Indian music glossary

41 terms from Hindustani and Carnatic music, ghazal and film song, each defined in a sentence. Open a term for a short explanation and the page that teaches it.

A

Antaraअन्तरा; the verse: An antara is a verse of a Hindi film song, or the second section of a Hindustani classical composition. It brings new words and a new melodic idea, usually moving higher before leading back to the opening section.
Anupallaviअनुपल्लवी; the second section: Anupallavi is the second section of a Carnatic (South Indian classical) composition, following the pallavi, the opening section that returns. It usually develops the opening idea, climbs into the upper part of the range, and leads back to the pallavi.
Arohaआरोह; ascent: Aroha is the ascending order of notes in a raga, a melodic framework in Indian classical music. In Raga Bhoop, it is Sa Re Ga Pa Dha Sa', with Ma and Ni left out.
Audavaऔडव; five-note: Audava describes a raga, or melodic framework, that uses five notes going up and five notes coming down. Bhoop is an example, using Sa, Re, Ga, Pa and Dha.
Avarohaअवरोह; descent: Avaroha is the descending order of notes in a raga, a melodic framework in Indian classical music. It is the path the melody takes from the upper Sa down to the home Sa.

B

Bolबोल; drum syllable: A bol is a spoken syllable that stands for a stroke on the tabla, a pair of drums, or another drum. In some contexts, bol also means the words of a song.

C

Charanamचरणम्; the concluding section: Charanam is the concluding section of a Carnatic (South Indian classical) composition, usually the longest, with new words and a fresh melody. In South Indian film songs, each verse is called a charanam.

D

Dadraदादरा; the six-beat cycle: Dadra is a six-beat taal, a repeating rhythmic cycle, arranged in two groups of three. Dadra also names a light-classical song form sung in this rhythm.

G

Ghazalग़ज़ल; غزل: A ghazal is poetry built from self-contained couplets, or pairs of lines, sharing a rhythmic pattern and rhyme, usually with a repeated phrase. In Indian music, ghazal also means the sung performance of such a poem in a light classical style.

J

Janyaजन्य; derived raga: A janya is a Carnatic raga, a melodic framework, derived from a melakarta, one of 72 seven-note parent scales. Hamsadhwani is one example, using the five notes Sa, Re, Ga, Pa and Ni.

K

Keherwaकहरवा; the eight-beat cycle: Keherwa is an eight-beat taal, a repeating rhythmic cycle, arranged in two groups of four. Clap on beat one and wave on beat five, then repeat the cycle.
Khaliखाली; the empty beat: Khali means “empty” and names the section of a taal, a repeating rhythmic cycle, marked by a hand wave instead of a clap. The drummer plays lighter strokes here, and the contrast with clapped sections helps you feel where you are in the cycle.
Komalकोमल; lowered: Komal means “soft” and, in Indian music, refers to the lowered, or flattened, form of a note. Re, Ga, Dha and Ni have komal forms, while the natural form is called shuddha.
Kritiकृति; Carnatic composition: A kriti is the main composed song form of Carnatic (South Indian classical) music. It has words, a fixed raga (melodic framework), a fixed tala (rhythmic cycle) and named sections.

L

Layaलय; tempo: Laya means tempo, or how fast or slow music moves, and more broadly the sense of time in a performance. A repeating rhythmic cycle keeps the same beat count at any laya; only the space between beats changes.

M

Matraमात्रा; beat: A matra is a single beat of a taal, a repeating rhythmic cycle. Teentaal has sixteen matras, so counting from one to sixteen and returning to one takes you once round the cycle.
Melakartaमेलकर्ता; Carnatic parent scale: A melakarta is a parent scale in Carnatic music that uses all seven notes in order, going up and coming down. There are 72 melakartas, which help organise ragas, the melodic frameworks musicians perform.
Mukhdaमुखड़ा; the hook of a film song: Mukhda, literally “face”, is the opening section of a Hindi film song, with its first lines sung to the main melody. These lines return after every verse and usually give the song its title.

