PSEB Matric Music Instrumental cheat sheet

Nada is sound; Ahata nada is struck/produced sound, Anahata nada is unstruck inner resonance. Musical nada must be sustained, steady and pleasing (madhuram).

Swara is a musical note with fixed pitch. Shuddha swaras: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni. Vikrit swaras: komal Re, Ga, Dha, Ni and tivra Ma - five vikrit positions in all.

Saptak = seven swaras (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni). Three registers: mandra (lower), madhya (middle), tar (upper). Sa of madhya is the reference pitch.

Shruti = microtonal interval; classical theory names 22 shrutis in the octave. Practical tuning uses 12 semitone positions; shruti is theoretical, not a keyboard key.

Komal swara lowers a shuddha note; tivra Ma is the raised fourth. Sa and Pa have no komal/tivra variants in the standard seven-note scheme.

Laya = tempo. Vilambit (slow), madhya (medium), drut (fast). Laya is measured against the tala cycle, not against a clock alone.

Laya ke prakar: ek gun (same speed), dugun (double), tigun (triple), chaugun (quadruple). In tala notation, dugun fills half the matras per unit, chaugun a quarter.

Swaras are written with abbreviations: S R G M P D N; komal marked with a line below (or underscore), tivra Ma with a line above. Mandra notes get a dot below, tar notes a dot above.

V. N. Bhatkhande's system (Bhatkhande Sangeet Paddhati) writes swaras in Devanagari: सा रे ग म प ध नि; komal notes are shown by a line beneath the letter, tivra Ma by a line above.

In Bhatkhande notation, mandra saptak notes carry a dot below the swara and tar saptak notes a dot above; the madhya saptak is unmarked.

Bhatkhande tala notation uses vertical bars (khand) to mark vibhags; the symbol 0 marks khali and a cross or numeral marks tali/sam.

Vishnu Digambar Paluskar's system uses English-style letters (S R G M P D N) with the same dot convention for octave and lines for komal/tivra, making it easier to typeset.

Paluskar notation indicates sam with an X, tali sections with numerals, and khali with 0; vibhag divisions are shown by a vertical line or space.

Bhatkhande's system adds signs for meend (slide), kan (grace note), and murki; these ornament marks are placed above the swara they affect.

Both systems write a composition line by line, each line ending at a tala division, so the performer can align text syllables with matras.

A complete notation entry states raga, tala, laya, and whether the composition is sthayi or antara, before the swara line begins.

Aroha = ascending scale of the raga; Avaroha = descending scale. Aroha/avaroha may be vakra (crooked, out of order) rather than straight.

Pakad is the short catch-phrase of swaras that identifies the raga; a raga is recognised by its pakad even when aroha/avaroha are ambiguous.

Vadi = principal (king) swara, most frequently emphasised. Samvadi = second in importance, usually a fourth or fifth from vadi. Anuvadi = other notes; vivadi = a note foreign to the raga.

Jati describes note count: audav (5), shadav (6), sampurna (7) in aroha and avaroha separately, e.g. audav-sampurna.

Ragas are classified by thaat (Bhatkhande's ten thaats: Bilawal, Khamaj, Kafi, Asavari, Bhairavi, Bhairav, Kalyan, Marwa, Poorvi, Todi) or by melakarta in Carnatic music.

Time of performance follows the prahar system: four prahars in the day (approx. 6 am–noon, noon–6 pm, 6 pm–midnight, midnight–6 am). Sandhi-prakash ragas sit at sunrise and sunset.

Vadi swara often decides the time slot: ragas with vadi on Pa or Re in the evening, on Ma or Sa at dawn, following the cycle of swaras through the day.

A raga must have at least five notes, a defined aroha/avaroha, vadi, and characteristic phrases; a mere scale without pakad is not a raga.

Matra = one beat unit of the tala cycle. Vibhag = a group of matras (2, 3, or 4 typically); the first matra of each vibhag is a tali position.

