Classical music terminologies at a glance

Definitions

Raag or Raga or Raaga: The melody with an overall mood or environs producing a lasting impression while entertaining or recreating the audience. A combination of different musical notes or Swaras in a particular sequence of ascending and descending makes a Raag.

• Swara(s) or Note(s) : Swara means a musical note including the Drone (Swarit) or Shadaj or Sa. An Octave has basic 7 notes which are universally known as

Do Re Me Pha So La & Ti.
which may be represented equivalently in Indian Classical Music as
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Please click here for Swara representation in this site.

• Jati : It is the classification of a Raag based on the number of notes employed in its Aaroh and Avroh Jati is described in a pair of notes in Aaroh & Avroh of a Raag. Sampurna is all 7 notes, Shadhav is 6 notes, Audhav is 5 notes and Surtar is 4 notes. The different Jati combinations are given below in a table.

Sr.No.	Aaroh	Avroh	Jati	Example of a Raag
1	7	7	Sampurna-Sampurna	Yaman, Aheer-Bhairav
2	7	7	Sampurna-Sampurna Vakra	Puria-Dhanashri, Dev-Gandhar
3	6	7	Shadhav-Sampurna (Vakra)	Kausi-Kanada, Adana
4	6	6	Shadhav-Shadhav (Vakra)	Nayaki-Kanada, Gurjari-Todi
5	5	7	Audhav-Sampurna	Sindhura
6	5	6	Audhav-Shadhav (Vakra)	Shuddha-Sarang, Desi
7	5	5	Audhav-Audhav (Vakra)	Gunkali, Deshkar, Megh-Malhar
8	4	6	Surtar-Audhav Vakra	Gorakh-Kalyan
9	5	7	Audhav-Sampurna Vakra	Kamod, Basant, Khambavati

Obviously there are notes in cases from sr.nos. 3 onwards in Aaroh or Avroh that are not employed in whole Raag. It is possible that a note not emplyed in Aaroh may be used in Avroh and vice-versa. In some cases the rendering becomes Vakra (with a turn around that note). This is indicated in Jati. e.g. Audhav-Sampurna Vakra and so on.

• Varjya-Swaras or Forbidden Notes : Notes not employed in a Raag are called Varjya Swaras or Forbidden notes. e.g. Raag Hans-Dhwani has Madhyam & Dhaivat Varjya and its Jati is Audhav-Audhav.

• Time of Raag : There is a specific time period for a Raag during which it should be rendered. The Time Cycle employed in Raagas rendering begins at 6 AM and ends at 6 PM for the day (12 hours) and for the night begining 6 PM and ends at 6 AM next day (12 Hours). Each cycle (day & night) are devided into time periods of 3 hours each called Prahar. So there are 4 Prahars in the Day Time Cycle and 4 Prahars in the Night Time Cycle.Apart from this there are many Raagas which are rendered in specific seasons viz; Basant, Bahar etc are the Raagas rendered in the Spring Season while Malhar, Megh, Surdasi-Malhar, Gaud-Malhar etc are the Raagas rendered during Rainy Season. There are some Raagas which can be rendered at any time also called Sarv-Kalik Raagas or All-Time Raagas viz; Raag Bhairavi, Pahadi etc.

• Aaroh-Avroh : Aaroh of a Raag is the sequence of notes in ascending order between Madhya Shadja (S) and Tar Shadja (S') where as Avroh of a Raag is the sequence of notes in descending order between Tar Shadja (S') and Madhya Shadja (S).

• Mukhya-Ang or Main Feature or Pakad of a Raag : This includes very essential notations without which the Raag can not menifest as such.

• Vishranti Sthan or Stoppable Notes : These are the notes for ending Aalaps and Taans while rendering a Raag. Shadaj or Shadja or S is obviously a note as Vishranti Sthan. There could be other notes too as Vishranti Sthans in a Raag.

• Vishesh : It includes the notations to bring out the melodic form as well as the current form information about a Raag. The other names of Raag if any, and the need to acquire expertise from Guru and the importance of Swara, Laya etc in the artistics rendering.

• Taan : Taan is the combination of notes rendered in a faster speed (More than 2 swaras in a beat or Matra) in ascending or descending order. The Taan pattern should be made beautifully effective through Sapat Taans, Alankars, Gamak etc. Alankars follow a particularly pattern of combination of notes like an ornament and are very efective while rendering Taans.

