Mela-Raga Shastra

As the understanding of sound and intervals developed, the concept of musical scales also developed. Scales or modes were a group of notes or swars ranging from five to seven. All great ancient civilizations such as Greek, Egyptian, Chinese, Persian and India have records of the musical scales, some of which are still used today. These scales or modes served as the basis for generating musical melodies. With scant records of notated music, we are unable to understand how the music was sung or performed in ancient times. The Raga in Indian Classical Music offers some glimpse of the past due to its sophisticated grammar and scope in improvisation.

Here in this page we shall explore the ancient concepts of Scales and its evolution, from which were derived the immortal Ragas.