KonakolSwara LLM

A domain-specialized generative language model for Carnatic rhythmic composition (Konakol/Solkattu) and melodic Swara sequence generation — trained to produce creative, grammatically authentic patterns in the Telugu script tradition of South Indian classical music.

Overview

South Indian (Carnatic) classical music is built upon two interlocking theoretical pillars: Tala (rhythm) and Raga (melody). While much of music AI focuses on audio synthesis, this model addresses the compositional notation layer — the articulation of rhythmic and melodic ideas through the symbolic vocabulary that Carnatic musicians have used for centuries.

Konakol (also called Solkattu in Telugu/Tamil) is the art of vocal percussion — the recitation of codified rhythmic syllables (such as తకిట, తరికిట, తకధిమి) that correspond precisely to strokes on the Mridangam (the double-headed barrel drum that anchors Carnatic rhythm). Konakol is simultaneously a theoretical notation system, a pedagogical tool, and a performance art in its own right.

Swara sequence composition involves the creative arrangement of the seven swaras (Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Ni — సా రి గ మ ప ద ని) into melodic phrases, scale exercises (Varisai), and improvisational patterns (Kalpana Swara).

KonakolSwara LLM is trained to generate both categories of musical text with structural fidelity to Carnatic theory — producing compositions that are not merely plausible-looking character sequences, but reflect the internal logic of Tala cycles, Nadai (rhythmic subdivision), syllable families, and scalar grammar.

Musical Background

Konakol: Vocal Percussion

Konakol syllables are derived from Sanskrit and Tamil phonemes and map to specific Mridangam strokes. The syllable families, organized by beat duration, include:

Duration	Telugu Syllables	Transliteration
1 beat	తా, తోమ్, తహ, ధిన్	tā, tom, tah, dhin
2 beats	తక, ధిమి, జిమి, ధిత్తై, గిన	taka, dhimi, jimi, dhittai, gina
3 beats	తకిట, తరికిట, తక్కిట, తనన	takita, tarikita, takkita, tanana
4 beats	తకధిమి, తకజిమి, తకజను, తరిగిన	takadhimi, takajimi, takajanu, tarigina

These syllables are combined to fill Tala cycles — rhythmic loops of fixed length. The most common Tala is Adi Tala (8 beats). The Nadai (gait) subdivides each beat: Chatusra (4 subdivisions), Tisra (3), Khanda (5), Misra (7).

A Korvai is a rhythmic cadence — a phrase stated exactly three times that resolves to the first beat (Sam) of the Tala cycle, providing musical closure.

Swara Sequences

The seven swaras (Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Ni), their komal/tivra variants, and their arrangements form the basis of Carnatic melodic pedagogy. Standard compositional exercises include:

Sarali Varisai — straight ascending/descending scale patterns in groups of four
Janta Varisai — doubled-note exercises (Sa Sa Ri Ri Ga Ga...)
Alankara — structured patterns in different speeds and Nadais
Kalpana Swara — free melodic improvisation within a raga's grammatical constraints

Capabilities

This model can:

Generate complete Konakol compositions in a specified Tala and Nadai, using authentic syllable combinations
Compose Korvai patterns — three-fold resolution phrases with correct Sam landing
Generate Swara sequence compositions in ascending, descending, zigzag, and raga-specific patterns
Demonstrate Kuraippu (gradual reduction technique where phrases shorten over successive repetitions)
Demonstrate Nadai Bheda (switching rhythmic gait within a single composition)
Explain Konakol theory — syllable families, beat values, Tala structures, Nadai theory
Explain Swara theory — Varisai types, Alankara, Kalai (speed), Kalpana Swara
Generate combined Konakol + Swara compositions that pair rhythmic and melodic notation

How to Use

from transformers import AutoModelForCausalLM, AutoTokenizer
import torch

model_id = "sgattup/KonakolSwaraLLM"
tokenizer = AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained(model_id)
model = AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained(
    model_id,
    torch_dtype=torch.float16,
    device_map="auto"
)

PROMPT = """You are an expert in Carnatic classical music, specializing in Konakol (Solkattu) — the vocal recitation of rhythmic syllables — and Swara sequence composition. You can explain Tala theory, compose creative Konakol patterns, generate melodic Swara sequences, and teach the grammar of South Indian rhythm and melody.

