In Hindustani music, a Swar is much more than a “note” in the Western sense. It is a specific position in pitch space, a characteristic flavour within a Raag, and a living relationship with the drone of the tanpura. On this page we go beyond the basic definition of Swar and look at:
- How Sa–Re–Ga–Ma–Pa–Dha–Ni map to Western notes
- The difference between Western equal temperament and Indian natural (just) tuning
- The idea of 22 Shrutis and why Indian music is inherently microtonal
- Why many listeners feel that properly tuned Indian swars “hit the heart” more directly
- An interactive tuning explorer that shows Hz, %, and cents deviation for every Swar
1. What is a Swar?
Hindustani music uses seven primary swars in an octave: Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, Sa'. These roughly correspond to Western Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do. Unlike Western staff notation, Sa is not fixed to any absolute pitch (like “Sa is always C”). Instead, Sa is the tonic you choose for a performance, based on the artist's vocal range or the instrument's comfort.
Once Sa is chosen, the other swars fall into place as specific relationships to Sa. In Western theory you might think of these as “intervals from the tonic,” but in Hindustani music we also attach emotional and melodic roles to each Swar inside a Raag:
- Sa – the foundation and reference pitch, almost never omitted
- Pa – the second main anchor (a perfect fifth above Sa)
- Re, Ga, Ma, Dha, Ni – notes that can be shuddha (natural) or vikrit (altered: komal or tivra) depending on the Raag
So, a Swar is not just a frequency. It is a relationship to Sa, a function inside a Raag, and a gesture in actual singing or playing (straight, with meend, with andolan, etc.).
2. Equal Temperament vs Natural (Just) Tuning
Modern Western instruments (pianos, guitars, digital keyboards) mostly use 12-tone equal temperament (12-TET). This means the octave is divided into 12 equal steps, each exactly 100 cents apart. The advantage is that you can play in any key and modulate freely, but the price is that the intervals are slightly out of tune compared to the pure ratios found in the harmonic series.
Indian classical music, especially in its traditional vocal and instrumental forms, is historically closer to just intonation or natural tuning. Here, intervals are built from simple frequency ratios like:
- Sa–Pa ≈ 3:2 (perfect fifth)
- Sa–Ga (shuddha) ≈ 5:4
- Sa–Ma (shuddha) ≈ 4:3
- Sa–Ni (shuddha) ≈ 15:8
- Komal swars (Re, Ga, Dha, Ni) use ratios like 16:15, 6:5, 8:5, 9:5, etc.
These ratios come directly from the harmonic series — the natural overtones produced when a string or air column vibrates. When the singer aligns a Swar to these pure ratios against the tanpura drone, the resulting sound has:
- Less beating (fewer “wah-wah” interference patterns)
- More stability and a sense of “locking in”
- A strong feeling of consonance and restfulness
Equal temperament deliberately shifts some of these ratios by a small amount (often within 10–20 cents) so that all 12 semitones are equally spaced. Our tuning data in SwarGanga shows this difference very clearly: for each Swar, you can see how many Hz, %, and cents it is away from its natural, just-intonation position.
Interactive Swar Tuning Explorer
Use this tool to compare equal-tempered tuning (keyboard style) with natural (just) tuning for different Sa positions. This is driven by the same frequency tables used in Raagabase.
3. The 22 Shrutis: Microtones in Indian Music
Classical texts talk about 22 Shrutis in an octave. This does not mean there are 22 fixed “keys” on some invisible keyboard. Instead, it is a way of saying:
- The octave can be divided into finer perceptual steps
- Swars like Re, Ga, Dha, Ni can be placed slightly higher or lower depending on the Raag and context
- The position of a Swar is context-sensitive, not rigid
For example, the Ga in Raag Yaman, Raag Kalyan, or Raag Marwa may not be tuned at exactly the same spot as the Ga in Raag Bhairav or Raag Kafi, even though on paper they are all “shuddha Ga.” The vocalist and instrumentalist subtly nudge the pitch to express the Raag's rasa (emotion) and internal logic.
From a Western perspective you could say Hindustani music is microtonal around a set of anchor points. The 12 basic notes (Sa to Ni with their komal/tivra forms) are like pillars; the 22 shrutis are the fine-grained terrain in between those pillars.
4. Komal, Tivra, Shuddha and Frequency Ratios
In Western terms, komal and tivra notes feel like “flats” and “sharps,” but the Hindustani system is based on ratios rather than fixed semitone steps.
Typical natural (just) ratios relative to Sa are:
- Komal Re (r) ≈ 16/15 ≈ 1.0667
- Shuddha Re (R) ≈ 9/8 ≈ 1.1250
- Komal Ga (g) ≈ 6/5 ≈ 1.2000
- Shuddha Ga (G) ≈ 5/4 ≈ 1.2500
- Shuddha Ma (m) ≈ 4/3 ≈ 1.3333
- Tivra Ma (M) ≈ 45/32 ≈ 1.40625
- Pa (P) ≈ 3/2 ≈ 1.5000
- Komal Dha (d) ≈ 8/5 ≈ 1.6000
- Shuddha Dha (D) ≈ 5/3 ≈ 1.6667
- Komal Ni (n) ≈ 9/5 ≈ 1.8000
- Shuddha Ni (N) ≈ 15/8 ≈ 1.8750
In equal temperament, these are approximated by dividing the octave into 12 equal parts. Our tuning tables in SwarGanga show, for each Sa (C, C#, D, … B), exactly how many Hz, %, and cents each Swar is away from these ideal ratios. This gives a very concrete view of the difference between the Western “keyboard grid” and the Indian “ratio and shruti” mindset.
5. Why Indian Swars Often Feel More “Emotional”
It is not that Western music is unemotional and Indian music is somehow “more emotional” by default; both traditions are rich and deep. But there are a few structural reasons why the experience of a well-tuned khayal, dhrupad, or vilambit bandish can feel especially direct and intimate:
- Continuous pitch: Voice, sarangi, violin, sitar, bansuri — all can slide continuously between notes. This allows extremely fine control over shruti and expressive intonation.
- Stable drone: The tanpura provides a constant Sa (and Pa or Ma) against which every Swar is heard. Any tiny adjustment of a note is immediately felt as more consonant or more tense.
- Pure intervals: Artists often “sweeten” important swars (like Ga and Ni in certain Raags) closer to just ratios, reducing beating and increasing that feeling of resonance.
- Raag-specific intonation: The exact placement of a Swar is chosen not only for mathematical purity, but for the rasa of the Raag — sometimes slightly higher, sometimes slightly lower, sometimes with a characteristic andolan.
When you combine all this with decades of training in listening to the tanpura, the result is a tuning system that lives inside the performer's ear and body, not on a fixed keyboard. Many listeners, whether or not they know the theory, feel this as music that “goes straight to the heart.”
6. How to Listen and Experiment
If you want to experience these differences directly:
- Listen to a sustained Sa–Pa on a tanpura and try to sing Ga or Ni. Adjust until the sound feels the most steady and resonant.
- Compare the same interval on a digital keyboard vs a singer. Notice the small shifts in exact pitch.
- On SwarGanga, explore our scale tuning tables and look at the cents difference for each Swar. Then try to hear that difference in recordings.
Over time, your ear will start to recognize not just “correct” vs “incorrect” pitch, but the character of each Swar in each Raag — a subtle but beautiful part of Hindustani music.
In summary, a Swar is a note, a ratio, a position inside a Raag, and a living relationship with the tanpura. Equal temperament describes one way of organizing pitch; Indian classical music keeps the door open to the fine shades in between. That space is where much of the magic of our music lives.