Writing Sancaras (Characteristic Phrases) for New Audiences

In the long history of South Indian (Karnatak) music, the concept of notation is almost nonexistent until the 17th century. Although Indian music pedagogy insists on oral tradition, Somanatha’s Raga Vibodha (dated 1609) attempted to create notational symbols for melodic ornaments, known as gamaka. This treatise described instrumental realization on the vina and included musical examples. As the study of Karnatak music became institutionalized, a need for notation arose. In addition to the conventional notation system, my revered guru T.Viswanathan (Viswa) developed a unique system known as descriptive notation, which reveals every detail of any complex phrase of a raga. Although Viswa’s own family tradition relied on oral pedagogy, his notational system had significant impact, particularly among non-Indians wishing to learn intricate melodic aspects of Karnatak music. Viswa’s cousin T. Brinda was critical of his work because she was against sheet music. As a student of both, I was able to understand the methodologies of the two great masters. It was challenging, in the beginning, to understand Viswa’s notation system since I am used to the oral tradition. Later, I understood his motivation to translate one’s understanding of convoluted phrases into a visualization.

Building on the works of his predecessors, such as Oriental Music in European Notation (1893) by Chinnaswami Mudaliar and Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini (1904) written by Subbarama Dikshitar, Viswa’s study in this area of research is monumental and thorough. He adapted aspects of various music cultures, including some Western music symbols in his notation. He also shared information on the numeric notation system used in Chinese and Indonesian Gamelan music.

In this presentation, I will briefly discuss Viswa’s contribution and demonstrate his descriptive notation in contrast to the conventional notation system. While notation is not capable of capturing the bhava (mood or feeling) of Karnatak music, I will indicate its place in my own practice as a performer and teacher at Wesleyan University. I use audiovisual samples in support of my presentation.