Alap is a free improvisation based on the chosen Raga. It is the beginning during which there is a slow, delineation of the Raga. Even though the improvisation is free, the performer is still bound by all the strict rules that govern the Raga. There is no rhythmic accompaniment.
Alap is a free improvisation based on the chosen Raga. It is the beginning during which there is a slow, delineation of the Raga. Even though the improvisation is free, the performer is still bound by all the strict rules that govern the Raga. There is no rhythmic accompaniment.
Jod is also free improvisation but with the added element of rhythm. There is still no rhythmic accompaniment but there are rhythmic cadences used in the improvisation.
Jhala is the culmination of the improvisation with an attendant increase in speed and rise in intensity of emotion.
Gats are compositions for instruments. They are set to definite Ragas and Talas and have two sections like the Khyalviz. Asthayi and Antara. Like the Khyal, there are two kinds of Gats: (1) Vilambit (slow) and (2) Drut (fast).
Dhuns are light classical compositions for instruments. Dhun literally means "tune". They are usually in light Ragas like Khamaj Pilu, Desh, et al (like the Thumri form) and allow for the mixing of Ragas.
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The Sitar is one of the most popular stringed-instruments of North India. Made of teak wood and seasoned gourds, it has a long neck with twenty metal frets and six to seven main strings. Below the frets run thirteen sympathetic strings which are tuned to the notes of the Raga being played. At the lower end of the neck is a gourd which acts as a resonator for the strings. On the gourd sits two bridges (one large and one small) over which run the main and sympathetic strings respectively. There may be another gourd at the upper end which acts as a secondary resonator. The frets are convex and are tied to the fingerboard. The frets can be moved up or down to adjust the notes to the Raga being performed. The main strings are plucked by a wire plectrum worn on the index finger of the right hand.
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The Sarod originally came from Afghanistan and was developed during the 19th century. It has a small wooden body covered with skin and a fingerboard covered with steel. It is fretless and has twenty-five strings of which fifteen are sympathetic strings. A metal gourd attached to the top end acts as a resonator. The strings are plucked with a triangular plectrum.
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The Sarangi is one of the oldest bowed instruments in the world. The body is hollow and made of teak wood decorated with ivory inlays. The soundbox is covered with skin and the fretless fingerboard with wood. It has forty strings of which thirty seven are sympathetic strings. The main strings are usually made from gut. The Sarangi is held in a vertical position and played with a bow (like an inverted violin). The strings are played by pressing the fingernails of the left hand against the strings. The Sarangti has been primarily an accompaniment for vocal music but there are a few artists who have also made it a solo instrument.
The Flute used in Indian music is made of bamboo. Originally a folk instrument, it is very old and associated with Lord Krishna. It is usually a simple cylindrical tube of uniform bore. Flutes vary in size from large flutes that have a deep, bass tone to smaller ones that have a high, soprano tone. It is held horizontally, and inclined downwards slightly when played. The fingers of the left and right hand are used to cover the finger holes and sound is produced by blowing air, at an angle creating an edge-tone, into the mouth-hole. Variations in pitch are produced by altering the effective length of the air column as a result of the opening and closing of the air holes. Semi-tones and quarter-tones are produced by the partial opening and closing of the finger holes.
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It is believed that the Shehnai came to India from Persia. It is an oboe-like instrument which is very loud and associated with auspicious occasions like marriages and temple processions. It is a double reed instrument with a conical bore which gradually enlarges towards the lower end. A metallic bell usually decorates the lower end. It has finger-holes, unlike the oboe, to facilitate the production of semi-, quarter-, and micro-tones.
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The Tabla is the most common and popular drum used in North Indian music today. When or where the tabla came from is controversial. It consists of a pair of drums - the right drum is known as the Tabla (though both are known collectively as Tabla) and the left drum is called the Bayan. The Tabla is made of wood and has a "head" made of stretched animal skin. The skin is stretched by leather straps that run down the side of the drum over cylindrical blocks of wood which are used to tune the head. Finer tuning is done by striking the rim of the Tabla with a small hammer. The Tabla is usually tuned to the tonic (Sa), Dominant (Pa), or the Sub-Dominant (Ma). The bayan is the bass drum and is usually made of metal with a stretched skin head. Both drums have a black spot in the center made of manganese or iron dust (called Syahi).
The Pakhawaj is supposed to be the original instrument from which the Tabla was derived. It is a double-headed drum which was also known as the "Mridanga" (different from the South Indian Mridangam). This was the drum used to accompany the Dhrupad style of singing and the instruments that played the Dhrupad style. The only time one can hear a Pakhawaj now is when one hears a Dhrupad concert. It is a barrel-shaped drum with two heads which are made of layers of skin. The heads are stretched by leather straps which run along the sides of the body over small cylindrical wooden blocks which are used for tuning.
Alap . Free Raga improvisation without any rhythmic accompaniment.
Antara. The second section of a composition.
Asthai .The first section of a composition.
Bayan. The bass, left hand drum of the tablas.
Bhajan. A devotional song in praise of a God or Goddess like Rama, Krishna, et al.
Brijbhasha. A dialect of Hindi
Chaugan. Singing or playing a composition at four times the speed.
Dadra . A six-beat rhythmic cycle.
Dugan. Singing a composition at twice the speed - a type of ornamentation
Ghazal. Couplets in Urdu that are set to music.
Guru. Master, teacher.
Hindi . The national language in India, spoken in the Northern half of the country.
Khali. see under Tala.
Komal . Flattened or lowered pitch
Krishna. One of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the Universe
Marathi. Language of Maharashtra, one of the States in India.
Punjab. One of the states in the North of India.
Raga. see under "Important Concepts"
Rama . An incarnation of Lord Vishnu
Rasa. Essence or emotions. Very important in the fine arts. There are nine basic Rasas (Nava Rasas): surprise, peace, heroism, sadness, anger, fear, romance, humor, and horror.
Sam. The downbeat in a Tala cycle.
Samvadi . The second most important note in a Raga.
Sanskrit. The classical language of India.
Sargam. Singing passages using the solfa notes (swara names).
Swara. Note.
Taan. Melodic passages which can be in slow speed with a lot of ornamentation or fast passages of varying length and varying range. In the case of vocal music, you can also have boltaans where syllables from the text are used in the Taan patterns.
Tanpura. Drone instrument; see under Chapter on South Indian music under Tanbura.
Thaat. Parent scale.
Tala. Rhythmic cycle
Urdu. A language that is a cross-breed of Hindi and Arabic.
Vadi . The most important note in a Raga
