Carnatic Music for Beginners: Swaras, Sarali Varisai and How Children Start

Carnatic music, the classical music of South India, is one of the great musical traditions of the world. It is also one of the most carefully structured to teach. Almost every Carnatic student, for several centuries, has begun in exactly the same way, with the same exercises, in the same raga, to the same beat. Parents who did not learn music themselves often find this path mysterious. Here is a simple guide to how children start.

The seven swaras

Carnatic music, like Western music, is built on seven notes. They are called swaras, and each has a full name and a short syllable used in singing. Ṣaḍjam, sung as sa. Ṛṣabham, sung as ri. Gāndhāram, sung as ga. Madhyamam, sung as ma. Pañcamam, sung as pa. Dhaivatam, sung as da, often written dha. Niṣādam, sung as ni. After ni comes the next higher sa, and the cycle begins again.

Sa and pa are fixed notes: they never change. The other five can each take different positions, slightly higher or lower, which is part of what gives each raga its character. For example, ri can be a lower or a higher note, and these are labelled as different varieties, such as R1 and R2.

Mayamalavagowla: the first raga

A raga is a particular set of swaras with its own rules and its own mood. Beginners in Carnatic music traditionally learn their first exercises in the raga Mayamalavagowla. It is the fifteenth of the seventy-two melakarta ragas, the parent scales of the Carnatic system, and it uses all seven swaras in both ascent and descent.

Mayamalavagowla uses the lower ri, the higher ga, the lower ma, the lower da and the higher ni. That combination puts a wider gap between ri and ga, and between da and ni, and is considered excellent for training the voice and the ear, because the student must learn to place each note precisely.

Purandara Dasa and the beginner’s path

The system of beginner exercises used in Carnatic music today is traditionally credited to Purandara Dasa, a sixteenth-century composer and saint from Karnataka, who is often called the Pitamaha, the grandfather, of Carnatic music. He is said to have arranged a graded series of lessons, from simple exercises to small compositions, so that a student could build skill step by step. Teachers still follow that order.

Adi tala: keeping the beat

Every Carnatic exercise is sung to a tala, a rhythmic cycle kept with the hand. The first tala children learn is adi tala, a cycle of eight beats. It is counted in three parts. The first part, the laghu, is four beats: a clap followed by counting three fingers, little finger, ring finger, middle finger. The second part, a dhrutam, is two beats: a clap and a wave of the hand. The third part is another dhrutam: a clap and a wave. So adi tala goes: clap, finger, finger, finger; clap, wave; clap, wave.

Learning to keep tala with the hand while singing is one of the first challenges for a child, and one of the most satisfying to master.

Sarali varisai

Sarali varisai are the very first exercises. Varisai means a row or sequence. Each sarali varisai consists of an ascending line, going up from lower sa to upper sa, and a descending line, going back down, with each line fitted into one cycle of adi tala.

The first sarali varisai is simply the scale, up and down. Going up: sa ri ga ma pa da ni sa. Coming down: sa ni da pa ma ga ri sa. Each swara takes one beat, so each line exactly fills the eight beats of adi tala.

The second sarali varisai begins by repeating the first two notes: sa ri sa ri, then sa ri ga ma, then sa ri ga ma pa da ni sa. And coming down: sa ni sa ni, then sa ni da pa, then sa ni da pa ma ga ri sa. Each later sarali varisai introduces a new pattern of repetition and movement, gradually training the voice to move freely, accurately and evenly between the notes. A typical set has around fourteen sarali varisai, though books and teachers vary slightly.

Three speeds

Every varisai is practised in three speeds, called kālams. In the first speed, one swara is sung to each beat. In the second, two swaras fit into each beat, so the exercise is sung twice in the same cycle. In the third, four swaras fit into each beat. Moving smoothly between the speeds, while keeping the tala steady, trains both voice and rhythm, and is a real test of control.

Every great Carnatic musician started where your child will start: with sa ri ga ma, one beat at a time.

What comes next

After sarali varisai, students usually learn janta varisai, in which each swara is sung twice, building strength and clarity. Then come dhattu varisai, which leap between notes, and exercises in the upper octave, mel sthayi, and the lower octave, mandra sthayi.

Next come the alankarams, exercises set to the seven main talas of the suladi sapta tala system, which teach children different rhythmic cycles. Then the first real songs: the geethams, simple melodic compositions. Many students begin with the geetham Sri Gananatha in the raga Malahari, traditionally attributed to Purandara Dasa, which praises Ganesha. From there, students move on to swarajathis, varnams and finally kritis, the great compositions of the Carnatic repertoire.

How long does it take?

Every child is different. Some move through the varisais in a few months; others take longer, especially if they are young or practise less often. There is no benefit in rushing. These foundations are the base of everything that follows, and a child who builds them carefully will sing better for the rest of their life.

Practising at home

A short daily practice of fifteen to twenty minutes is far more useful than a long session once a week. Practise with a sruti box or a tanpura app to hold the base note steady, so the child learns to sing in tune. Always keep tala with the hand. And listen to Carnatic music together, so the child begins to hear what all the exercises are leading towards.

Starting your child’s journey

Children can begin Carnatic music from around five or six, though older beginners do very well too. The most important things are a patient teacher, regular practice and a love of listening. Our live Carnatic music classes for children start with the swaras, sarali varisai and adi tala, taught step by step by trained mentors. If you would like your child to learn with a mentor, enquire about our classes through the Book a Class page; fees are listed on our Pricing page.