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Chords, what is so
Special?
In the earlier
part we learnt about a major chord. Now let us see a minor chord.
The Root and the
3rd note in the chord are just the same as the major chord.
However the middle note is changed. Formula will be 1+4+8. Considering C as the root, C minor
chord will be starting from C=1(sa), 4th
note from C is D#(ga1) and 8th
note from C which is G(pa). Hence a C minor will be 1+4+8. (C+D#+G – sa +ga1+pa). Add this ga1 will complete the change in the
sound.
Let us analyze some basic usage of C-minor. Most of us know mohanam and sivarajani which
are common ragas in film music. Let us
take the arohanam and avoraham
of both the ragas, (what
is arohanam (Ascent) & avorohanam
(Descent)? These are the basic sets of notes that define the raga.)
Mohanam : sa re2 ga2 pa dha2 sa
Sivarajini : (sa re2 ga1 pa dha2 sa)
The basic
difference between mohanam and Sivaranjini is the “ga”
note, GA1 for
SivaRanjini and GA2 for Mohanam.
In the above, the bold notes denote the chords in the note structure of the
raga. We find that Mohanam uses a major chord. All
the notes of a major chord falls in the arohanam and avarohanam of Mohanam. Likewise, for Sivaranjini,
we can use a minor chord.
I hope you now know the secret of framing a chord progression for ragas. At
times some chords might have foreign note(s), meaning some notes might not be
present in the ascent and descent of the raga. It is up to the composer to
frame such chords in a proper manner.
In mohanam (taking C as the root), assume
the score has a ga(E) note, instead
of playing a C major, we choose to play a E-major, this contains notes (G#&B) not found
in the ascent or descent of mohanam.
If you play this,
it would convey a tense mood. This sort of usage can be found in old film
songs. You can find similar chords in “Unnai kaanatha kannum kanalla” (K.V.Mahadevan)
Let me
explain one more chord usage to highlight something in the score.
We can show the
difference in ragas Sivaranjini and misra-sivaranjini with the 2 chords we learnt. Sivaranjini is known as misra-Sivaranjini
when a natural Ga (ga2) is added to it.
When playing sivaranjani we can use a C minor and when it changes to misra-sivaranjini, the ga note
changes to a natural one. A major chord can be used to highlight this.
From a film
song perspective consider the song ennadi rakkaamma by MSV, take the lines “deviyana
sakalathi valikurathi”. These lines are in a minor progression, ga1
is used with sa and pa. But when the song goes to “thappamal nan unnai sirai eduthen”
the song changes its GA1 to GA2, To denote this change, the chord progression
also changes to a major chord from a minor. Similar structural changes can be
heard in “mangkuyile”, the lines “kurapatu selai” changes to a
major note where chords also become A major. If you listen to the 1980’s
Lionel riche’s song “Hello”, most part of the song is in minor progression.
However the very last chord played in the song is a major chord. The major
minor changes are trademark of MGR-MSV combo songs. Ilayaraja’s
trademark is the major to minor change. Quite often we can see this. Poove sempoove is one such
example. Ilayaraja’s score has proper structured
chord arrangements than most scores in Indian music.
Quick Recap: assign a value
of one to every key on the keyboard regardless of black or white. A major
chord is 1+5+8, a minor chord 1+4+8.
Srikanth
(c) Studio1234, USA 2003
Have questions! you can reach me at srikanth@srikanthd.com
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