Indian Classical Music Terms

AALAP : Aalap is the first phase of a musical concert. It’s an unstructured, nonrhythmic, rendition of notes while keeping within the periphery of the raga being performed. Rhythm accompaniment is absent in this phase.

AROHA : Upward or ascending movement of notes.

AVROHA : Downward or descending movement of notes.

AUDAVA : Audava means pentatonic. A raga is said to be from the family of audav jati ragas if it uses 5 notes

AVARTAN : One cycle of the tala consisting of matra-s and vibhag-s that make up each repetition of the time-cycle.

BANDISH : Bandish literally means restriction. Thus, a composition which is restricted to a structure of notes, words and text is called a bandish. It also refers to the song text.

BADA KHAYAL : A Khayal or a composition sung in slow tempo or vilambit laya, usually at the beginning of a concert. This is the second phase of a concert after the first phase, which is aalap.

BAYAN : It’s the left drum out of the 2 drums of tabla.

BOL : The tabla has a language of its own. For every sound of the drum there is a corresponding syllable. These syllables are known as bols to the tabla master these bols and their corresponding sounds on the drums are almost one and the same.

BOL TAANA : A bol tana is a tana using words of the compositions.

CHALAN: Chalan literally means gait. It’s also identified as a commonly used phrase, pattern of notes which is repeatedly used while performing a raga.

CHAUTALA : It’s a pakhawaj cycle of 12 beats. This cycle (tala) is basically used with the dhrupad style of singing.

DADRA : A cycle of 6 beats used for semi-classical music such as ghazal or thumri.

DEEPCHANDI : A tala of 14 beats used for thumri, and hori songs.

DHAIVAT : It’s the sixth note, Dha.

DRUT: drut means fast tempo. Thus a drut-khayal is a fast tempo khayal.

EKTAAL : Ektaal is a rhythm cycle of 12 beats dividing it in 6 sections of two each. (2|2|2|2|2|2). This tala can be played for slow and fast tempos.

GAMAK : Its one of the several ornamentations used in Indian classical music. It basically refers to shaking sounds produced by using the diaphragm. This style of singing gives the composition a very heavy and deep feel. This movement between the shruti-s of two swara-s is significant because it correctly connotes the term gamak, which is from the sanskrit word “gam” – meaning to move. 

GANDHAR : Name of the third note in the Indian scale. Commonly said as Ga.

GHARANA : A school of music possessing certain characteristic stylistic features.

JHAPTAAL: A cycle (tala) of 10 beats used for instrumental and khayal style of singing.

JHOOMRA TALA: Complex tala of 14 beats divided into 4 sections of 3 and 4 alternatively. (3|4|3|4).

KEHERWA TALA: A tabla tala of 8 (4+4) beats used for light classical music.

KANA : A kana literally means a grain or a particle. Kana refers to a note that occurs as just a hint of the note - just higher or lower than it.

KAYADA: An important improvisational form in tabla solo recitals performed in medium tempo with a phrase structure similar to the peshkar, but with more varied content suitable for variations. See some examples of kayada-s in tabla base available in compose section.

KHALI: Every tala contains a most emphasize beat (sam), and a less emphasized one. This less emphasized one is known as khali. 

KHATKA: Ornamentation similar to the murki, involving a faster gliding attack on the principle note.

KHAYAL: The Hindustani music offers a variety of forms like khayal, dhrupad, thumri, tappa and ghazal. Among these, the khayal is the most widely performed classical music form. It features a composition of two parts.

KOMAL : a flat note and is represented by a line under the note.

LAGGI: The fast rhythm, a dance-like composition often used to accompany Thumri, Ghazal Ect. It is a fast and lively style of playing, similar to rela.

LAYA: Basically means tempo. It can also be referred to as the rate of speed of the rhythmic patterns. The rate or the speed at which a tala is played is called laya.

MADHYAM: The fourth note of the scale commonly known as Ma.

MADHYA LAY: Medium tempo.

MATRA: A matra is a single beat or count.

MEEND: Meend refers to the technique of joining two notes that are equally emphasized in a composition, by gliding from one to the next. This technique is used to draw the same level of attention to both notes while staying within the context of the composition.

MURKI: Murki is a fast ornamentation around the principal note and consists of a number of notes woven around the principle note.

NISHAD: the seventh note of the scale, commonly known as Ni.

PAKAD: A pakad is a commonly used melodic phrase that is a characteristic feature of a raga. This given combination of notes is repeatedly used in a raga.

PANCHAM: The fifth note of the scale, commonly known as Pa.

PARAN: A class of small compositions derived from pakhawaj tradition. It’s a fixed composition found in Pakhawaj (drum) music and Kathak dance. It is also used towards the end of the tabla solo. See some examples of paran-s, in tabla and pakhawaj bases available in the Compose Section.

PESHKAR: Peshkar means an introduction or to present. Peshkar is performed in slow tempo, but is very complex in rhythm. Traditional tabla solo begins with peshkar. See some examples of peshkar-s, in tabla and pakhawaj bases available in the Compose Section.

RAGA: A predefined melodic structure, with a given structure of notes, associated mood and effect. A raga is not a composition but it’s a framework through the use of which a composition can be made. Thus, a raga can be defined as a set of rules with an identifiable melodic shape. For detailed knowledge of raga-s and other associated concepts.

RASA: An aesthetic theory which classifies sentiments into nine primary categories. 

RELA: Rela literally means torrent, rushing stream. It’s a type of fast tabla composition along with variations having a structure similar to the kayada and the peshkar, but with patterns that can be performed rapidly. It is used for solo recitals.

RISHABH: The second note of the scale. It is commonly known as Re.

RUPAK TALA: A cycle of 7 beats (3+2+2). It can be used for light, as well as serious, kinds of music. 

SAM: It is the first beat of a tala.

SAMPOORNA: A heptatonic scale is called sampoorna. A raga consisting of all the seven notes, both in ascending (aroha) and descending (avroha) movements, is called a sampoorna raga.

SAMVADI: The second most emphasized or stressed note after the vadi is called a samvadi. It usually belongs to the second tetrachord. Learn pane: Raga, What is a raga: page 5.

SANDHI-PRAKASH RAGA: Raga-s associated to the period of dawn and dusk are known as sandhi-prakash ragas.

SAPTAK: A group of seven notes of an octave is called a saptak.

SHADAV: A scale consisting of six notes, i.e. hexatonic scale. 

SHUDDHA: It literally means pure. Thus, in the context of music, it refers to natural notes.

SHTAYI: The first section of a composition usually consisting of notes from the middle register. The second section is called antra. Learn pane: Raga, 10 common ragas; refer to bandishes for each raga.

SWAR: Note or pitch.

TABLA: A pair of 2 drums, dayan (the right hand drum) and the bayan (the left hand drum). It’s a very important percussion/rhythm instrument in hindustani classical music. <TABLA : Tabla is a percussion instrument. It is a pair of drums, and the treble is played by the right hand while the left hand plays the bass.>

TALA: The indian science of rhythm is known as tala. Tala is a repeating cycle of number of beats grouped in a particular way or pattern. 

TAALI: Each tala is characterized by a particular pattern and number of claps. Tali is the beat marked by a clap. 

TANPURA: A lute type instrument played by plucking the open strings without stopping for providing the drone notes.

THAAT : A that is a parent scale which can produce several ragas. Learn Pane: Raga, Classification of ragas: page 8.

VAADI : The most dominant note of a raga. 

VIKRIT: Altered version of notes; can refer to flat (KOMAL) or sharp (TIVRA) notes.