or Arohan, in the context of North Indian Classical Music and South Indian Classical Music, is the ascending scale of notes in a raga...
- 'Ni Sa Ga ma Pa Ni Sa'
Avarohana
Avarohana
An Avarohana, Avarohanam or Avarohan in Indian classical music terminology is the descending scale of any raga. Each raga has an avarohana and arohana. The notes descend in pitch from the octave tonic down to the lower tonic...
- Sa' Ni (Dha) Pa Ma Pa Ga ma Ga Re Sa
Vadi and Samavadi
VadiVadi (Hindustani classical music)
Vadi, in both Hindustani classical music and Carnatic music, is the dominant swara of a given raga . "Vadi is the most sonant or most important note of a Raga." It does not refer to the most played note but it rather refers to a note of special significance.It is usually the swara which is...
- The Vadi note is Ga.
Samavadi
Samavadi
In Indian classical music, the second-most prominent note of a raga is referred as samvadi. This could be misleading, as it may not necessarily refer to the second-most played note....
- The Samavadi note is Ni.
Pakad or Chalan
Bihag uses both shuddha Ma (ma) and teevra Ma (Ma).- It has the pakad Pa Ma Pa Ga ma Ga.
Both R and D are never used in ascent, but always on the way down. That is,
- Pa Ni Dha Pa Ma Pa Ga ma Ga Re Sa
or
- Ni Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma Pa Ga ma Ga Re Sa
Organization and relationships
Related ragas: Maru Bihag, Bihagra.Bihag is usually assigned to the Thaat
Thaat
A thāt is a mode in northern Indian or Hindustani music. Thāts always have seven different pitches and are a basis for the organization and classification of ragas in North Indian classical music.- System :...
Bilaval
Bilaval
Bilawal is a raga and basic thaat in Hindustani classical music. It is equivalent to the Western Ionian mode and contains the notes S R G m P D N S' . The pitches of Bilawal thaat are all shuddha, or natural...
, but if Teevra Madhyam is given more importance, Bihag seems to be more akin to Kalyan Thaat.
Behavior
Behavior refers to practical aspects of the music. It is complicated to talk about this for Hindustani music since many of the concepts are fluid, changing, or archaic. The following information cannot be accurate, but it can attempt to reflect how the music existed.In film
A portion of the alapAlap
The alap is the opening section of a typical North Indian classical performance. It is a form of melodic improvisation that introduces and develops a raga...
of raga Bihag may be seen in a scene from Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
's 1958 film Jalsaghar
Jalsaghar
Jalsaghar is the fourth feature film directed by Satyajit Ray. Jalsaghar is a narration of the end days of a Zamindar in Bengal. The landlord, Roy , is a just but other-worldly man who loves to spend time listening to music and putting up spectacles rather than managing his fields ravaged by...
, played by the surbahar
Surbahar
Surbahar , sometimes known as bass sitar, is a plucked string instrument used in the Hindustani classical music of North India. It is closely related to sitar, but it has a lower tone. Depending on the instrument's size, it is usually pitched two to five whole steps below the standard sitar, but...
player Waheed Khan
Waheed Khan
Waheed Khan is a documentary television director working in British television.Of Pakistani parentage he originally worked as an actor but switched careers while waiting for acting roles and becoming a camera operator worked on documentaries for BBC Current Affairs eventually directing and...
, from 29:50 to 31:58. Dil cheez kya hai from Umrao Jaan
Umrao Jaan
Umrao Jaan is a 1981 Bollywood film, directed by Muzaffar Ali. It is based on the Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada , written by Mirza Hadi Ruswa based on the famous Lucknow courtesan...
contains elements of Bihag.