Bhatkhande Notation Writer
Type what you hear in class, in Latin letters. The page draws Bhatkhande notation in Devanagari — सा रे ग म — with dots, underlines, holds, rests, and taal marks. Same content in bhatkhande.md.
A Notes: line, then a Lyrics: line with the same number of words. Sa- needs two words. · is an empty word, and _ carries the syllable. Enter on a notes line adds the lyric line. A blank line starts the next pair.
Copy notation pastes into Word, Google Docs, and Pages. Save as image downloads a PNG.
How to type it
Put a space between notes, and spaces around |. Full names (Sa Re Ga Ma) are the safest while you are writing fast. Single letters work too.
Ma or m.
Tivra Ma is Ma# or M.
S R G M draws सा रे ग with a tivra म.
For natural Ma type S R G m or Sa Re Ga Ma.
Examples
Paste any block into the notes, or press Example for a full bandish (Teentaal, start beat 9).
1 — Barlines, holds, and dugun (Teentaal — two 4-matra bars)
| Sa- Re [Ga Ma] | Pa Dha Ni Sa |
2 — Ornaments — kan ^ga, meend ~, murki { … }, phrase slur ( … )
| ^ga Ma Pa |
Sa~Re~Ga {Sa Re Ga} ( Dha:Su Ni:mi Pa:na )
3 — Bandish sketch — a lyrics line under the notes; x2 at the end of a notes line plays that line twice
// mukhda — Teentaal, often khālī on beat 9 Notes: Dha Ni Pa | Ma Ga Re Sa Lyrics: su mi na | ja ga re ga // antara Notes: Sa Re Ga Ma x2 Lyrics: aa re ga ma Notes: Pa/8 Dha/8 Ni/8 Sa'/8 Lyrics: pa dha ni sa
4 — Durations and rests
Sa/2 Re Ga/8 Ma/8 Pa Sa _ Re _ Ga Ma Sa Re Ga Ma x3
Syntax
One token per note or rest, separated by spaces. Preview marks are in the legend; hold vs rest dashes in Dashes & dugun.
| Token | Meaning |
|---|---|
Sa Re … Ni | shuddha swara — quarter (1 beat) unless you add a duration |
re ga dha ni | komal (lowercase) |
Ma# or M | tivra Ma |
.Sa Sa, / Sa' Sa. | mandra / taar — dot after name (no slash) is octave, not dotted rhythm |
Sa/2 Sa/1 Sa/8 Sa/16 | half · whole · eighth · sixteenth — append . after the number to dot (× 1.5), e.g. Sa/4. |
Sa- Sa-- … | hold shorthand — same as Sa/2, Sa/2. … (dashes) |
_ or lone - | rest — preview shows - with no swara above |
[Sa Re] Sa&Re | dugun shorthand — same as Sa/8 Re/8 |
| | barline — taal marks and beat meter per vibhāg |
x2 x3 | at the end of a line — play that line this many times |
// mukhda "slide" | comment — shown in preview, not played |
Notes: / Lyrics: | swaras, then the words in the same order. Sa- needs two words. · is an empty word. _ draws ऽ. A blank line starts the next pair. |
( Sa Re Ga ) | phrase slur — wide curve, several full matras (preview only) |
{ Sa Re Ga } | murki — quick cluster in one matra |
^Ga Ma^Ga | kan — grace swara before the main note |
Sa~Re~Ga | meend — glide; ~ after each linked swara |
Never use R for rest — that is Re. Colon attaches lyrics only to swaras.
Dashes & dugun — what the preview means
The preview uses - in two ways. What you type is not always a literal dash — see Examples for mixed lines.
Hold the same swara (continue — do not re-attack)
A dash under the same swara means “keep singing this pitch for another matra.” You are not plucking or re-attacking; the note rings on.
| You type | Preview | Matras |
|---|---|---|
Sa | Sa | 1 |
Sa/2 or Sa- | Sa - | 2 — half |
Sa/2. or Sa-- | Sa - - | 3 — dotted half |
Sa/1 or Sa--- | Sa - - - | 4 — whole |
Shorthand: append - after a bare swara (no /duration) — each - adds one held matra.
Sa- = Sa/2, Sa-- = Sa/2., and so on.
