Microtonality in Indian Music: Myth or Reality
by Suvarnalata Rao and Wim van der Meer Paper presented at FRSM Gwalior 2009 Abstract Microtonality (shruti) is regarded as an essential and core aspect of the raga performance in Indian art music. In fact, musicians invariably refer to and rely on specific intonations as an identifying feature for certain ragas, like the komal Gandhar (flat third) in raga Darbari. â¨In this paper an attempt is made to ascertain the validity of this assumption with an empirical case study of intonation of komal Dha (flat sixth) in five different ragas, [...]