The 22 Srutis: The Notes Between the Notes
By Teacher Nanthini · 25 July 2026 · 5 min read
Between every two notes lies a whole world, if the ear learns to listen.
Okay so here is something that genuinely bends your brain a little. We always say Carnatic music has seven swaras. Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni. Seven. But the old texts of our tradition talk about twenty-two srutis. Twenty-two. So which is it? Both, actually, and the explanation is fascinating.
Quick heads up before we go further, because this word does double duty.
Two meanings, one word
You have already met sruti meaning your base pitch, the drone note you tune to. That is a different use. Here, sruti means a tiny interval of pitch, a microtone. Same word, two jobs. Context tells you which one is meant.
So what are the 22 srutis?
They are the smallest pitch intervals our tradition recognises as meaningful to the ear. Western music divides an octave into twelve semitones. Our tradition divides it far more finely, into twenty-two perceptible shades. That means there are pitches sitting between the notes on a piano that we treat as real, distinct and expressive.
This is genuinely one of the things that makes Carnatic music sound the way it does. Those in-between shades are not mistakes or sloppy tuning. They are the point.
Why this actually matters
Here is the part that makes it click. Have you ever noticed that the same note can sound subtly different in two different ragas? Like the Ri in one raga feels warmer or sharper than the Ri in another, even though they are supposedly the same note? That is the sruti system at work. The swara is not one fixed point, it is a small region, and each raga settles on its own precise shade within it.
A swara is not a single point. It is a small neighbourhood.
Did you know?
The 22 sruti concept appears in the Natya Shastra, an ancient Indian treatise on performing arts written well over two thousand years ago. People were mapping these microtonal shades before most of modern music theory existed anywhere.
Do students learn all 22 separately?
Nope, and honestly thank goodness. Nobody sits a student down and drills twenty-two microtones. They are absorbed naturally, through gamaka, through listening carefully to a teacher, through singing ragas until your ear starts recognising these tiny shades without you consciously noticing.
Your ear learns it the way you learned to hear the difference between someone sounding happy or tired on the phone. Nobody taught you that explicitly either.
What this builds in you
A seriously refined ear. Students who train in this tradition end up hearing pitch differences most listeners walk straight past. That sensitivity is a genuine skill, and it stays with you for life.
🎧 Nothing to do, just listen
Nothing to study at home. This sensitivity develops entirely on its own through class and listening.
If you are curious, listen closely to how a singer slides into a note rather than jumping straight to it. Just for interest, never a task.
Come train your ear
You cannot read your way into hearing microtones. It happens through singing and listening, patiently, over time. Come learn with us, and one day you will catch a shade of pitch you would have missed completely a year earlier. That moment is a proper win.
Words to know
Sruti (microtone), one of the 22 smallest meaningful pitch intervals in an octave.
Sruti (base pitch), the separate, more common meaning: the home pitch a singer tunes to.
Microtone, a pitch interval smaller than a Western semitone.
Natya Shastra, the ancient Indian treatise on performing arts that describes the 22 srutis.
Gamaka, the ornamental movement through which these microtonal shades are actually sung.
Your questions, answered
What are the 22 srutis in Carnatic music?
The 22 srutis are the smallest meaningful pitch intervals recognised in an octave by Indian classical tradition. They divide the octave far more finely than the twelve semitones of Western music.
How is sruti as a microtone different from sruti as base pitch?
The word carries two meanings. Sruti commonly means the base pitch a singer tunes to, their home Sa. In the microtonal sense, a sruti is one of the 22 tiny pitch intervals within an octave. Context makes clear which is meant.
Why do the same swaras sound different in different ragas?
Because a swara occupies a small region of pitch rather than a single fixed point. Each raga settles on its own precise microtonal shade within that region, which is why the same named note can feel subtly different.
Do students have to learn all 22 srutis individually?
No. They are absorbed naturally through gamaka, careful listening and singing ragas over time. No student is drilled on them separately, the ear simply becomes more sensitive with experience.
Want to train your ear this finely?
Send us a message on WhatsApp, and we will help you or your child begin, online, or here with us in Puchong.
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Teacher Nanthini
Teacher Nanthini teaches veena and Carnatic vocal at Laxmi Music Academy in Puchong. With a warm, encouraging style, she loves guiding beginners through their very first notes, turning nervous starts into real, joyful music.
