Read About Notation
Rabindranath was reluctant to publish notations of his compositions. Reasons behind are several. Unlike in Western Music the totality of Hindustani Music is never expressed through a notation. That is due to the complex movement of the tune. He mainly agreed upon because he used to forget the tunes. He had to depend upon Sri Dinendranath Tagore for this perpose. It was in fact Sri Dinendranath Tagore and Smt. Indira Debi Chowdhurani who had instigated Rabindranath for endorsement of a notation system.
Now we find these to be of immensely useful. But it represents only the basic structure of the song, and one can only master that if he has enough depth on the Raag or Chalan (movement of the tune) of the song. As it is told in Hindustani Classical music – Gurumukhi Vidya. One has to learn it from the voice of a Guru only. Rabindra Sangeet too demands selection of a proper Guru.
Yet we have to depend on these notations that were compiled with utmost care and precision. One has to pick up notes from the notation and compare them with the movements of the raag and then only the song would take its desired shape and color.
Books published from the Viswabharati contain pages describing how to read notations, as they are complicated and contain various indications. They even show how to pronounce.
