Shuddha Raga
This is the raga in which if any notes that are absent from the composition are played, its nature and form does not change.
Chhayalag Raag
This is the raga in which if any notes that are not present in the original composition are played, its nature and form changes.
Sankeerna Raag
This is the raga in which there is a combination of two or more ragas.
Hence, every raga should have the basic 5 notes. Amongst these ragas:
The ‘King’ is the principal note on which raga is built. This is called the ‘Vaadi’ and it is used most often in the composition.
The next important note is the ‘queen’ that corresponds as the fourth or fifth note in relation to the principal raga. This second most important note of the ‘raga’ is called ‘Samvaadi’.
All the other notes in the composition apart from the vaadi and samvaadi are called the Anuvaadi.
Lastly, the notes that are not present in the composition are called Vivadi.
Furthermore, the ascent of the notes means that each note is higher than the preceding note, for example, Sa re ga ma pa dha ni. This ascent is called the Aaroha. Similarly, the descent is called Avaroha, where each note is lower than the preceding notes. For example, ni, dha, pa, ma, ga, re, sa. Depending on the ascent and descent of the notes, the ragas can be divided into three speeds or Laya: vilambit (slow); Madhya (medium) and drut (fast).