Raag Yaman – A Basic Structure Of Music

A raag ( Hindustani: राग) is a melodic mode or raga, a pattern of pitches in classical Indian music. There are hundreds of raags in Indian classical music, which have been used for centuries to express creativity and emotions in music. The raag Yaman belongs to the second group of Indian classical music, known as “Komal” ragas – or flat notes. These ragas are characterized by a natural downward movement and their notes descend in pitch. The raag also has both shuddha (natural) and tivra (sharpened) swaras.

* Tivra Ma: D# F# G A B C D
* Shuddh Ma: E F# G A B C

Structure

Raag Yaman is the fifth of the Hindustani classical music rāgas, or modes. It is an audava-shadav rāga (five notes in ascending and descending scale). It is a sampoorna rāga (complete in itself) as it contains all five swaras (musical notes). The name of this rāga has been derived from the names of two gharanas or schools of music, that were popular in north India in the 16th century. These were the schools of Yaman (or Yamkhana) and Malwa.

In our previous articles, we have discussed about the concept of Indian Ragas and one of the great raag Bhairav Raag and it’s structure. This article will be about Raag Yaman and its structure.

It is a descending scale of notes that starts from Shadaj and passes through Rishabh, Gandhar, and Pancham before ending on Madhyam.

Its structure is similar to that of Raag Bhairav, however the ascending and descending scale of notes are reversed.
The raaga starts on Pancham (Pa) and the aarohana follows the sequence S R G P D N S’

Raag Yaman is a very popular raag in North India. It is used widely in the compositions of Khayal, Tarana, Thumri and Chaturang.

The notes used in Yaman are: Aaroh: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa, Avroh: Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Sa. Samvadi is Ga and Vadi is Ni.

There are some very famous compositions of Raag Yaman. For example:

“aaj shaam kyun na aayega”, “kaunsi desh mein rahna hai” and many more.

History of Yaman Raag

Although it is commonly believed that Raaga Yaman was created by Ustad Amaan Ali Khan’s grandfather, Ustad Abdul Waheed Khan, the raag is actually much older. It first appeared in the Sikh tradition around 1835, when Bhai Mardana started singing. Its original name is Raag Kalyan and only during the Mughal’s rule the name Yaman was introduced and became current by a journey from Kalyan to Yaman by Ameer Khusro (1253–1325).

Raag Yaman is a very popular Raaga. This Raga is often used by singers to render bhajans, both in Carnatic music and Hindustani music.

Famous compositions in Raag Yaman

Compositions in Raag Yaman (or Yaman) are based on a very popular structure that is easily recognised and appreciated by the listener.

The most famous compositions in Raag Yaman are: Lalit, Bihag, Pilu, Miyan ki Todi, Jaitsri, Puriya Dhanashree.

The Bhairavi Thaat is used for the performance of Raag Yaman. It contains 4 Shrutis or notes, Sa Re Ga Ma and Ni.

The Taal that corresponds to the Bhairavi Thaat is Yaman, which has a combination of 10 Matras or time-units. The Matra named Madhava is omitted while counting Khedas, but included in the calculation of total duration.

All Ragas in Raag Yaman are performed at a slow speed with the exception of Todi.

Bollywood Songs On Raag Yaman

The following are some of my favorite Raag Yaman / Yaman Kalyan-inspired Bollywood movie songs:

Ja Re Badra Bairi Ja – Bahaana (1960) by Lata Mangeshkar.

Ehsaan Tera Hoga – Junglee (1961) by Mohammed Rafi.

Jab Deep Jale Aana – Chitchor (1976) by  Hemlata & K.J.Yesudas.

Woh Shaam Kuch Ajeeb Thi – Khamoshi (1969) by Kishore Kumar.

Chandan sa Badan – Saraswatichandra (1968) by Mukesh.

Various instruments used in playing Raag Yaman

Playing Raag Yaman is not a simple task. It requires knowledge and skill in many different instruments.
A special kind of harmonium known as the Yaman Kalyan (tuned to Raag Yaman), which was specially designed for playing Raag Yaman.
Another specialized instrument used for playing Raag Yaman is the Duggi, also known as the Duggi-Veena (which is a combination of two Indian instruments: the Veena and the Duggi).
The Sarangi is another important instrument used for playing Raag Yaman.

Conclusion

The Raag Yaman is best known as a morning or evening raag. It’s not uncommon to hear this raag being played during the spring season, as it has a very happy and hopeful vibe. This structure can be used for composing many different types of songs including bhajans, hori and boliyan.