• Khatka : If several notes are rendered in on stroke it's called a Khatka

• Murkiyan : In rendering a note if we simultaneously derive it from bothe upper and lower note as in e.g. ,NSRS or RS,NS or DPGP giving a rounded note. It is called a Murki. It's a kind of tonal embellishment. It is natural to many voice types and adds beauty to renderings. Murki is used while singing.

• Meend : It's a smooth flowing passage from one note to other in ascending or descending order. e.g.

• Gamak : Taan Renendering with Meend for Vakra Swaras. It can be heavy or light. e.g mgmRS in Raag Darbari Kanada.

• Poorvang-Uttarang

Poorvang is the lower half of the octave i.e. S r G M and Uttarang is the upper half of the Octave i.e. P D N S'.

• Rasas : There are 9 Rasas or Bhavas are described in the Indian Classical Dance forms viz Bhakti (Devotional), Karuna, Veer, Veebhatsa, Vichitra, Hasya (Humour), Virah, Vairagya & Krodh (Anger).

Hindustani Classical Raagas (Indian Classical Melodies)

Indian Raagas / Melody types

For the ease of understanding the Hindustani Classical Raagas are categorized here according to the timings these are rendered. Its an effort to show the rich, varied and ancient cultural heritage of Indian Music to the world. The 'Raag' and its rendering time (few melodies are seasonal also) has significance and Music Therapy is an age old therapy of healing, the references of which can be found at Shranang Deva's Sangeet Ratnakar (Musicologist, Ayurvedachrya from 12th century)

Morning Melodies

Raag Bhairav, Ramkali, Gauri, Lalat Pancham, Komal Rishabh Aasawari, Pancham, Hindol

Late Morning Melodies

Raag Jounpuri, Bibhas (Shuddha Dha), Deskar, Alhaiya Bilwal (Bilawal Types)

Afternoon Melodies

Sarang: Vrindavani Sarang, Gaud Sarang and other Sarang types like Madhmad, Samant, Lankadahan, Lachha

Late Afternoon Melodies

Bheempalasi, Madhuvanti, Multani, Dhanashree

Dusk Time Melodies

Shree, Poorvi, Puriya Dhanashree, Sanjgiri, Marawa, Pooriya, Basant, Pooriya Kalyan

Evening Melodies

Bhoop, Chayanat, Kamod, Hameer, Kedar, Yaman, Nand, Jayat Kalyan, Shyam Kalyan (Kalyan Types)

Night Melodies

Bihag (and Bihag derivatives like Bihagada, Savani), Durga, Gaudmalhar (Khamaj Thaat and seasonal), Tilakkamod, Des, Sorath,

Late Night Melodies

Bageshree, Rageshree, Barawa, Bahar
Jayjaywanti (Paramel Praveshak or moving from Thaat Khamaj to Kafi), Jog
Kaunse: Malkaunse (Kaunse types like Chandrakaunse, Jogkaunse)
Rainy Season 'Malhar': Miya Malhar and Malhar types like Meera ki Malhar, Charaju ki Malhar, Des Malhar, Ramdasi Malhar, Dhuliya Malhar, Nat Malhar, Jayat Malhar
Kanada: (Nayaki, Rayasa, Darabari, Kafi Kanadada, Bageshree Kanada, Huseni Kanada)

Early Morning Melodies

Raag Bhairavi
Miya ki Todi, Gujari, Bahadduri, Khat, Lachari,
Lalat, Bhatiyar

Glossary of Indian classical music(A-Z) terms

Abhog - fourth part of a sung composition.

Acchal - that cannot be changed

Aditala - 8 matras tal.

Alankar - (hindustani) musical ornament resulting of note permutation

pattern

Alap - Intoductory movement with irregular pulse, unaccompanied and

without rhythm.

Ang - branch, part of a musical genre

Antara - second part of a composition

Aroh - ascending scale of a raga.