P

Pakadपकड़; the catch-phrase of a raga: Pakad is a short identifying phrase, or group of phrases, in a raga, a melodic framework in Indian classical music. The word means “grip” or “catch”, and the phrase carries the raga’s typical movement and emphasis, not just its notes.
Pallaviपल्लवी; the opening and refrain: Pallavi is the opening section of a Carnatic (South Indian classical) composition and its refrain, the part that returns. In a Malayalam film song, it is the opening part everyone sings along to, which returns after every verse.

R

Radifरदीफ़; ردیف; the refrain: Radif is a word or phrase repeated at set line endings in a ghazal, poetry built from self-contained pairs of lines. It ends both lines of the opening pair and the second line of every later pair, becoming a musical refrain when sung.
Ragaराग; Carnatic ragam: A raga is a melodic framework in Indian classical music for creating pieces and inventing melody during performance. It sets which notes appear, how they move, which carry weight, and which short phrases identify it.
Rasaरस; mood: Rasa means flavour or essence, and in Indian music it names the mood a performance is said to carry. That mood comes from the notes, the phrases and how they are sung, not from a rule.

S

SaShadja; the home note: Sa is the first swara, or note, in Indian music and the home note from which every other note is measured. It has only one form, but a singer can set it to any pitch that suits their voice.
Samसम; the first beat: Sam is the first beat of a taal, a repeating rhythmic cycle. It is the arrival point where the melody and the drum meet.
Sampoornaसम्पूर्ण; seven-note: Sampoorna means complete. In Indian music, a sampoorna raga, a musical framework, uses all seven notes both going up and coming down.
Samvadiसंवादी; the second note: Samvadi is the second most important note in a raga, a melodic framework in Indian classical music. In Raga Bhoop, Dha is the samvadi and Ga is the vadi, the most important note.
Saptakसप्तक; octave register: A saptak is an octave, spanning seven notes from Sa, one of Indian music’s basic notes, to the next Sa. The three named saptaks are mandra (low), madhya (middle) and taar (high).
Sargamसरगम: Sargam means singing or writing a melody using the note names Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni instead of words. The word comes from the first four names, Sa Re Ga Ma.
Sherशेर; شعر; plural ashaar: A sher is a pair of lines in a ghazal, a poem of self-contained pairs linked by rhyme and a shared rhythmic pattern. The first line sets up a thought, and the second completes or turns it.
Shrutiश्रुति; also the singer's pitch: In Indian music theory, shruti is the smallest pitch interval, or gap between pitches, that a trained ear can tell apart. In studio and concert talk, shruti means the pitch a singer chooses for Sa, their home note.
Shuddhaशुद्ध; natural: Shuddha means “pure” and describes a note’s natural, unaltered form in Indian music. For example, Raga Bhoop uses only shuddha notes: Sa, Re, Ga, Pa and Dha.
Sthayiस्थायी; the first part of a bandish: Sthayi is the first section of a Hindustani classical composition. It stays mostly in the lower and middle range and serves as the refrain, the part that returns.
Swaraस्वर; also spelled svara: A swara is a musical note in Indian music. The seven basic swaras are Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni.

T

Taalताल; also tala: A taal is a repeating cycle of a fixed number of beats, grouped into sections with clap and wave markings. It also carries a basic drum pattern called the theka.
Teentaalतीनताल; the sixteen-beat cycle: Teentaal is the most common taal, or repeating rhythmic cycle, in Hindustani classical music. It has sixteen beats in four groups of four, with claps on beats 1, 5 and 13 and a wave on beat 9.
Thaatथाट; Hindustani parent scale: A thaat is a seven-note parent scale used in Hindustani music to classify ragas, the melodic frameworks musicians perform. It is a classification tool, not something performed.
Thekaठेका; the basic drum pattern: Theka is the basic drum pattern played on tabla drums that spells out a taal, a repeating rhythmic cycle. It keeps time with one stroke per beat while the melody moves.
Tivraतीव्र; raised: Tivra means sharp, the raised form of a note in Indian music. Only Ma has a tivra form, written Ma' on BeatRootRaga pages.

V

Vadiवादी; the most important note: The vadi is the most important note of a raga, a melodic framework in Indian classical music. It is the note a musician rests on and returns to most often.
Vibhagविभाग; section of a cycle: A vibhag is a group of beats within a taal, a repeating rhythmic cycle. In teentaal, a 16-beat taal, the beats form four vibhags: 4 + 4 + 4 + 4.