Carnatic music, from zero

A theory-only guide for a complete beginner: history, notes, ragas, talas, forms, composers and instruments, written in plain words. Every term is explained the first time it appears, claims are shown with how sure we are of them, and where sources disagree the disagreement is shown.

Start here: What is Carnatic music?

The learning path

1. Orientation — What Carnatic music is, how it relates to Hindustani music, and how it is learned.
2. A short history — From ancient texts and the Vijayanagara era to the Trinity and the modern concert.
3. Sound fundamentals — Shruti, the seven notes, the twelve positions, octaves and notation.
4. Raga fundamentals — What a raga is, how it is described, and the 72-parent system.
5. Tala fundamentals — Cycles, sections, hand actions, the 35 talas, and how a beat is divided.
6. Musical forms — Training pieces, kritis, light forms, improvised forms and the concert.
7. Composers and figures — The composers, scholars and performers who shaped the tradition.
8. Instruments — The voice, the drone, melodic instruments and percussion.
9. Raga and tala study — How to study with the raga pages, tala pages, chart, comparison and generator.
10. Listening literacy — Following a concert by its structure: items, raga, tala, improvisation and ensemble.

Look things up

• Glossary of every term
• History timeline
• Musical forms, composers and instruments

This site is theory-first. Its explainers can play computed tones, and raga pages link recordings that load only if you press play. There are no exercises.