Aroha - see Aroh

Ati - extreme (slow, fast)

Atidrut - double of drut (fast) lay

Avaroh - descending scale of a raga

Bansuri - (hindustani) bamboo flute

Badhat - (hindustani) increasing of tempo

Bandish - (hindustani) vocal composition

Barsi - anniversary of the death of a musician or a saint, honoured with a

night of concerts

Bayan - left (bass) drum in a tabla

Been - (hindustani) plucked string instrument

Bhaitak - small audience concert, can define the specific music room where

it happens

Bhajan - (hindustani) devotional song linked to the Hindu Bhakti movement

Bhav - emotion

Bol - word, mainly expressed by percussion and string instruments,

singer can use them too

Carnatic music - Classical music from South India

Chakradar - short phrase repeated 9 times, falling on the sam.

Chalan - (hindustani) phrases depicting the basics of a raga

Chaturang - litt. four coulours, composition in four parts, including poem,

bols, sargam.

Chaturanga - see chaturang

Cheez - (hindustani) instrumental composition based on a poem (in opp. to

gat).

Chikari - rhythm strings on all plucked instrument.

Dagar - (hindustani) One of the 4 original ways of singing dhrupad.

Adopted name of the Rahimuddin Khan family in 1948

Dadra - (hindustani) rhythm of 6 beats, by extention thumri song using this

tal

Dargah - (hindustani) tomb of a muslim saint

Dayan - right (treeble) drum in a tabla

Dhamar - (hindustani) ancient form of composition sung on a 14 beats rhythm

(taal)

Dhrupad - (hindustani) from Dhruva Pad (fixed verse). Main hindustani

classical music genre. composition sung on a 12 or 10 beats

rhythm (taal)

Dhrupadya - (hindustani) dhrupad singer

Dhun - (hindustani) Bengali love song

Dilruba - (hindustani) bowed string instrument

Dha - see Dhaivat

Dhaivat - sixth note on the Indian scale.

Dholak - (qawwali) double sided drum

Drut lay - double of the middle tempo

Esraj - (hindustani) bowed string instrument

Gamak - (hindustani) heavy and repeated glissando

Gandhar - see Gohar

Gohar - (hindustani) from Gwalior. One of the 4 original ways of singing

dhrupad

Ga - see Gandhar

Ga - third note on the Indian scale.

Gat - instrumental compositio not based on a poem

Gayaki - style of singing Gharana, from family, branch of music.

Ghatam - (carnatic) percussion instrument made of a clay pot

Ghazal - (Persian) love song.

Guru - Teacher

Guru-Shishya Parampara - teacher to pupil teaching.

Holi - Spring festival

Hori - a dhamar composition sung for the Spring festival

Jarab - (hindustani) stroke on a plucked string instrument

Jawari - flat bridge

Jhala - third and last part an instrumental alap played on a fast tempo

Jod - see Jor

Jor - second part an instrumental alap.

Jugalbandi - (hindustani) duo of musicians.

Kan - (hindustani) grace note, essential to the form of the raga

Kathak -Classical hindustani dance style

Khali - less stressed beat of a rhythmic cycle

Khandar - (hindustani) One of the 4 original ways of singing dhrupad

Kharaj - lower octave. Also singing only the lowest note possible as a

exercise in Dhrupad

Khayal - see Khyal

Khyal - (hindustani) litt. imagination, thought in hindi. main hindustani

classical music genre

Kirtan - devotional song

Komal - attenuated note

Laggi - (hindustani) double tempo rhythmic pattern used in Thumri and

Dadra

Laya - see Lay

Lay - tempo, can be slow (vilambit), medium (madhya) fast (drut)

Layakari - improvisation on the rhythm, mostly by subdivision of it

Lehra - (Hindustani) recurring song of one cycle played for solo percussion

performance.

Ma - see Madhya

Madhya lay - Medium tempo

Madhya - fourth note on the Indian scale.

Mandra - (hindustani) bass

Matra - one beat in a tal

Mattatal - 9 beats rhythm

Meend - slow glisssando.

Mehfil - small audience concert (syn. bhaitak)

Mela - festival of music celebrated to honour a Hindu God or a saint

Mat - (hindustani) old classification for Indian mode

Matra - Measure of the duration of between two divisions of a rhytmic cycle

mind - see meend

Meerkhand - see Merukhand

Melakarta - classification system for the South Indian scales

Merukhand - composition made of specific notes' permutation in a mode,

used in alap to improvise.

