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As mentioned in earlier lessons, we have assumed the first white key to
be the Sa (S), for convenience and convention, simplicity and uniformity.
"The first white key" explained: You will find that there are sets of 5
black keys on the keyboard. Each set of those 5 black keys is made up of 2 +
3 black keys. The first white key is that white key which lies immediately
to the left of the first black key. Since there are several sets of 5 black
keys, there will also be several "first white" keys. You may select the
first white key lying in the middle of the keyboard. You are going to use
your left hand to play the harmonium. The left hand fingers are numbered as
follows:
The thumb is numbered 1
The index finger is 2
The middle finger is 3
The ring finger is 4
The little finger is 5.
In Lesson 4b, we have dealt with our first scale: Bilawal. The scale is
called "thaat" in Indian music.
In lesson 5b, we took up two more scales (thaat-s), called Khamaj and Kafi.
In this lesson, let us cover four more scales (thaat-s), namely Bhairava,
Asavari, Bhairavi, and Kalyan.
First, Bhairava thaat. Which fingers play which notes of the Bhairava thaat?
The arrangement is:- [The finger numbers under the notes of the scale]
S r G m P d N S' [Ascending]
5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 [Finger numbers]
S' N d P m G r S [Descending]
1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 [Finger numbers]
Here, the fourth finger (the ring finger) will play the First black key
(instead of the 2nd white key). The third finger (the MIDDLE finger) will
play the fourth black key instead of the sixth white key.
Second, Asavari thaat. Which fingers play which notes of the Asavari thaat?
The arrangement is:- [The finger numbers under the notes of the scale]
S R g m P d n S' [Ascending]
5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 [Finger numbers]
S' n d P m g R S [Descending]
1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 [Finger numbers]
The third, Bhairavi thaat. Which fingers play which notes of the Bhairavi
thaat? The arrangement is:
[The finger numbers under the notes of the scale]
S r g m P d n S' [Ascending]
5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 [Finger numbers]
S' n d P m g r S [Descending]
1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 [Finger numbers]
The fourth, Kalyan thaat. Which fingers play which notes of the Kalyan
thaat? The arrangement is:- [The finger numbers under the notes of the
scale]
S R G M P D N S' [Ascending]
5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 [Finger numbers]
S' N D P M G R S [Descending]
1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 [Finger numbers]
The Kalyan thaat differs from Bilawal thaat in only one respect: Kalyan
thaat uses teevra Ma, denoted by the symbol 'M'; while the Bilawal thaat
uses shuddha Ma, denoted by the symbol 'm'.
Play one thaat at a time, repeatedly. Practise all seven scales (thaat-s)
till you are very comfortable playing each of them correctly, without having
to look at the keyboard.
In the 7th lesson onwards, we will start playing the first lines of
well-known Hindi movie songs and bhajan-s.
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