The 22 Shrutis are the ancient microtonal foundation of Indian Classical Music — exact, acoustically pure intervals that have never needed the compromise of tempering. Learn the full system, live online over nine weeks — or experience it first in a single Lecture-Demonstration.
Charaka gave the world Ayurveda. Pāṇini gave language its grammar, through Sanskrit. Patanjali gave health and the mind Yoga. At that same level of foundational, civilization-shaping knowledge stands Bharata Muni — who first scripted the science of the 22 Shrutis for music.
Gave the world Ayurveda — the foundational science of health still practiced today.
Gave Sanskrit its grammar — a structural system that shaped how language itself is studied.
Gave the world Yoga — uniting body, breath, and mind into a single discipline.
Scripted the science of the 22 Shrutis — the exact, mathematical foundation Indian Classical Music still stands on today.
Indian Classical Music divides the octave using a mathematical precision rooted in the natural harmonic series. The sonic difference from tempered tuning isn't theoretical — it's immediate, audible, and startling to any trained ear.
The modern Western scale divides the octave into 12 equal steps — a mathematical compromise that approximates consonance so that any key can be played on a fixed instrument like a piano.
The 22 Shruti system achieves true consonance through exact whole-number frequency ratios — not approximated, not compromised, but resonant and alive in a way equal temperament was never built to be.
The 22 Shrutis sit at a rare point of genuine convergence — relevant not only to music departments, but to ethnomusicology, acoustics, mathematics, cognitive science, and the philosophy of perception.
How does the human ear and nervous system respond to pure versus tempered intervals?
What is the relationship between mathematical elegance and musical beauty?
What can non-Western tuning systems teach us about tonality, cognition, and the universals of music?
How do ancient Indian musical sciences intersect with modern acoustics and physics?
Pitched at the level of serious musical scholarship — drawing on the landmark research of Dr. Vidyadhar Oke, India's foremost scholar on the 22 Shrutis, and the 'Shrutis Simplified' series, which has reached tens of thousands of musicians worldwide. Open to advanced students and scholars at participating institutions, and the natural first step before enrolling in the full course.
The mathematical and physical foundations of the 22 Shrutis
Live acoustic demonstrations of pure microtonal intervals — heard and felt in the room
The relationship between Shrutis and the construction of Ragas — India's melodic frameworks
A direct comparison between the 22 Shruti system and the 12-tone equal-tempered scale
The living continuity of this science — from Bharata Muni's Natyashastra to today's concert stage
Open Q&A with your students and faculty
The Lecture-Demonstration shows you what's possible in an hour. The course teaches you the system itself — live, online, over nine weeks — taught directly by Dr. Sangeeta Shankar.
Both the Lecture-Demonstration and the full course are built for an advanced level of musical maturity — not a general introduction. They are open to:
"These notes gave me Brahmananda."
"This formula has set at rest past discussions over the positions of shrutis — an achievement for the history of music."
"No one is likely to do this work again — Na Bhuto Na Bhavishyati."
"Those unwilling to see this work are making a blunder."
"A detailed mathematical foundation, with a precise formula to generate the Indian 22 Shrutis."
Daughter of Padma Vibhushan Dr. N. Rajam and a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award from the President of India, Dr. Shankar offers a comprehensive, world-class curriculum in Indian Classical Music — including dedicated courses on the 22 Shruti Tuning System — to students across the globe through the Sharangadev School of Music and Culture. Her own series, '22 Shrutis Simplified,' has reached tens of thousands of musicians worldwide.
Dr. Vidyadhar Oke is the researcher whose work this course and lecture-demonstration are built on — the inventor of the world's only patented 22-Shruti Harmonium, 22-Shruti Metallophone, and Calibrated 22-Shruti Veena. His detailed mathematical formula for generating the 22 Shrutis has been recognised by some of India's most celebrated classical musicians, and forms the scientific foundation that Dr. Sangeeta Shankar draws on throughout this course.
Enroll in the nine-week live course with Dr. Sangeeta Shankar — or, if you represent a university or conservatory, request a Lecture-Demonstration for your department first.