Musical Forms: Khayal, Dhrupad, Tarana, Bhajan and Folk Traditions
Form questions ask you to classify a piece and justify it - structure, tala, tempo and language.
Dhrupad
Oldest surviving classical form, sung to pakhawaj. Four parts: sthai, antara, sanchari, abhog. Alap is nom-tom (meaningless syllables), unmeasured. Four banis: dagar, nauhar, khandar, gauhar.
Khayal
Two tiers: bada (vilambit) khayal and chhota (drut) khayal. Two sections: sthai (lower register, returns to sam) and antara (upper register). Ornament types: bol-alaap, bol-taan, taan, sargam, aakar.
Tarana
Fast, tala-bound composition using meaningless syllables (dhim, tana, dere, na, tom) instead of text; traditionally linked to Amir Khusrau.
Dhamar, thumri, tappa
Dhamar: 14 matras, holi theme. Thumri: romantic text, flexible raga grammar, often Punjabi or Poorbi ang. Tappa: rapid, text-driven.
Bhajan and folk
Bhajan divides into nirgun (formless, e.g. Kabir) and sagun (with form, e.g. Krishna bhajans), usually set to keharwa, dadra or bhajani theka. Bihar's folk repertoire includes Chaiti, Kajari, Jhumar, Nachari, Sohar, Samdaun, Bidesia, Purbi and Pachra.
Worked example
A notated piece shows textless syllables "dhim tana dere na, tom tanana" in drut Teental with no antara text. Reasoning: no poetic line to set, meaningless syllables, fast tempo, tala-bound - this is a tarana, not a chhota khayal (which would carry a two-line sthai and antara in a raga).
Traps
Calling dhrupad a folk form; claiming tarana has literal meaning; describing thumri as strict khayal; labelling Chaiti or Kajari as classical; forgetting that dhrupad's alap is nom-tom and unmeasured.