Mridang - (hindustani) double sided drum used in Haveli Dhrupad, slightly

smaller than pakhawaj

Mridangam - (carnatic music) double sided drum

Mishra raga - mixed raga

Mukhda - (hindustani) small rhythmic phrase of 8 beats used by khyal

percussionists

Mukhada - see Mukhda

Nauhar, Nohar - (hindustani) One of the 4 original ways of singing dhrupad

Nishad, Ni - seventh note on the Indian scale.

Nyasa, Nyas - (hindustani) a fundamental note in a scale where the musician

should end its phrases, from a older classification system than

the vadi-samvadi system

Pa - see Pancham

Pachahin Ang - (Hindustani) Thumri school from Eastern Uttar Pradesh to

Delhi.

Pakhawaj - (hindustani) double sided drum used in Dhrupad

Pallavi - (Carnatic) first section of a composition

Pancham - fifth note on the Indian scale.

Pandit - (hindu) learned person

Paran - (hindustani) Poem used by dhrupad percussionist in solo, can be

played and sung. Mixes pakhwaj bols and words

Purvi Ang - (Hindustani) Thumri school from East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and

Bengal

Qawwali - (Hindustani) Indian Sufi Muslim musical concept sung in Dargah

Qayada - see Qayda

Qayda - (hindustani) rythmic composition used by khyal percussionist.

Ras - Sentiment, also rare for of poem

Rasa - see ras

Raga - mode, a specific scale in Indian music.

Rag - see Raga

Ragam - Raga in Carnatic music.

Ragamalika - garland of raga. Composition where one raga leads to another.

Re - see Rishab

Rela - (hindustani) rythmic improvisation used by percussionist in solo in 4 or

8 time the medium tempo

Ri - see Rishab

Rishab - second note on the Indian scale.

Rudraveena - (hindustani) plucked string instrument

Ryaz - (hindustani) practice

Sa - see Shadja

Sadra - (hindustani) 10 beats (jhaptal) dhrupad composition. Composed of

two parts and invented during the 19th century by the Delhi

Gharana singers

Sam - first beat of the tal. Samvadi important note after the vadi.

Sanchari - third part of a composition

Santoor - (hindustani) flat string instrument made of a wooden box

Sarangi - (hindustani) bowed string instrument

Saraswati veena - Carnatic plucked string instrument

Sargam - musical phrases sung with the name of the note sung, solfa

Sarod - hindustani plucked string instrument made of one piece of carved

wood

Shadja - first note on the Indian scale.

Shehenai, shehnai - litt. nai of the king. double reed wind instrument

Shloka - Sanskrit verse

Shruti - (litt. audible) microtone

Shuddha - flat note.

Sitar - hindustani plucked string instrument

Sthai - first part of a sung composition

Sthayi - see Sthai

Sur - drone accompaniment

Surbahar - (hindustani) bass plucked strings instrument of the Sitar family

Swar - a musical note on the Indian scale.

Swarmandal - (hindustani) drone strings instrument of the santur

Tabla - (hindustani) drum pair

Tal - the basic meter of all classical music in India from 3 to 501 beats

Taal - see Tal

Tala - see Tal

Tali - clap point of a rhythmic cycle

Talim - Traditional teaching of Indian classical music

Talmala - (hindustani) rhythmic composition including many tals to form a

structure of more than 100 beats

Tambura - plucked string instrument, drone and main accompaniement for

singer

tampura -see Tambura

Tan - (hindustani) litt. to stretch. A musical phrase composed a rapid

succes sion of notes.

Tana - see Tan

Tanam - (Carnatic) alap in medium tempo.

Tappa - (hindustani) folk songs of Punjabi camel drivers adapted in the

Bombay Gwalior Gharana.

Tar - (hindustani) treeble

Tara - see Tar

Tarana - (hindustani) Persian song adapted with bols instead of words.

Tintal, /Teentaal - 16 beats rhythm

Tivre - augmented note.

Thaat - classification system for the Indian scales, invented by Bhatkande

Theka - phrase of bols exposing the rhythmic cycle of a tal.

Tillana - (carnatic) Dance song.

Thumri - (hindustani) classical form of indian music linked to the danced

expression of desire and to the cult of Krishna

Tihai - short phrases played three times, ending on the first beat of the

rhythm cycle.

Toda - Fast runs and repeated note passages (instrumental music).

Tora - see Toda

Trivat - (hindustani) similar to tarana but composed with pakhawaj bols.