### Question:
{}

### Answer:
"""

def ask(question, max_tokens=800):
    prompt = PROMPT.format(question)
    inputs = tokenizer(prompt, return_tensors="pt").to(model.device)
    outputs = model.generate(
        **inputs,
        max_new_tokens=max_tokens,
        temperature=0.8,
        do_sample=True
    )
    response = tokenizer.decode(outputs[0], skip_special_tokens=True)
    return response.split("### Answer:")[-1].strip()

# Generate a Konakol composition
print(ask("Compose a Konakol pattern in Adi Tala using takita and tarikita combinations."))

# Generate swara sequences
print(ask("Generate a creative swara composition with all seven notes in Telugu notation."))

# Ask about theory
print(ask("What is a Korvai and how is it constructed?"))

# Generate a Korvai
print(ask("Create a Korvai — a three-fold resolution pattern that lands on Sam in Adi Tala."))

Illustrative Outputs

Q: Compose a Konakol pattern in Adi Tala, Chatusra Nadai:

తకిట తరికిట తకిట తరికిట తక్కిట తక్కిట తోమ్ తా తకధిమి తకజిమి తోమ్ తోమ్ తరిగిన తకజను తా ధిత్తై తహ తకిట తహ ధిమితక జిమితక తోమ్ తా

Q: Generate a Sarali Varisai swara pattern:

సా రి గ మ / ప ద ని సా / సా ని ద ప / మ గ రి సా రి గ మ ప / ద ని సా రి / రి సా ని ద / ప మ గ రి గ మ ప ద / ని సా రి గ / గ రి సా ని / ద ప మ గ...

Q: What is Kuraippu?

Kuraippu (from Tamil/Telugu కురైప్పు) is a rhythmic device in Carnatic Konakol and Mridangam solos where a phrase is stated in full, then restated in progressively shorter versions — each iteration trimming syllables from the beginning or end while maintaining the rhythmic alignment with the Tala cycle. The effect is one of musical intensification and condensation: the pattern feels like it is being compressed toward a point of culmination. A Kuraippu typically concludes on Sam (the first beat), making it a variant of the Korvai principle...

Model Specifications

Parameter	Value
Base Model	LLaMA 3.2 3B (`unsloth/llama-3.2-3B-bnb-4bit`)
Fine-tuning Method	QLoRA via Unsloth
Quantization	4-bit NF4 with double quantization
LoRA Rank	16
LoRA Alpha	32
Training Epochs	3
Learning Rate	2e-4
Training Hardware	Google Colab T4 GPU (free tier)
Dataset	25+ Konakol compositions + 15+ Swara compositions + 15+ theory pairs
Script Languages	Telugu (తెలుగు) and English
License	Apache 2.0

Limitations

Tala mathematics: The model generates syllable patterns that are structurally authentic in style; however, beat-count precision is not mathematically guaranteed. A practicing musician should verify rhythmic sums before performance use.
Raga specificity: Swara sequences are generated based on general scalar logic. For raga-specific composition, pair this model with RagaLakshanaLLM.
Telugu script rendering: Proper display requires Telugu Unicode font support in the rendering environment.
Creative vs. canonical: Generated Konakol compositions are creative/novel, not transcriptions of traditional compositions.

Companion Models

sgattup/RagaLakshanaLLM — Raga theory, Lakshana, Thaat/Melakarta classification
sgattup/IndianCultureLLM — Broad Indian culture, history, philosophy, and arts

Training Code

github.com/sai-educ/indian-culture-llm

Citation

@misc{KonakolSwaraLLM2026,
  author       = {sgattup},
  title        = {KonakolSwara LLM: A Generative Model for Carnatic Rhythmic and Melodic Composition},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {HuggingFace},
  howpublished = {\url{https://huggingface.co/sgattup/KonakolSwaraLLM}}
}

This model is part of a series of specialized AI models for Indian classical music and culture, developed to make the theoretical and creative vocabulary of Indian traditions more accessible through natural language interfaces.

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