The Music Stem / Courses / Hindustani Music
Course outline
Sa and swara, drone, raga, tala, characteristic phrases, and improvisation.
Hindustani music is the classical music of North India. Notes are swaras from a movable Sa, and rhythm follows the cycle of a tala. The Riyaz Tanpura and the Ear Lab sound Sa on a tanpura.
Start Hindustani MusicSa, swara and raga
Hear Sa before learning raga
Find Sa against the drone, recognize the seven swaras by ear, and keep their relationships when Sa moves.
Then, in Hindustani Swara and Tala:
Hear raga as melodic behavior
Recognize Yaman by its phrases, its pakad and its resting notes, not by a list of notes.
Hear pitch as motion
Hear kan, meend, andolan and gamak, and tell them apart.
Then, in Hindustani Swara and Tala:
Hear what separates allied ragas
Tell Bhupali from Deshkar, two ragas built on the same five swaras, by emphasis and phrase shape.
Tala and tabla
Feel the cycle before counting it
Keep Tintal's sixteen matras, mark sam, tali and khali, and carry the cycle into Jhaptal and Rupak.
Then, in Hindustani Swara and Tala:
Hear bol, variation, flow and landing
Follow the theka and its variations at double and fourfold density, and hear a tihai land on sam.
Composition and performance
Hear the composition inside improvisation
Hear sthayi and antara, and the mukhda that leads back to sam.
Then, in Hindustani Swara and Tala:
Hear how khayal grows around the bandish
Follow vistar, sargam and taan as they grow out of the bandish and return to it.
Then, in Hindustani Swara and Tala:
Hear changing performance states
Hear free alap find a pulse, and follow alap, jor, jhala and gat in an instrumental performance.
Interpretation and the whole performance
Hear how lineage shapes a singer
Compare what Gwalior, Agra, Kirana, Jaipur-Atrauli and Patiala singers give priority to.
Recognize a raga by phrase, register and resting notes
Tell Marwa, Puriya and Sohini apart by phrase, register and resting notes.
Hear the whole performance
Follow a complete performance through raga, bandish, tala, accompaniment and pacing, and feel where sam will fall.
Then, in Hindustani Swara and Tala: