Indian Words-Music Flashcards
Alap
in Hindustani music, the first sec- tion of an instrumental and a dhrupad perfor- mance; it is non-composed and performed in free rhythm.
Anga
in Carnatic music, the term for groupings of beats in a tala cycle, which are marked by hand actions
Avartana/Avartan
a complete cycle of a tala
Barrel drum
The most common drum type in South Asia, see Dhol, Dholak, and mridangam
Baul
a sect centered in Bengal that draws from bhakti and Sufi thought; Bauls practice a unique genre of ecstatic song and dance.
Bhajan
a Hindu devotional song
Bhakti
Hindu devotion, expressed in poetry, song, and ritual as love, longing, and suffering in sep- aration from the divine
Bhangra
a dance and music genre that originated in rural Punjab; it later developed in the diaspora as an expression of South Asian youth culture
Carnatic
Classical music system of South India
Chautal
a fourteen-beat tala cycle of Hindustani music, used in the dhrupad genre
Chenda
a drum of Kerala, played in groups in temple and processional contexts
Chitravina
a concert instrument of Carnatic music; a fretless plucked instrument played like a slide guitar
Dhamal
a rhythm played on the dhol and performed in Sufi ritual contexts
Dhol
a large barrel-drum usually played with sticks, especially associated with Punjab
Dholak
the most common drum of rural North India, also used pan-regionally; a small barrel drum held horizontally and played with both hands
Dhrupad
a genre of Hindustani classical music traceable to the sixteenth century
Dotara
a plucked, fretless string instru- ment played by Baul musicians
Ektar
a single-stringed drone instrument of rural music
Gamaka
ornaments, such as slides and turns, used throughout a performance of a raga; also, one particular ornament in Hindustani music
Gat
in Hindustani music, the composed section of an instrumental performance
Gharana
in Hindustani music, “household”—the stylistic lineage in which one has learned
Ghazal
a genre of metered, rhyming poetry com- posed in a series of couplets; ghazal became an important genre of Urdu poetry; it is composed in other languages as well
Guru-shisya
teacher and disciple, from the Sanskrit language
Harmonium
a small hand-pumped organ used throughout South Asia and the diaspora
Hindustani
The classical music system of North India
Idakka
an hour-glass-shaped “pressure drum” played by specialists in Kerala, especially in temple contexts
Janaka, Janya
in Carnatic music, janaka are the seventy-two “parent” ragas; they are comprised of seven notes and are permutations The of the twelve svaras in the Carnatic system; there are an unlimited number of janya, “derived” ragas.
Kamaicha
a bowed instrument associated with Manganiar musicians of Western Rajasthan
Kanjira
in Carnatic music, a small frame drum, like a tambourine, held in the left hand and played with the right
Kartal
rod-shaped metal clappers com- mon in rural music in South Asia
Khyal
the predominant vocal genre of Hindustani music today
Kirtan
“praising,” a term for Hindu de- votional songs or chants
Kriti
a major genre of the Carnatic concert rep- ertoire, many of which were composed by the “Trinity” of eighteenth- and nineteenth-centu- ry composers; a kriti has a three-part structure: pallavi, anupallavi, charanam
Langa
a hereditary group of music professionals of Western Rajasthan
Mahabharata
Sanskrit epic of ancient India; the main story of a great war in- cludes many sub-stories which are told and re- told in theater, dance, and song
Manganiar
a hereditary group of music professionals of Western Rajasthan
Masala
“spicy,” refers to films in which various types of plots are mixed for mass appeal
Matra
the term for a beat in the tala system
Mehfil
Urdu for “gathering”; a session or assembly for listening to music or poetry
Melisma
melody in which a number of pitches are sounded over a single syllable or instrumental stroke
Mridangam
the preeminent drum of Carnatic concert music
Mukhra
in Hindustani music, “face”— the phrase that begins the composition; it serves as an anchor between variations
Natyashastra
a Sanskrit text on theater, dance, and music, dating from as early as the first century bce
Nirgun Bhakti
devotion to a deity who is “without characteristics,” beyond description
Pakhavaj
a barrel-drum used in the dhrupad genre of Hindustani music; it predates the tabla
Pallavi, anupallavi, charanam
In Carnatic music the three sections of Kriti composition
Pandit
an honorific term or title from the Sanskrit language, denoting scholar or master
Qaida
an item of the tabla repertoire, meaning “foundation”; it is a pattern with a fixed set of strokes on which the player builds variations
Qawwali
a genre of music performed by hereditary specialists, originally in Sufi ritual contexts; now, qawwali is performed in concert halls and is internationally known
Raga
the melodies and the melodic system of Indian classical music
RTP; Ragam-tanam-pallavi
the melodies and the melodic system of Indian classical music
Sam
in Hindustani music, the first beat of the tala cycle and a central focal point of melodic lines
Sama’
music performed in a Sufi ritual context; a ceremony of listening to music for attaining states of spiritual ecstasy; the Chishti Sufi order uses sama’ rituals
Sangita Shastra
“music technical works”; the field of Indian music theory, espe- cially as preserved in Sanskrit texts
Sangitaratnakara
a four- teenth-century Sanskrit music theory text, the premier text of the medieval period
Sant
a person honored as knowing the spiritual truth, especially a spiritual teacher and compos- er of bhakti devotional poetry
Saptaka
“consisting of seven,” an octave
Sarangi
a bowed instrument of North India
Sargam
in Hindustani music, the term for singing
while using the svara names
Sarod
a prominent concert instrument of Hindu- stani music; a plucked string instrument, it has a wide neck without frets and a skin-covered body
She’r
from Urdu, a couplet, a poem of two rhym- ing lines; a sequence of she’rs makes up a ghazal
Shruti
in Indian music theory, microtonal divi- sions of the scale; in practical application, subtle nuance of a pitch, or the tonic pitch
Sindhi Sarangi
a bowed instrument associated with Langa musicians of Western Rajasthan
Sitar
a prominent concert instrument of Hindustani music; a plucked string instrument with a long fretted neck and gourd resonating body
Sthai, antara
in Hindustani music, the two sections of a formal composition
Svara
pitch; musical tone in Indian classical music; the seven svaras, are similar to the solfege, in that they are sung with syllables; the seven svaras are “Sa Re Ga Ma P Dha Ni.”
Tabla
the predominant drum of North Indian classical music; a two-piece hand drum, it is used in various genres
Tala
rhythmic cycles and the system of rhythmic cycles in Indian classical music
Tambura
the string drone instrument of classical Indian music
Tan
in Hindustani music, fast running improvisations, especially in khyal and instrumental music
Theka
in Hindustani music, the fixed se- quence of drum strokes that express a tala cycle; the strokes are spoken as syllables
Thumri
in Hindustani music, a genre of the “semi-classical” type; the poetry is in Hindi and is about love
Tihai
in Hindustani music, a phrase repeated three times with a gap of equal duration between each repetition; it marks the end of a section or piece
Tintal
a prominent Hindustani tala with sixteen beats in the cycle
Tonic
the pitch from which a scale is built; in In- dian classical music, Sa
Tumbi
a single-stringed instrument associated with bhangra music
Ustad-Shagird
teacher or master and disciple in Urdu, from the Persian language
Vibhag
in Hindustani music, the term for groupings of beats in a tala cycle, marked by hand actions
Vistar
in Hindustani music, “expansion,” a flowing style of improvisation
Yaman
a famous evening raga in Hindustani music
Aditala
8 beat Carnatic tala
