The Carnatic region in southeast India lies between the Eastern Ghats and the Coromandel Coast; currently this area is contained by the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

This region has a rich history, and is currently best known for the South Indian music form which began developing there one to twenty millennia ago. This music form originates in tribal musical technique and is presently the mela-janya raga system, which contains 72 scales of varying "mood" and "color." The current Hindustani music form of North India contains something like a subset of 10 these 72 scales, however many Hindustani musicians are beginning to adopt the southern system due to its robustness and tradition.