Tukhada - see Tukhda

Tukhda - (hindustani) small rhythmic phrase of 4 beats used by khyal

percussionist.

Ustad - (persian) Master

Utsav - festival of music

Vadi - The predominant note of the raga

Vichitra veena - hindustani plucked string instrument, of the family of the been

Vilambit - Slow lay

Vistar - Improvisation or elaboration of melodic or rhythmic ideas.

Vinyas - (hindustani) a note in a scale where the musician should not end or

stop, from a classification system older than the vadi-samvadi sytem

Vinyasa - see Vinyas

Originally posted by: adi_0112

Definitions

• Swara(s) or Note(s) : Swara means a musical note including the Drone (Swarit) or Shadaj or Sa. An Octave has basic 7 notes which are universally known as

Do Re Me Pha So La & Ti.
which may be represented equivalently in Indian Classical Music as
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni

Are they supposed to sound the same?
Sa = Do
Re = RE
Ga = Me
Ma = Pha
Pa = So
Dha = La
Ni = Ti

Originally posted by: SmarterDesiKid

Are they supposed to sound the same?
Sa = Do
Re = RE
Ga = Me
Ma = Pha
Pa = So
Dha = La
Ni = Ti

yes.😃

Introduction to Indian Music

Article derived from a book titled "Sargam - An Introduction
to Indian Classical Music" by B. Chaitanya Deva.

