This Glossary of Indian music terms and words comprises three sections with a Western to Indian Dictionary, which can be displayed by clicking on the following links.
Glossary A to G
Glossary A to G
|
Aadlaya
A rhythmic tempo which is
off beat.
Abhog The 3rd stanza of a
Dhrupad.
Achala Swar A note which does
not move, A note which does not leave its exact place of frequency. 'Sa' and
'Pa' are Achala Swar.
Ahat Naad Sound created by friction.
Alankar (Palta) Progression of a
combination of notes in ascending and descending order.
Alaap An enfolding of the phrases of a
raga in a slow or a medium tempo.
Anahat Naad The sound of the cosmos,
which exists by itself and no friction, is involved. (This is an Indian
Philosophical concept)
Antara A stanza.
Aroha The ascending scale of a raga.
Anuvadi Except Vadi and Samvadi, all
other notes of a raga.
Ashtapadi A form of devotional music
composed by Jaidev.
Asthayee (Sthayee) The first section
of text of the music form, usually sung in the middle octave.
Atidrut Very fast tempo.
Avaroha The descending scale of a
raga.
Baaz Style of playing an instrument.
Barhat (Badhat) Gradual progression in a
musical exposition.
Bhajan A devotional form of music which
can be semi classical or of light style.
Bol-tans Musical phrases interlinked with
bols (words) set to a fast tempo.
Chakradar A tihai repeated three
times.
Chala Swar A note which moves, a note
which leaves its exact place of frequency. ‘Re’, ‘GA’, ‘MA’, ‘Dha’,
and ‘Ni’ are chala Swar. They can move to form flat or sharp notes.
Chaturang A form of classical music,
its text includes poetry, sargam, tarana bols and tabla bols.
Chaugun Four times the basic speed.
Cheez (Chota Khayal) It is a Khayal
set to a medium or fast tempo. It is sung after the Bada Khayal in a concert and
can have a duration of 5 to 20 minutes.
Chikari Drone strings of a
sitar.
Dadra 1. A taal of 6 matras. 2. A
semi classical form of Indian Music like a Thumri set in Dadra taal.
Desi Sangeet Music for the country folks
or the society in general
Dhamar A form of art music, prevalent
during the period of Dhrupad. It is set to a taal of 14 beats.
Dhrupad The Indian musical form of art
music, most popular in the 16th century A.D. It is set in a taal of 12 beats.
Today, there are very few singers who sing this form of music
Dhun A light tune, usually played
on an instrument in a medium or fast tempo creating a mood of ecstasy.
Dhvani Sound
Drut Fast tempo.
Dugun Double of the basic speed or
tempo
Gamak Singing a note along with the
neighbouring notes in an aalap or taan, e.g. Singing
‘ma’ as ‘ga ma ga’, or ‘sa’ as ‘sa re sa’.
Gandharva
A classical singer having
full knowledge of music but sings for religious or spiritual purposes only.
Gandharva Sangeet 1.Music sung
by Gandharvas 2. Spiritual or religious music
Gat A form of music used in
instrumental music concerts. It is like the Khayal of vocal music.
Gayak A singer who learns from a
guru but his performances have his personal improvisations.
Gayaki The style of singing of a
gayak.
Gharana A school of music. Every
Gharana has its typical styles of improvisations and voice productions.
Ghazal A form of poetry and
music of semi classical type. They have a slow or medium tempo. The lyrics are
usually in Urdu or Hindi, pertaining to sorrows of love of humans as well as God
Gram (Shadja Gram, Madhya Gram,
Gandhar Gram) The scales used in olden days, the notes of each gram were
placed with different musical intervals, placing them on different Shrutis.
Guru-Shishya Guru- a master; Shishya-
a disciple. Guru-Shishya parampara is the core of Indian Culture. In
olden days it was the only way of teaching and learning, where the Shishya had
to reside with the guru for minimum 12 years.