BSEH SS Music Vocal cheat sheet

Alaap: unmetered, improvised exposition of raga; begins with slow, sustained notes (vistar) using aroha and avaroha; no percussion; tanpura drone sets pitch.

Bandish: fixed composition in a tala, with sthayi (first line, in lower/middle register) and antara (second line, higher register); sung with rhythmic accompaniment.

Vistaar: melodic expansion of bandish; includes bol-vistaar (using text) and bebol-vistaar (using sargam or aakar); develops phrases systematically.

Taan: fast, rhythmic melodic passages; types include sapat (straight scale), vakra (zigzag), gamak (oscillating), and bol-taan (using words).

Tanpura: provides continuous drone on Sa and Pa (or Ma); tuned to tonic; helps maintain pitch and creates ambience; played throughout performance.

Performance order in khayal: alaap (if slow), bandish, vistaar, taan, then concluding with a tarana or fast composition (chhota khayal).

Raga presentation must respect vadi (main note), samvadi (secondary), and pakad (catch-phrase); avoid apaswara (forbidden notes).

Time theory: ragas assigned to specific prahar (3-hour periods) of day/night; e.g., Bhairav at dawn, Yaman at dusk, Malkauns late night.

Yaman: aroha Ni Re Ga Ma(tivra) Dha Ni Sa; avaroha Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma(tivra) Ga Re Sa; vadi Ga, samvadi Ni; evening (first prahar of night); pakad: Ni Re Ga, Ma(tivra) Pa, Dha Ni Sa.

Bhairav: aroha Sa Re(komal) Ga Ma Pa Dha(komal) Ni Sa; avaroha Sa Ni Dha(komal) Pa Ma Ga Re(komal) Sa; vadi Dha(komal), samvadi Re(komal); morning; pakad: Ga Ma Pa Dha, Pa Ma Ga Re Sa.

Bhairavi: aroha Sa Re(komal) Ga Ma Pa Dha(komal) Ni(komal) Sa; avaroha Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Sa; vadi Ma, samvadi Sa; all komal swaras; performed at end of concert; pakad: Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa, Re Ga Ma Pa.

Malkauns: aroha Sa Ga Ma Dha Ni Sa; avaroha Sa Ni Dha Ma Ga Sa; vadi Ma, samvadi Sa; omits Re and Pa; late night; pakad: Ga Ma Dha Ni Sa, Ni Dha Ma Ga.

Bhoopali: aroha Sa Re Ga Pa Dha Sa; avaroha Sa Dha Pa Ga Re Sa; vadi Ga, samvadi Dha; omits Ma and Ni; evening; pakad: Ga Re Sa, Re Ga Pa, Dha Pa Ga.

Bageshri: aroha Sa Ga Ma Pa Ni Sa; avaroha Sa Ni Dha Ma Pa Dha Ga Re Sa; vadi Ma, samvadi Sa; night; pakad: Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa, Ga Re Sa.

Todi: aroha Sa Re(komal) Ga(komal) Ma(tivra) Pa Dha(komal) Ni Sa; avaroha Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma(tivra) Ga Re Sa; vadi Dha, samvadi Re; late morning; pakad: Dha Ni Sa, Re Ga Re Sa.

Kafi: aroha Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa; avaroha Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Sa; vadi Pa, samvadi Re; night; pakad: Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa, Re Ga Ma.

Teental: 16 matras, 4 vibhags of 4; tali on 1,5,13; khali on 9; common theka: Dha Dhin Dhin Dha | Dha Dhin Dhin Dha | Dha Tin Tin Ta | Ta Dhin Dhin Dha.

Ektaal: 12 matras, 6 vibhags of 2; tali on 1,5,9,11; khali on 3,7; theka: Dhin Dhin | Dha Ge Tirakita | Tu Na | Kat Ta | Dha Ge Tirakita | Dhi Na.

Jhaptaal: 10 matras, 4 vibhags (2-3-2-3); tali on 1,3,8; khali on 6; theka: Dhi Na | Dhi Dhi Na | Ti Na | Dhi Dhi Na.

Rupak: 7 matras, 3 vibhags (3-2-2); khali on 1 (sam); tali on 4,6; theka: Tin Tin Na | Dhin Na | Dhin Na.

