Svara or Swara (स्वर, generally pronounced as swar or swara and not swaraa) is a Sanskrit word that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel and the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name. Most of the times a swara is identified for both musical note and tone, but a tone is a precise substitute for sur, related to tunefulness. Traditionally, Indians have just seven swaras/notes with short names, e.g. saa, re/ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni which Indian musicians designate as saptaka. It is one of the reasons why svara is considered a symbolical expression for the number seven.