Saarey Music Glossary
South Asian Classical Music — Essential Vocabulary
Definitions written for listeners, students, and writers. Each entry includes a short citable definition, longer context, examples, and related concepts.
Foundations
The three pillars on which the rest of South Asian classical music is built.
Raag · raga
A raag is a melodic framework in South Asian classical music — a set of rules governing which notes are used, how they are approached, which are emphasized, and what mood and time of day the music belongs to.
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Taal · tala
A taal is a rhythmic cycle in South Asian classical music — a fixed pattern of beats, divided into stressed and unstressed sections, that repeats throughout a composition.
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Thaat
A thaat is a parent scale in South Asian classical music — one of ten scale-types from which most raags are derived.
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Lineage & Schools
How performance practice is transmitted across generations.
Vocal Forms
The major sung genres — from austere dhrupad to the freer thumri.
Khayal · khyal
Khayal is the dominant vocal form in South Asian classical music — a structured, improvisational style built on raag and taal, performed in two tempos.
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Dhrupad · dhurpad
Dhrupad is the oldest surviving form of South Asian classical music — austere, slow, deeply meditative, focused on raag elaboration rather than rhythmic display.
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Thumri
Thumri is a semi-classical vocal form in South Asian (Hindustani) music — emotionally expressive, often romantic or devotional, freer in raag treatment than khayal.
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Tarana
A tarana is a fast-tempo vocal form using meaningless syllables (na-dir-dim-tom) instead of lyrical text — typically performed at the end of a khayal concert to showcase rhythmic and melodic agility.
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Performance Structure
How a single performance is shaped and developed in real time.
Alap
Alap is the opening section of a South Asian classical performance — an unmetered, exploratory unfolding of the raag, performed without rhythmic accompaniment.
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Bandish
A bandish is a fixed composition in South Asian classical music — a short text set to a specific raag and taal, serving as the melodic theme around which improvisation revolves.
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Gat
A gat is a fixed instrumental composition in South Asian (Hindustani) classical music — the instrumental counterpart to a vocal bandish, set in a specific raag and taal.
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Jor · Jod
The jor is the pulse-bearing section of an instrumental performance that follows the free alap — melody now moves with a steady rhythm, but still without a taal.
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Jhala · Jhalla
The jhala is the fast, exhilarating climax of an instrumental performance — rapid strumming that interlaces the melody notes with quick strokes on the drone strings.
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Nom-Tom · Nom Tom · Nomtom · Nom-Tom Alap
Nom-tom is the rhythmic, pulsed style of alap used in dhrupad — the raag is unfolded on wordless syllables like "nom," "tom," "re" and "na" instead of song-text.
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Tempo (Laya)
The speeds of performance — slow, medium, fast.
Vilambit · Vilambit laya
Vilambit is the slow tempo (laya) in South Asian (Hindustani) classical music — used for the meditative, expansive opening section of a major composition.
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Madhya Laya · Madhya · Mad Leh · Madhyam Laya
Madhya laya is the medium tempo in South Asian (Hindustani) classical music — between the meditative slowness of vilambit and the virtuosic speed of drut.
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Drut · Durrat · Drut laya · Druth
Drut (also called Durrat in Pakistani classical vocabulary) is the fast tempo in Hindustani classical music — used for the virtuosic, climactic close of a major performance.
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Laya · Lay
Laya is tempo — the speed of the beat in South Asian (Hindustani) music, traditionally divided into slow (vilambit), medium (madhya) and fast (drut).
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Melodic Concepts
The building blocks of raag — the notes, phrases, and movements that give each raag its identity.
Pakar · Pakad
A pakar (also called pakad) is the signature phrase of a raag — a short melodic fragment that instantly identifies which raag is being performed.
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Aroha & Avaroha · Aroha · Avaroha · Aaroh · Avroh
Aroha is the ascending note pattern of a raag; avaroha is the descending pattern. Together they define how a raag rises and falls through its octave.
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Vadi & Samvadi · Vadi · Samvadi
The vadi is the dominant, most-emphasized note in a raag; the samvadi is the second-most-emphasized, supporting note — usually a fourth or fifth away from the vadi.
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Meend
Meend is a continuous glide between two notes in South Asian (Hindustani) classical music — a smooth slide rather than a discrete jump, central to the raag's expressive character.
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Swara · Sur · Sargam · Swar
Swara is a musical note. The seven swaras — Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni — are the building blocks of every raag, and their solfège names form the sargam.
Read more →Shruti · Shruthi · Sruti · Microtone
A shruti is the smallest perceptible interval of pitch in South Asian classical music — a microtone. Tradition counts twenty-two shrutis within the octave.
Read more →Gamak · Gamaka
Gamak is a forceful, fast oscillation or shake on a note — a heavy, powerful ornament that gives weight and intensity to a phrase.
Read more →Taan · Taana · Tan
A taan is a fast melodic run — a rapid cascade of notes, usually in the quicker part of a performance, that displays virtuosity while staying true to the raag.
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Murki · Murkee
A murki is a quick, light cluster of two or more notes — a delicate ornamental twist used to decorate a melody, common in thumri and lighter genres.
Read more →Khatka · Khatkaa
A khatka is a short, sharp ornament — a quick cluster of notes around a main note in a single crisp gesture, brighter and more abrupt than a murki.