Dadra: 6 matras, 2 vibhags of 3; tali on 1, khali on 4; theka: Dha Dhin Na | Dha Tin Na.

Keharwa: 8 matras, 2 vibhags of 4; tali on 1, khali on 5; theka: Dha Ge Na Ti | Na Ka Dhi Na.

Layakari: rhythmic variation by doubling (dugun), tripling (tigun), quadrupling (chaugun) the tempo; e.g., in teental, dugun = 2 notes per matra, tigun = 3, chaugun = 4.

Sam: first beat of tala, marked by tali; important for cadence; khali: empty beat, shown by wave of hand.

Bhatkhande notation: uses Devanagari script; swaras written as Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni; komal swaras underlined, tivra Ma has a vertical line above; octave marks: dot below for lower, dot above for higher.

Bhatkhande notation: tala divisions shown by vertical lines (sam) and double lines (vibhag); matras numbered; khali marked by '0' or 'x'.

Paluskar notation: uses Devanagari; komal swaras shown by a horizontal line below, tivra Ma by a line above; octave marks: dot below for mandra, dot above for taar.

Paluskar notation: tala shown by symbols like '|' for tali, '0' for khali, 'x' for sam; matras numbered; similar to Bhatkhande but with different symbols.

Bhatkhande system: detailed notation of compositions with separate lines for swara and sahitya (lyrics); includes ornaments like meend, kan, gamak.

Paluskar system: simplified notation, often used for teaching; uses numbers for matras and symbols for tali/khali; less detailed for ornaments.

Both systems: use sargam (Sa Re Ga Ma...) to represent notes; octave registers indicated; rhythm indicated by vertical lines and numbers.

Writing a composition: start with tala name and matras; write sthayi and antara; align swaras with matras; mark sam, tali, khali; indicate komal/tivra and octave.

Nad: sound; two types: ahata (perceived) and anahata (unstruck). Musical nad is ahata, produced by vibration.

Shruti: microtonal intervals; 22 shrutis in an octave; theoretical basis for swara placement; Bharata's Natyashastra mentions 22 shrutis.

Swara: musical note; seven shuddha (natural): Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni; five komal (flattened): Re Ga Dha Ni, and tivra Ma (sharp).

Gram: ancient scale system; three grams: shadja gram, madhyama gram, gandhara gram; used in Vedic chanting.

Murcchana: modal shift of tonic; each murcchana of a gram produces a different scale; basis for raga evolution.

Raga-ragini classification: medieval system of six ragas (male) and 36 raginis (female); e.g., Bhairav, Malkauns, Hindol, Deepak, Shri, Megh.

Gharana: stylistic school; e.g., Gwalior (khayal), Kirana (smooth), Agra (robust), Jaipur-Atrauli (complex), Patiala (thumri).

Life sketches: Tansen (16th c., court of Akbar), Bhatkhande (1860-1936, notation system, Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati), Paluskar (1872-1931, notation, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya).

Dhrupad: oldest khayal form; four vanis (styles); sung with rudra veena and pakhawaj; alaap in four parts: alap, jod, jhala, nom-tom; compositions in Chautal (12 matras) and Sooltal (10).

Dhamar: dhrupad-style composition in Dhamar tala (14 matras); associated with Holi festival; playful text.

Khayal: most prominent form; two types: bada khayal (slow, elaborate) and chhota khayal (fast, short); uses vistaar and taan; accompanied by tabla and harmonium.

Tarana: fast-paced composition using syllables like 'na, ta, re, da, ni'; no meaningful text; often in teental or ektaal; displays rhythmic virtuosity.

Thumri: romantic/light classical; texts of love (shringar); in dadra or keharwa; embellishments like meend, kan; associated with Banaras and Lucknow gharanas.

Bhajan: devotional song; lyrics of saints (Kabir, Meera, Surdas); simple melodies; can be in any raga or folk tune; often in keharwa or dadra.

Folk music: regional styles; e.g., Kajri (Uttar Pradesh), Chaiti (Bihar), Mand (Rajasthan), Baul (Bengal); not bound by raga rules.

Light music: film songs, ghazals, geet; blend of classical and folk; use of orchestra; not strictly classical.