Sargam Guide

Sargam is the Indian musical notation system used in Hindustani and Carnatic classical music. Similar to the Western solfege system (Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti), Sargam uses seven basic notes to represent the musical scale. Understanding Sargam is essential for learning Indian classical music.

The Seven Svaras (Notes)

Sargam	Full Name	Western	Key	Description
Sa	Shadja	C	`Z`	The tonic, foundation of the scale. Always fixed.
Re	Rishabha	D	`X`	Second note. Has two variants: Komal (flat) Re and Shuddha (natural) Re.
Ga	Gandhara	E	`C`	Third note. Has two variants: Komal Ga and Shuddha Ga.
Ma	Madhyama	F	`V`	Fourth note. Has two variants: Shuddha Ma and Tivra (sharp) Ma.
Pa	Panchama	G	`B`	The fifth, the perfect fifth. Always fixed like Sa.
Dha	Dhaivata	A	`N`	Sixth note. Has two variants: Komal Dha and Shuddha Dha.
Ni	Nishada	B	`M`	Seventh note. Has two variants: Komal Ni and Shuddha Ni.

Shuddha (Natural) vs Vikrit (Altered) Notes

In Indian music, five of the seven notes (Re, Ga, Ma, Dha, Ni) have altered forms:

Komal (flat) — lowered by a semitone. Applies to Re, Ga, Dha, Ni
Tivra (sharp) — raised by a semitone. Applies only to Ma
Shuddha (natural) — the default, unaltered form

Sa and Pa are always fixed and never altered — they are the anchors of the scale.

Practice Exercises

1. Aaroh (Ascending Scale)

Play each note ascending:

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa'

2. Avroh (Descending Scale)

Play each note descending:

Sa' Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Sa

3. Alankar (Patterns)

Practice common melodic patterns:

Sa Re Ga Re | Re Ga Ma Ga | Ma Pa Dha Pa | ...

Tips for Beginners

Start slow — use the metronome at 60-80 BPM
Turn on the Tanpura drone to keep your pitch reference
Focus on Sa and Pa first — they are the pillars of every raga
Practice ascending and descending scales daily
Record yourself and listen back to check intonation
Try singing along as you play each note