Music/Scale/Todi

• Todi Thaat

  • In sargam: S r g M' P d N. On C: C D♭ E♭ F♯ G A♭ B. Steps in semitones: 1 2 3 1 1 3 1.

  • History

    • One of Person/Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande's ten Hindustani thaats, named for raga Todi. See Music/Scale/Marwa for how a thaat relates to the ragas inside it.
    • The principal raga is Miyan ki Todi. Its name ties it to Miyan Tansen, the singer at Akbar's court in the sixteenth century.
    • The Carnatic equivalent parent scale is Shubhapantuvarali, melakarta 45.

  • Use

    • Miyan ki Todi is a late-morning raga. Pa is weak or skipped in ascent, and the lowered Re, Ga and Dha are sung slightly flat of their equal-tempered pitches, with slow oscillation.
    • Gujari Todi drops Pa entirely; Bilaskhani Todi takes its notes from the Bhairavi thaat yet keeps the Todi name.

  • Quirks

    • The name points to two different scales. Carnatic Todi, Hanumatodi or melakarta 8, has the notes of Music/Scale/Phrygian, while Hindustani Todi has a raised fourth and a raised seventh.
    • Its step pattern, 1 2 3 1 1 3 1, contains two augmented seconds, like Music/Scale/Minor/Hungarian, from which it differs only in the second degree.