Twenty centuries ago, the essential role of music of India was deemed to be purely ritualistic. Music as entertainment is supposed to have evolved much later. Another part of Indian music is folk music. Indian classical music is said to have evolved out of the mixture of these. It is presumed that folk music existed long before the Aryans came to India, the Dravidians having their own. The art of music practised in India has a special significance, as it has developed from the ritualistic music in association with folk music and other musical expressions of neighbouring nations, developing into its own characteristic art. Matured through ''thought, experience and expression'', Indian classical music has become unique in the world. THE ORIGINS OF INDIAN MUSIC The origin of Indian music is said to be rooted in the Vedas. It is said that God Himself is musical sound, the sound which pervades the whole universe, i.e. Nadabrahma. The origins of Indian music are therefore considered divine. It is said that the musician has to cultivate an attitude of self-abandonment, in order to fuse with the Supreme Reality, Brahma. Brahma is said to be the author of the four Vedas, of which the SamaVeda was chanted in definite musical patterns. Vedic hymns were sung in plain melody, using only 3 notes. It took a long time for music to come to the form found in present-day India. The most important advance in music was made between the 14th and 18th centuries. During this period, the music sung in the north came in contact with Persian music and assimilated it, through the Pathans and the Mughals. It is then that two schools of music resulted, the Hindustani and the Carnatic. Hindustani music adopted a scale of Shudha Swara saptaka(octave of natural notes) and Carnatic music retained the traditional octave. During this period, different styles of classical compositions such as Dhrupad, Dhamar, Khayal,etc. were contributed to Hindustani music, along with many exquisite hymns, bhajans, kirtans, etc. TRADITION OF MUSIC The music of India is a pervasive influence in Indian life. It pervades the big and small events of Indian life, from child birth to death, religious rites and seasonal festivals. Originally, not all developments of music were reduced to writing. To keep their traditional integrity, they were imparted orally from teacher to pupil -- the Guru-Shishya tradition. In the past, there used to be a system of Gurukul Ashram where teachers imparted knowledge to deserving students. SHRUTI AND SAPTAKA The Indian musical scale is said to have evolved from 3 notes to a scale of 7 primary notes, on the basis of 22 intervals. A scale is divided into 22 shrutis or intervals, and these are the basis of the musical notes. The 7 notes of the scale are known to musicians as Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni. These 7 notes of the scale do not have equal intervals between them. A Saptak is a group of 7 notes, divided by the shrutis or intervals as follows -- Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 The first and fifth notes(Sa and Pa) do not alter their positions on this interval. The other 5 notes can change their positions in the interval, leading to different ragas. RAGA - THE SOUL OF CLASSICAL MUSIC The combination of several notes woven into a composition in a way which is pleasing to the ear is called a Raga. Each raga creates an atmosphere which is associated with feelings and sentiments. Any stray combination of notes cannot be called a Raga. Raga is the basis of classical music. A raga is based on the principle of a combination of notes selected out the 22 note intervals of the octave. A performer with sufficient training and knowledge alone can create the desired emotions, through the combination of shrutis and notes. There are a limited number of ragas in Hindustani music; as the use of a ''KING" note and a ''QUEEN" note restricts to a great extent, the creation of new ragas. The raga forms the backbone of Indian music, and the laws laid down for the ragas have to be carefully observed to preserve and safeguard their integrity. The following points are required in the construction of a Raga -- Thaats or sequence of notes, Jaatis or classification ''King" and ''Queen" relation of the notes, i.e. Vadi and Samvadi The Ascent and Descent of the rag, i.e. Aroha and Avaroha Important cluster of notes Pitch Speed. Every Raga is derived from some Thaat or Scale. Ragas are placed in three categories Odava or pentatonic, a composition of five notes, Shadava or hexatonic, a composition of six notes, Sampoorna or heptatonic, a composition of seven notes, Every Raga must have at least five notes, starting at Sa, one principal note, a second important note and a few helping notes. The principal note, ''KING" is the note on which the raga is built. It is emphasized in various ways, such as stopping for some time on the note, or stressing it. The second important note or the ''queen" corresponds to the ''King" as the fourth or fifth note in relation to it. The ascent and descent of the notes in every raga is very important. Some ragas in the same scale differ in ascent and descent. In every raga, there is an important cluster of notes by which the raga is identified. There are certain ragas which move in a certain pitch and if the pitch is changed, the raga fails to produce the mood and sentiment peculiar to it. The speed is divided into three parts : Vilambit(slow), Madhya(Medium) and Drut(fast). Another aspect of the ragas is the appropriate distribution in time during the 24 hours of the day for its performance, i.e. the time of the day denotes the raga sung a particular time. Ragas are also allotted a particular time space in the cycle of the day. These are divided into four types -- Sandi-prakash ragas or twilight ragas when the notes re and dha are used -- such as Raag Marwa, Purvi. Midday and Midnight ragas which include the notes ga and ni(komal). Ragas for the first quarter of the morning and night which include the notes re, ga, dha and ni(komal). For the last quarter of the day and night, the reagas include the notes sa, ma and pa. All the ragas are divided into two groups -- Poorva Ragas and Uttar Ragas. The Poorva Ragas are sung between 12 noon and 12 midnight. The Uttar Ragas are sung between 12 midnight and 12 noon. The variations on the dominant or ''King" note help a person to find out why certain ragas are being sung at certain times. This raga classification is about 500 years old and has been adopted by Pandit V. N. Bhatkhande in his textbooks on Hindustani music. The beauty of the raga will not be marred by the time of the day it is sung. It is the psychological association with the time that goes with the mood of the raga. The object of a raga is to express a certain emotional mood and sentiment without any reference to time and season. For a student of classical music, this classification may give an idea as to how to base his reasons for the traditional usage of ragas. Another division of ragas is the classification of ragas under six principal ragas -- Hindol, Deepak, Megh, Shree and Maulkauns. From these six ragas, other ragas are derived. The first derivatives of the ragas are called raginis, and each of the six ragas have five raginis under them. Further derivatives from these ragas and raginis resulted in attaching to each principal raga 16 secondary derivatives known as upa-ragas and upa-raginis. All the ragas are supposed to have been derived from their thaats. Every raga has a fixed number of komal(soft) or teevra(sharp) notes, from which the thaat can be recognised. In other words, a certain arrangement of the 7 notes with the change of shuddha, komal and teevra is called a thaat. There are several opinions in this matter. According to Pandit V.N. Bhatkhande, the 10 thaats used to classify the ragas are -- Bilaval -- with all shuddh or natural notes. Khamaj -- with the ni note as komal. Kafi -- with the ga and ni notes as komal. Asavari -- with the ga, dha and ni notes as komal. Bhairavi -- with the re, ga, dha and ni notes as komal. Bhairav -- with the re and dha notes as komal. Poorvi -- with the re and dha notes as komal and the ma note as teevra. Todi -- with the re, ga and dha notes as komal and the ma note as teevra. Marwa -- with the re note as komal and the ma note as teevra. Yaman -- with the ma note as teevra only. CLASSICAL AND FOLK MUSIC Classical music is bound by certain laws and restrictions having a definite standard and scale with 22 intervals. Folk music, on the other hand, has different forms depending on the region it belongs to. With flexibility in its expression, it is not bound by laws or any set pattern. Folk music has its peculiar expressions and emotions and has established a tradition of its own. In classical music, emotions are expressed through a particular raga, though the lyric or composition has its own importance. Classical music can be effective if the musician renders the raga in its various stages and moods. This is not the case with folk music, where the musical notes have less value and the poetic content has greater impact and rythm plays a very important role. Songs and lyrics of folk music portray the common life of the villagers. AN APPRECIATION OF THE INTRICACIES OF RAGAS AND CLASSICAL MUSIC The art of appreciation and listening of classical music requires a special approach. In this context, the requirements are love of music and sympathy towards the artist. The people having initial background knowledge of ragas, notes, shrutis and taals are classified as ideal listeners. The common listener has a general liking for music and has to cultivate and develop patience in listening to classical music. Such a listener may not appreciate the imaginative approach of the performer. To understand and appreciate a raga, one should know, understand and feel the inner meaning of the shrutis and how these create a desired effect on the mind and heart. Basically one has to be initiated into the art of listening to classical music. The responsibility of a classical musician lies in the mode of his presentation to the listener, in his capacity to make 'perfect' and 'common' listeners understand and appreciate classical music. The classical musician should have the zeal as a missionary to create the true spirit and essence of classical music, so that he can help in the growth of an appreciative audience. VOCAL MUSIC AND DIFFERENT STYLES OF SINGING One distinguishing characteristic of Indian Music is the relationship of each swara(note) with the Shadja(tonic) which determines the placing of the swaras and the expression of each swara in the saptak(scale). Hence the constant playing of the drone is necessary. A singer is always accompanied by an instrument called ''Tanpura" which is tuned to suit his key note. It should be suitable for his voice, to suit one and a half octave above the tonic and one octave below. This range of his voice should be used effortlessly. In sketching the outline of the raga, he improvises on the ascending and descending notes, observed the prescribed relation of ''King" and ''Queen" and the important group of notes which characterises the particular raga. After the Alap, he starts the actual raga, accompanied by the Tabla. 2. The Antara or the second half of the song, going upto the higher Sa and returning back. 3. Sancharee or using both halves of the song and complete octave with the ascent and descent. 4. Aabhog or the mixture of the above three, covering the three octaves. In singing, the musician improvises the song with alap, or an improvisation of notes is slow tempo. The alap proceeds leisurely, without being particular about the time measure, but laden more with the emotional content of the raga. Then he starts the ''boltaan", an improvisation of notes in medium or fast tempo, with the wordings of the song with particular emphasis on rythmic variations as the aim. The third is ''sargam", the improvisation of notes with short names, and these are produced in various rythmic patterns with suitable combination. The last is ''taans", an improvisation of notes taken in slow, medium and fast tempo. The main characterstic of classical music is the scope of systematic improvisation in the building up of the raga. An improvisation of the raga means a succession of musical sounds denoting the fertility of genius. A master musician always brings out startling new combinations. Every musician is supposed to improvise, but real improvisation is supposed to weave new patterns into the framework of a raga. A great stress is laid on voice culture through a regular and systematic training. The following are some important rules for the vocalists to be