What Is Your Pitch (Sruti)?

What does it mean when we say someone’s singing is “besur?” It means that they are not singing in pitch.

This pitch is called sruti in the south (the word sruti is translated in different ways, this is one of them) or sur/ swar in the North.
Finding and maintaining one’s pitch is of fundamental importance. The instrument that helps a classical musician do this is the Tanpura, or as it is known in the South, the Tambura.

The Tanpura is the instrument that is tuned to a singer’s pitch (instrumentalists use them too) and that provides a constant reference point that helps the musician stay in pitch.

Well tuned Tanpuras are a pathway to heaven, the heaven inside yourself, because they help you find your pitch, your frequency.

In the video below we have some really well tuned Tanpuras. They are the long instruments with fat bottoms behind the singer, who is Ustad H. Sayeeduddin Dagar. He sings a Sanskrit chant in the Raga Bhoopali.

How do you find your pitch?

Your pitch can be found against a keyboard, a harmonium or against a Tanpura, although it is advisable to carry on your practice against the Tanpura and not the keyboard.

Finding one’s pitch is basically finding one’s base “Sa” (Shadja).

As we noted earlier, the seven notes of Indian music are Sa, Re (or Ri), Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni and Sa. We do not count the last Sa, because Sa repeats itself at the end of the scale. Sa’s frequency at the end of the scale is exactly double that of the fist Sa at the beginning of the scale and sounds “higher.”
It is the first “Sa” that constitutes one’s basic pitch or adhara shadja/adhara swara.

If you take the example of a keyboard, in theory, your Sa can start anywhere on the keyboard, depending on where you comfortable singing it.
“Sa” then becomes the fixed or tonic note (adhara shadja/sruti/swara).

All other notes are in relation to and relative to Sa.

My “Sa,” is different from my teacher’s “Sa”, as he is a male and has a lower pitch.

Tanpuras/Tamburas usually have four or five strings. The first string is tuned to Pa, the two middle ones are tuned to the higher Sa and the last, to the tonic Sa (i.e. your fundamental Sa), an octave lower. So what a Tanpura does is to provide a constant tonal reference point.

The tuning of the first string (Pa) may change, depending on the raga (e.g. there may be a raga without Pa) or an extra string that plays the seventh note, i.e Ni, can be added (the adding of strings is usually done by Hindustani musicians), or the Pa string may be tuned to Ma.

Nowadays one gets electronic “sruti boxes” and electronic tamburas that are much easier to carry around, that look like small radios. Though these are very good and have reached high standards, some people (including yours truly) feel that the traditional Tanpuras and Tamburas provide a richer sound and should not be done away with.

Learning to tune a Tanpura to one’s pitch is considered essential in perfecting one’s pitch or sur or shruti. More on Tanpuras here.

Sadly, some teachers are doing away with the practice of teaching their students to tune Tanpuras.

Here is a podcast by the Carnatic musician Vidya Subramanian explaining the concept of pitch. Since she is a Carnatic musician and from the South, she calls pitch “sruti.”

And here is a podcast by Vidya on Tamburas.

Want to try singing and finding your Sa yourself? There are some online Tanpura recordings here. If you are female, you will probably find a pitch between 4 and 6 that is comfortable and if you are male try between 0.5 to 2 (some manage even higher).

Just sing Saaaaaaaaaaaaaa in your normal voice and hold it steady.
You can vary it by just singing “aaaaaaaaaaaaaa.” Singing “aaaaa” is known as aakaara saadhana in the South and singing in aalaap/aakaar in the North.

Here is a free aalaap/aakaaram lesson, that you can try singing along with and is good for generally toning your voice! Click in the top right hand box to listen.

Read more: http://www.likhati.com/2010/04/29/introducing-yourself-to-indian-classical-music-13-whats-your-frequency-the-tanpuratambura-and-finding-your-sur-shruti-or-pitch-1/#ixzz12oIq2Mqt