Composing Indian Raga using Pd:

Named after Lord Shiva, the hoary Raga Kedar occupies a pride of place in the Hindustani pantheon and is much loved in the ranks of both the laity and the connoisseur. Its structure reveals a kaleidoscope of complex melodic gestures, conduct and richness of character. Seldom are the core values of Indian ragadari music united under one roof as they are in Kedar. To know this raga is to experience firsthand the genius and workings of a superior musical intelligence. In the hands of a master it dispenses food for the soul; in lesser climes it can be intolerable.

Raga Kedar is of ancient vintage and finds representation in every conceivable genre: dhrupad, dhamar, khayal, thumri and so on. Its abstract nature makes it notoriously resistant to capture on paper. By “abstract” we mean that it is not a scalar raga, amenable to reconstruction with linear aroha-avarohi phrases. There is much more to it than merely piecing together and summing up a group of tonal clusters.