The solfege (sargam) is learnt in abbreviated form of swara: sa, ri (Carnatic) or re (Hindustani), ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, sa. Of these, the first that is “sa”, and the fifth that is “pa”, are considered anchors that are unalterable, while the remaining have flavors that differs between the two major systems.

The swaras in Carnatic music are slightly different in the twelve-note system. There are three types each of Rishabha, Gandhara, Dhaivata and Nishada. There are two types of Madhyama, while Pancham and Shadja are invariant. In Carnatic Music, swaras have prakruti and vikruti swaras. The vikruti swaras are Ri, Ga, Ma, Da and Ni. The rest — Sa and Pa — are prakruti swaras