Glossary of Hindustani Classical Music
The terms the ABGMVM oral theory paper asks for at the Prarambhik and Praveshika levels, defined in English and Hindi.
Swara, saptak and voice
- Sangeet संगीत
- Sangeet is the combination of three arts — vocal music, instrumental music and dance. Example: "Gayanam vadanam nrityam trayam sangeet muchyate" — singing, playing and dancing, these three together are called sangeet. Full lesson
- Swara स्वर
- A musical sound that is pleasant and melodious is called a swara. Full lesson
- Sapta Swara सप्त स्वर
- The seven main notes of Indian music — Shadja (Sa), Rishabh (Re), Gandhar (Ga), Madhyam (Ma), Pancham (Pa), Dhaivat (Dha), Nishad (Ni). Full lesson
- Shuddha Swara शुद्ध स्वर
- Notes sung at their natural, original position. There are seven of them. Full lesson
- Vikrit Swara विकृत स्वर
- Notes that shift from their original position. There are five — four komal and one tivra. Example: 7 shuddha + 5 vikrit = 12 notes in all within one saptak. Full lesson
- Komal Swara कोमल स्वर
- A note sung lower than its natural position. Four notes take a komal form — Re, Ga, Dha, Ni. Example: Marked by a line beneath the note — रे॒, ग॒, ध॒, नि॒ Full lesson
- Tivra Swara तीव्र स्वर
- A note sung higher than its natural position. Only one note takes a tivra form — Ma. Example: Marked by a vertical line above the note. Full lesson
- Achal Swara अचल स्वर
- Notes that never move from their place and have no komal or tivra form — Sa and Pa. Full lesson
- Chal Swara चल स्वर
- Notes that can shift from their place — Re, Ga, Ma, Dha, Ni. Full lesson
- Saptak सप्तक
- A group of seven consecutive notes, Sa to Ni. There are three — mandra (lower), madhya (middle) and taar (higher). Example: Mandra: a dot below the note. Madhya: no mark. Taar: a dot above the note. Full lesson
- Alankar अलंकार
- Systematic patterns of swaras practised in both ascent and descent. They build voice control, accuracy and freedom of movement between notes. Full lesson
Raga structure
- Aaroha आरोह
- The ascending order of notes — moving from low to high. Example: सा रे ग म प ध नि सां Full lesson
- Avaroha अवरोह
- The descending order of notes — coming from high to low. Example: सां नि ध प म ग रे सा Full lesson
- Pakad पकड़
- The small group of notes by which a raga is recognised. The word literally means "to catch" — on hearing this phrase a listener knows which raga is being sung. Full lesson
- Vadi वादी
- The most important note of a raga, sounded repeatedly and given the most weight. It is called the king of the raga. Full lesson
- Samvadi संवादी
- The second most important note, which supports the vadi — the minister to its king. Full lesson
- Anuvadi अनुवादी
- The remaining notes of a raga — neither vadi nor samvadi. Full lesson
- Vivadi विवादी
- A note that creates a clash within the raga. It is normally avoided, though expert musicians sometimes touch it briefly to add beauty. Full lesson
- Varjit Swara वर्जित स्वर
- A note strictly forbidden in a particular raga. Sounding it breaks the purity of the raga. Example: In Raag Bhupali, Ma and Ni are varjit. Full lesson
- Jati जाति
- Jati states how many notes a raga uses in its ascent and descent — audav (5), shadav (6) or sampurna (7). Example: Audav–Audav: Bhupali. Sampurna–Sampurna: Yaman. Audav–Sampurna: Bhimpalasi. Full lesson
- Thaat (Mel) थाट (मेल)
- The parent scale from which a raga draws its notes. Example: Bhupali — Kalyan thaat. Bhimpalasi and Bageshree — Kafi thaat. Full lesson
Taal and laya
- Taal ताल
- A taal is a fixed cycle of beats that repeats again and again through a piece of music. Example: Teentaal — 16 beats. Keherwa — 8 beats. Dadra — 6 beats. Full lesson
- Laya लय
- Laya is tempo — how fast or slow the music is being performed. Example: Vilambit (slow), madhya (medium), drut (fast). Full lesson
- Matra मात्रा
- One unit or count within a taal — a single beat. Example: One cycle of Teentaal has 16 matras. Full lesson
- Sam सम
- The first matra of a taal, where the cycle begins again. It is the strongest beat and is marked with a clap. Example: Notated as X Full lesson
- Taali ताली
- The beats on which a clap is given to mark out the divisions of the cycle. Example: In Teentaal the claps fall on beats 1, 5 and 13. Full lesson
- Khali खाली
- Khali means "empty" — a beat on which no clap is given, only a wave of the hand to the side. Example: In Teentaal the ninth beat is khali. Notated as 0 Full lesson
- Vibhag (Khand) विभाग (खंड)
- The parts into which a taal is divided are called vibhag or khand. Example: Teentaal (16 beats): 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 Full lesson
- Avartan आवर्तन
- One complete round of a taal — from the sam back to the sam. Example: Counting from beat 1 to 16 in Teentaal makes one avartan. Full lesson
- Theka ठेका
- The basic bols (drum syllables) of a taal — the pattern that identifies it when played on the tabla. Full lesson
Learning this with a teacher
These pages will take you a long way on theory. The singing needs a guru — live online classes, one level at a time, with exam preparation built in.