observed -- Highly trained and melodious voice, with perfect control. A thorough knowledge of most of the ragas, the techniques and all the types of compositions. Simple and pleasant expression of the face and hand gestures. Thorough knowledge of tala theory and important talas. Possession of a perfect tone, perfectly in tune, in relation to the notes used in his singing and a perfect understanding and a practice of the use of shrutis. In Hindustani, there are 10 main forms of styles of singing and compositions -- Dhrupad, Dhamar, Hori, Khayal, Tappa, Chaturang, Ragasagar, Tarana, Sargam and Thumri. The Dhrupad style is supposed to be the oldest. In this style, we find the gravity and stability of notes, improvisations of Alap, peculiar variations of rythmic patterns not found in any other styles. There are four forms of Dhrupad singing -- Daagar Bani, Khandaar Bani, Nauhar Bani and Gauhar Bani. Khayal is an extempore development and improvisation of the typical composition sung in different ragas with alap, boltaan and taans. Khayals are of two varieties -- Vilambit(slow tempoed) and Drut(fast tempoed). They are sung in different talas. Tappa is another style of song composition, which has short and modulated graceful taans: a sort of ornamental chain of small cluster of notes. Ragasagar consists of different parts of musical passages in different ragas, as one song composition. These compositions have 8 to 12 different ragas and the lyrics indicate the change of the ragas. The peculiarity of this style depends on how smoothly the musical passages change along with the change of ragas. Tarana is a style consisting of peculiar syllables woven into rythmical patterns as a song, and it is usually sung in faster tempo. Chaturang denotes four colours or a composition of a song in four parts: Fast Khayal, Tarana, Sargam and a ''Paran" of Tabla or Pakhwaj. Thumri is supposed to be a romantic and erotic style of singing; the song compositions are mostly of love, separation and devotion. They are usually sung in slower tempo, giving more importance to the lyrics with short alaps. Hori compositions are based mostly on the description of the spring season: of colour throwing, based on the Radha-Krishna episodes. Horis are of two varieties -- ''Pakki Hori" and ''Kacchi Hori". ''Pakki Hori" is very dignified, sung in Dhamar style, while ''Kacchi Hori" is sung in Deepchandi Tala, in which fast taans are used. The laws governing the performance of vocal and instrumental music are much the same. There are 2 modes of training for instrumental, one which is purely instrumental, and the other who first receive training in vocal music. The Gharana or family is a school of a particular style of singing or playing instruments, or a traditionally characteristic individual style. The birth of Gharanas must have taken place in the 18th century with the idea of preserving the tradition of music and the musical compositions. A Gharana has got a particular discipline, system and style. The character and style of traditionally disciplined music of a gharana remains with one generation only, and in due course one of the brilliant pupils adds his own individual contribution and creates a new style of singing. In the case of the instrumentalists, we may divide Gharana into 2 categories. The first is the traditional disciplined style giving more stress on the ''JHOD-ALAP" and exploring all possibilities in this direction, plus the gat and a perfect layakari. The second gives less importance to the ''JHOD-JHALA", but lays more stress on the gat and the perfect layakari. TALA -- RYTHMICAL GROUPINGS OF BEATS There is a perfect balance in the universe. This balance is the essence of Tala and therefore Tala is in classical music is an important factor. The Tala is the theory of time measure. It has the same principle in Hindustani and Carnatic music, though the names and styles differ. The musical time is divided into simple and complicated metres. When accompanying the dance, vocal and instrumental music, the Tala maintains the balance which is the most essential function of music. Tala is independent of the music it accompanies: it has its own divisions. It moves in bars, and each beat in it is divided into the smallest fraction. Rythm has three aspects: Tala, Laya and Matra. Tala is a complete cycle of Metrical phrasecomposed of a fixed number of beats. There are over a 100 Talas, but only 30 Talas are known and only about 10-12 are used. The Laya is the tempo, which keeps uniformity of time span and it has 3 divisions -- Vilambit, Madhya and Drut. The Matra is the smallest unit of the tala. Tala is the most important aspect of classical music, and it can be considered to be the very basis or pulse of music. To appreciate the structure of simple and complicated divisions, the improvisations of Tala and its theory, one should listen to an accomplished solo drummer. A classical drum player requires at 8-10 years of methodical training and another 4-5 years of hard practice.

Baapre.... this is harder than a Ph.D. thesis! 😕 But thank you Adi. for taking the time to post all this. Its very informative for people who want to know more about the ragaas.👏

Originally posted by: adi_0112

yes.😃

- but how?
sa to do
then either the A would sound like a streched O, or the O would sound like eae streched A
same with the others

dO - sA
rE - gA
etc

Originally posted by: adi_0112

SHRUTI AND SAPTAKA The Indian musical scale is said to have evolved from 3 notes to a scale of 7 primary notes, on the basis of 22 intervals. A scale is divided into 22 shrutis or intervals, and these are the basis of the musical notes. The 7 notes of the scale are known to musicians as Sa, Ri [HUH!?!], Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni. These 7 notes of the scale do not have equal intervals between them. A Saptak is a group of 7 notes, divided by the shrutis or intervals as follows -- Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 The first and fifth notes(Sa and Pa) do not alter their positions on this interval. The other 5 notes can change their positions in the interval, leading to different ragas.

so does this mean that SA can be said in 4-5 different ways??

Adi,
Wow bro great thread didn't realize that you are so deep in it also I guss you also have some Classical music back ground. Thanks great thread.