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Alankar · Alankaar · Alankara · Palta
Alankar means "ornament" — both the melodic decorations (meend, gamak, murki) and the systematic note-patterns (paltas) students practise to master a raag.
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Andolan · Aandolan · Andolana
Andolan is a slow, gentle oscillation of a single note — a controlled swaying around a pitch that is essential to the character of certain raags.
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Rhythmic Concepts
The grammar of time in a concert — cycles, beats, and cadences.
Tihai
A tihai is a rhythmic cadence in South Asian classical music — a phrase repeated three times in a row, designed to land on sam (the first beat of the taal cycle).
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Sam
Sam is the first beat of the taal cycle in South Asian (Hindustani) classical music — the resolution point that both soloist and tabla player return to after improvisation.
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Matra · Matraa · Beat
The matra is the basic beat — the single unit of time from which every South Asian (Hindustani) rhythmic cycle (taal) is counted.
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Vibhag · Vibhaag · Khand
A vibhag is a section of a taal — a group of beats marked by a clap (tali) or a wave (khali) that helps performers track their place in the cycle.
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Avartan · Aavartan · Avart
An avartan is one complete cycle of a taal — from the sam all the way around and back to the next sam.
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Theka · Thekaa
The theka is the standard pattern of drum syllables (bols) that defines a taal and is played to keep the cycle.
Read more →Khali · Khaali · Wave
The khali is the "empty" beat of a taal — marked by a silent wave of the hand instead of a clap, giving the cycle its light and shade.
Read more →Tali · Taali · Clap
A tali is a clapped, accented beat in a taal — the counterpart to the silent khali (wave) — marking the start of the stressed sections of the cycle.
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Bol · Bols
Bols are the spoken syllables that name drum strokes (and instrumental and dance gestures) in South Asian (Hindustani) music — the "language" of the tabla and pakhawaj.
Read more →Layakari · Laykari · Layakaari
Layakari is the art of rhythmic play — phrasing melody against the beat in varied speeds and ratios (double, triple, and so on) while keeping the cycle.
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Taals (Rhythmic Cycles)
The named beat-cycles that structure a performance in time — from the 16-beat Teen Taal to the dhrupad cycles played on the pakhawaj.
Teen Taal · Trital · Tintal · Teental
Teen Taal is the most common rhythmic cycle in South Asian (Hindustani) classical music — 16 beats (matras) in four equal sections of four, with claps on beats 1, 5 and 13 and a wave (khali) on beat 9.
Read more →Ek Taal · Ektaal · Ek Tal
Ek Taal is a 12-beat South Asian (Hindustani) rhythmic cycle in six sections of two, favoured for slow (vilambit) khayal where its long span lets a vocalist unfold a raag at leisure.
Read more →Jhap Taal · Jhaptal · Jhap Tal
Jhap Taal is a 10-beat South Asian (Hindustani) rhythmic cycle grouped 2+3+2+3, common in medium-tempo khayal and instrumental music and prized for intricate cadences.
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Rupak · Rupak Taal · Roopak
Rupak is a 7-beat South Asian (Hindustani) cycle grouped 3+2+2 that, unusually, begins on a wave (khali) rather than a clap — so its sam carries no clap.
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Dadra · Dadra Taal
Dadra is a light 6-beat South Asian (Hindustani) cycle in two sections of three, associated with thumri, the dadra song-form and other semi-classical genres.
Read more →Keherwa · Kaharva · Kaherwa
Keherwa is a versatile light 8-beat South Asian (Hindustani) cycle in two sections of four, ubiquitous in folk, bhajan, ghazal and film music.
Read more →Dhamar · Dhamar Taal
Dhamar is a 14-beat South Asian (Hindustani) cycle grouped 5+2+3+4, tied to the dhrupad tradition and to Holi-themed dhamar compositions, played on the pakhawaj.
Read more →Chautal · Chartal · Chau Taal
Chautal is a 12-beat South Asian (Hindustani) cycle in six sections of two — the principal taal of the dhrupad tradition, played on the deep-toned pakhawaj.
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Ensemble Formats
Performance formats involving more than one soloist.
Time, Season & Rasa
When a raag is meant to be sung and what it is meant to make you feel — the time theory and emotional aesthetics of raag.
Samay · Samay Chakra · Raag Samay · Time Theory
Samay is the time-of-day theory of raags — the tradition that each raag has an ideal hour (or season) at which it is meant to be performed and best reveals its mood.
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Prahar · Pahar · Pehar · Prahara
A prahar is one of the eight three-hour watches into which the day and night are divided in raag time-theory — the framework that assigns each raag its hour.
Read more →Rasa · Ras
Rasa is the aesthetic "flavour" or emotional essence a performance evokes — the felt mood (love, peace, pathos, devotion) a raag is meant to awaken in the listener.
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The Raagmala
The painted iconography of the raags — the garland tradition that gave every raag a face, a family and a scene.
Raagmala · ragamala · ragmala · raga mala
A raagmala — "garland of raags" — is the painting tradition of Mughal South Asia that personified each raag as a hero, heroine or deity in a painted scene, organised into families of six parent raags.
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Raagini · ragini
A raagini is a "wife" of a parent raag in the raagmala family system — a feminine raag personified in painting as the consort of one of the six parent raags.
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Raagputra · ragaputra
A raagputra is a "son" of a parent raag in the raagmala family system — painted as a prince attached to the parent raag itself rather than to any one raagini.
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