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RĀGĀKIT
Sunset · Sorrow · Carnatic
Charukesi
Pathos, longing
MIDI files
Files are in Sa = C and loop on whole bars. Drag them onto a track in your DAW. The WAV uses the instrument you picked above. Free to use in your releases, royalty-free.
Plays the raga's ascent (aroha) and descent (avaroha), which often skip or zigzag through notes. Tap any key to hear it.
Good to know
A parent scale that is popular in film music for its bittersweet mix of major and minor.
A 7-note raga, called sampurna in classical terms.
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Its notes are the same as the Mixolydian ♭6 scale.
It is melakarta #26, one of the 72 parent scales of Carnatic music.
Spotted a mistake? Corrections from musicians are very welcome in the feedback box below.
Movement
Aroha (up)
SRGMPdnSC D E F G A♭ B♭ C
Avaroha (down)
SndPMGRSC B♭ A♭ G F E D C
Notes of Charukesi
Sargam
S
R
G
M
P
d
n
S
Western
C
D
E
F
G
A♭
B♭
C
Solfège
do
re
mi
fa
so
le
te
do
Signature phrase
SGMPdnS,SndPMGRS
C E F G A♭ B♭ C · C B♭ A♭ G F E D C
A phrase that marks this raga's character. Singers add gamakas (ornaments) that a keyboard can't show, so treat the MIDI as the shape and add your own bends and feel.
Practice singing
RāgāKit sings each note in sargam (Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma…), then listens while you sing it back. Turn on the Drone for a steady Sa, and use headphones if you can. Your voice is analysed on this device only: nothing is recorded or sent.
–
flat
sharp
Sing any note…
Chords that fit
Every chord uses only this raga's notes. Ragas are traditionally played over a drone, so these are for fusion, film and accompaniment. Tap a chord to hear it.
Home chords: they contain Sa, so they sit best under the melody
Other chords for movement
Why these chords fit
Every chord is built only from the raga's own notes (for example C = Sa – Ga – Pa), so it won't clash with the melody.
The chord on Sa, C (Sa – Ga – Pa), is major: a bright, settled home.
Its altered notes are komal Dha and komal Ni. Chords that contain them (Ddim and Edim) carry the raga's colour: use them for mood, then return to a home chord.
Home chords contain Sa, so they agree with the tanpura drone and feel settled. The others move away from Sa and pull back toward home, which is what makes a loop feel like it's going somewhere.
A simple loop to start:C → Gm → B♭ → C
Fusion: genres that fit
Suggested from the raga's notes and mood. Start here, then break the rules.
Funk95–110 BPM
Slap bass on Sa and Pa, tight guitar stabs, syncopated raga riffs.
Blues / rock70–130 BPM
Guitar bends work like meend (slides); riff on the lower notes.
Cinematic / film scoreFree or 60–90 BPM
Strings or a pad on the drone, let the melody build slowly.
How was Charukesi for you?
Tell me what helped and what's missing. It goes straight to the person building this and stays private. It's anonymous: no name or email needed. Want news of new ragas and packs? Use the email sign-up at the bottom of the page.
Sa is set to C. Lowercase sargam (r g d n) means komal or flat; M' means tivra or sharp Ma. Solfège uses movable do, so do is always Sa. A dot below a note means the lower octave; a dot above means the upper octave.