Rest (silence)
A dash with no swara above it is a rest — silent matra(s). Never type bare - in the middle of a word; use _ (or a lone - token).
| You type | Preview | Matras |
|---|---|---|
_ or - | - | 1 silent |
_/2 | - - | 2 silent |
Sa _ Re | Sa then - then Re | note · rest · note |
Dugun, tingun, chaugun (several events in one matra)
When two or more swaras share one beat, the preview draws a tight bow underneath (not a phrase slur). Each event is shorter; together they fill one matra.
| Name | Per matra | Type (any one row) | Preview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dugun | 2 | Sa/8 Re/8 · [Sa Re] · Sa&Re · _/8 Pa/8 |
bow under 2 tokens |
| Tingun (tigun) | 3 | Sa/8 Re/8 Ga/8 · [Sa Re Ga] · Sa&Re&Ga |
bow under 3 tokens |
| Chaugun | 4 | Sa/16 Re/16 Ga/16 Ma/16 · [Sa Re Ga Ma] · Sa&Re&Ga&Ma |
tighter bow under 4 |
Square brackets and & expand to the right note lengths. A rest inside counts: [Sa _] = dugun with silence.
Not the same as…
- Phrase slur
( … )— several full matras, one breath (preview only). - Murki
{ … }— several quick swaras in one matra. - Meend
Sa~Re— arc above; glide, not a bow below.
Bhatkhande legend
What the preview draws when you type Western-style tokens (Sa/2, _, Sa/8) — not staff notation.
Swaras
| Preview | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Shuddha (natural) swaras — one matra each | Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni |
|
| Komal (flat) — underline | re ga dha ni |
|
| Tīvra Ma — short vertical stroke above | Ma# or M |
Saptak (octave)
| Preview | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Ati-mandra — two dots below | Sa,, or ..Sa |
|
| Mandra — one dot below | Sa, or .Sa |
|
| Madhya — no octave mark | Sa |
|
| Tār — one dot above | Sa' or Sa. |
|
| Ati-tār — two dots above | Sa'' or Sa.. |
Matra (duration)
Hold vs rest dashes: Dashes & dugun.
| Preview | Matras | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — quarter | Sa or Sa/4 |
|
| 1½ — dotted quarter | Sa/4. |
|
| 2 — half | Sa/2 |
|
| 3 — dotted half | Sa/2. |
|
| 4 — whole | Sa/1 |
|
| 1 silent matra (rest) | _ |
|
| 2 silent matras | _/2 |
Dugun, tingun, and chaugun (notes inside one matra)
| Preview | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Dugun — two events share one matra (eighths, including a rest). Bow underneath. | Sa/8 Re/8 · [Sa Re] · Sa&Re |
|
| Tingun (tigun) — three events share one matra. Bow underneath. | Sa/8 Re/8 Ga/8 · [Sa Re Ga] |
|
| Chaugun — four notes share one matra (sixteenths). Tighter bow. | Sa/16 Re/16 Ga/16 Ma/16 · [Sa Re Ga Ma] |
Ornaments & taal marks
| Preview | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Taal marks above the first swara of each vibhāg — X = sam, 0 = khālī, 2/3/4 = taali | | barlines + taal picker |
|
| Kan — small grace swara before the main note | ^ga before · Ma^ga inline |
|
| Meend — glide between swaras (arc above) | Sa~Re~Ga or Sa~ Re Ga |
|
| Murki — quick cluster in one matra | { Sa Re Ga } |
|
| Chhand — $ under dugun/tingun/chaugun bow (Bhatkhande taan mark) | [Sa Re] · Sa/8 Re/8 |
Bars and repeats
| Preview | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Vibhāg — barline between groups | | |
|
| Phrase slur — one sung group (curved line underneath; not a dugun bow) | ( Sa Re Ga ) |
|
Play this line twice. x3 plays it three times. Write it at the end of the line. |
Sa Re Ga x2 |
|
| Comment / remark — label, not a swara. Line notes sit on their own row; quoted notes sit in the line. | // mukhda or "slide" |
|
Bandish words under the swaras, one syllable per beat. A hold has a cell on each beat. _ draws ऽ. |
Dha:Su Ni:mi Pa:na |
Lyric spelling
In alphabet order. A capital letter is the hard sound, with the tongue curled back. h after it is the breath. ऋ and अः are not spelled — select the letter and paste it into a lyric word.
अ to अः
a अaa आi इee ईu उoo ऊe एai ऐo ओau औa.n अंa.N अँ.n is the shirbindu, the dot: haa.n draws हां. .N is the chandrabindu, the moon-dot: haa.N draws हाँ.
क to ज्ञ
ka कkha खga गgha घnga ङcha चchha छja जjha झnya ञTa टTha ठDa डDha ढNa णta तtha थda दdha धna नpa पpha फba बbha भma मya यra रla लva वsha शSha षsa सha हksha क्षtra त्रgya ज्ञLeave the vowel off for a half letter. kh is ख्, and kha is ख.
These sit outside that order. Select one and paste it: ड़ ढ़ क़ ख़ ग़ ज़ फ़
Play sounds the notes on the harmonium, at the Sa and BPM in the bar at the bottom. With Metro on, Play waits for the beat the line starts on, and each note lands on a beat. Metro plays the tabla in the taal above. The harmonium pad stays on Make your own tunes.