Odisha CHSE +2 Vocational Hindustani Vocal flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Svara

A musical note in Hindustani music; there are seven shuddha svaras (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni), with Sa and Pa fixed and the others capable of komal or tivra alteration.

Saptak

The register or octave range of the voice; three are recognised - mandra (lower), madhya (middle) and tar (upper) - and a composition normally uses at least two.

Sam

The first matra of a tala cycle, marked by a tali (clap). It is the point of resolution where compositions and improvisations return, and it is the most emphasised beat.

Khali

A vibhag of a tala marked by a wave of the hand rather than a clap, giving an 'empty' section. In Teental khali falls on matra 13; in Jhaptal on matra 6.

Laya

Tempo in Hindustani music, measured against the tala cycle. Vilambit is slow, madhya medium and drut fast; dugun, tigun and chaugun are proportional multiples of the basic laya.

Vibhag

A bar or group of matras within a tala, marked by tali or khali. Teental has four vibhags of four matras; Jhaptal has vibhags of 2, 3, 2 and 3.

Aroha and avaroha

Aroha is the ascending order of a raga's svaras and avaroha the descending order. They may differ, since a raga can omit a svara in one direction only.

Pakad

A short, characteristic phrase that identifies a raga and is used to recognise it. Pakad is narrower than chalan and is tested directly in practical examinations.

Vadi and samvadi

Vadi is a raga's most important svara, samvadi the second most important (usually a fourth or fifth away), anuvadi are the remaining svaras and vivadi is a forbidden one.

Raga jati

Classification of a raga by its number of svaras: audav (five), shadav (six), sampurna (seven). Combined labels such as audav-sampurna describe aroha and avaroha separately.

Chalan

The characteristic movement pattern of a raga across the saptak, broader than pakad. Chalan shows how phrases are built and is central to raga elaboration.

Sandhiprakash raga

A raga prescribed for the junction of two periods of the day, such as dawn or dusk. Bhairav at dawn and Marwa at sunset are standard examples.

Vilambit khayal

The slow khayal (bada khayal), usually set in Ektaal or Tilwada. It stays mostly in the lower and middle register and is expanded with bol-alap and behelava.

Drut khayal

The fast khayal (chhota khayal), commonly in Teental or Jhaptal, short in structure and often using the upper register. It usually follows the vilambit khayal.

Sthayi and antara

The two main sections of a khayal composition: sthayi is the opening section in the lower or middle register, antara the second section in the higher register.

Yaman

An evening raga using tivra Ma with all other svaras shuddha. Its vadi is Ga and samvadi Ni; it is sung in the first quarter of the night.

Bhairav

A morning sandhiprakash raga with komal Re and komal Dha. Its vadi is Dha and samvadi Re, and its phrases descend with slow, oscillating movement on the komal svaras.

Teental theka

Sixteen matras in four vibhags of four, with tali on 1, 5 and 9 and khali on 13. Theka bols run Dha Dhin Dhin Dha, Dha Dhin Dhin Dha, Dha Tin Tin Ta, Ta Dhin Dhin Dha.

Jhaptal

A ten-matra tala with vibhags of 2, 3, 2 and 3. Tali falls on 1, 3 and 8, khali on 6, and the theka uses bols such as Dhi Na, Dhi Dhi Na, Ti Na.

Ektaal

A twelve-matra tala in six vibhags of two. Tali falls on 1, 5, 9 and 11, khali on 3 and 7, and it is a common tala for vilambit khayal.

Rupak tala

A seven-matra tala in vibhags of 3, 2 and 2 whose sam is khali, so the first vibhag is waved. Tali falls on matras 4 and 6.

Kaharwa and Dadra

Kaharwa has eight matras in two vibhags of four with khali on 5; Dadra has six matras in two vibhags of three with khali on 4. Both are common for light classical forms.

Bhatkhande notation

A swaralipi system writing svaras as S R G M P D N, with komal marked by a line below, tivra Ma by a line above, and register by dots above or below.

Paluskar notation

Vishnu Digambar Paluskar's swaralipi, writing svaras in Devanagari with komal and tivra marked by strokes and register by dots; popularised through Gandharva Mahavidyalaya publications.

Tali and khali marks

In swaralipi, tali positions are marked with numerals or the symbol x and khali with 0, while sam is marked with a cross or bracket. Vertical bars separate vibhags.

V. N. Bhatkhande

Scholar who systematised Hindustani ragas into ten thats, wrote Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati, and organised the early All India Music Conferences. He lived from 1860 to 1936.

Vishnu Digambar Paluskar

Founder of the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in 1901, creator of a widely used notation system, and a key figure in taking music education to a public, school-based audience.

Abdul Karim Khan

Kirana gharana vocalist (1872-1937) known for slow, sustained vilambit khayal and pure svara. His disciples include Gangubai Hangal and Bhimsen Joshi.

Dhrupad

The oldest surviving Hindustani vocal form, in four sections (sthayi, antara, sanchari, abhog), set in Chautal or Dhamar, with slow nom-tom alap and an austere devotional character.

Thumri

A light classical vocal form in Braj and Awadhi texts expressing shringar sentiment, using bol-banao and laggi in talas such as Dadra and Deepchandi; Banaras and Lucknow are key gharanas.

Tarana

A fast vocal form using meaningless syllables such as nom-tom and diri-diri instead of a text, often in Teental or Ektaal, and commonly used as a closing item.

Gharana

A lineage of musicians sharing a style, repertoire and teaching line, transmitted from guru to disciple within a family or adopted family, such as Gwalior, Kirana or Agra.