Sam = first matra of the cycle, the point of resolution; it is both a tali and the strongest accent. Khali = empty section, marked 0, where the hand does not strike (usually a wave).

Tali positions are numbered 1, 2, 3…; sam is tali 1. Khali falls inside the cycle and is not counted as a tali.

Teental: 16 matras, vibhags 4+4+4+4, tali at 1, 5, 13 and khali at 9. Notation: X 2 0 3.

Jhaptal: 10 matras, 2+3+2+3, tali at 1, 3, 8 and khali at 6 (X 2 0 3). Rupak: 7 matras, 3+2+2, khali on sam (0 2 3).

Ektaal: 12 matras, 2+2+2+2+2+2, tali at 1, 5, 9, 11 and khali at 3, 7. Chautal: 12 matras, 2+2+2+2+2+2 with tali 1, 5, 9, 11 and khali 3, 7.

Kaharva: 8 matras, 4+4, tali 1, khali 5. Dadra: 6 matras, 3+3, tali 1, khali 4. Deepchandi: 14 matras, 3+4+3+4.

Tala notation is written with khand (bar) lines between vibhags and symbols X (sam), numerals (tali), 0 (khali) placed above the first matra of each division.

Yaman: thaat Kalyan, tivra Ma, sampurna-sampurna, vadi Ga, samvadi Ni, sung in the first prahar of night. Pakad: Ni Re Ga, Re Ga, Ma(tivra) Dha Ni Sa.

Bhairav: thaat Bhairav, komal Re and komal Dha, vadi Dha, samvadi Re, morning raga (first prahar of day). Aroha/avaroha show slow oscillating komal Re and Dha.

Bhairavi: komal Ga, Re, Dha, Ni (all four komal), vadi Ma, samvadi Sa, concluding raga of a concert, sung any time.

Bhoopali: thaat Kalyan, audav-audav (S R G P D), tivra Ma omitted, vadi Ga, samvadi Dha, evening. Pakad: G R S, D S R G, P G R S.

Kafi: thaat Kafi, komal Ga and Ni, vadi Pa, samvadi Sa, night. Pakad: S R g m P, m P g R S.

Asavari: thaat Asavari, komal Ga, Dha, Ni, vadi Dha, samvadi Ga, morning. Aroha often omits Ga and Ni (audav), avaroha sampurna.

Comparative pairs: Yaman vs Bhoopali (tivra Ma present/absent); Bhairav vs Bhairavi (komal Re-Dha vs komal Ga-Ni-Dha); Kafi vs Bhimpalasi (Ni komal in both, but Bhimpalasi omits Re, Pa in aroha).

Raga identification rule: match the pakad first, then check vadi and time slot; aroha/avaroha alone cannot distinguish ragas sharing a scale, e.g. Bhoopali and Deshkar.

Sargam composition: lyrics are replaced by swara names (Sa Re Ga Ma…), used to teach raga phrases; written in notation under the tala cycle.

Lakshan geet: a song whose text literally describes the raga - its aroha, avaroha, vadi, samvadi, jati and time - set in that raga and a tala.

Bandish (cheez): a composed song in a raga and tala with two main sections, sthayi (first half, often on lower/middle notes) and antara (second half, higher register).

Bandish types: vilambit (bada khayal) in slow laya with elaborate vistar, and drut (chhota khayal) in fast laya; tarana uses meaningless syllables with the same structure.

Dhrupad composition is called a bandish too, in Chautal or Sultal, with sthayi, antara, sanchari and abhog as four sections.

Sargam and lakshan geet are pedagogical forms; bandish is the concert form. All three must align text syllables to matras and land key phrases on sam.

In notation, the sthayi is written first, then antara; sam is marked at the start of the sthayi line, and the antara usually begins after the khali or mid-cycle.

Natyashastra of Bharata (c. 200 BCE–200 CE) is the earliest surviving treatise covering nada, shruti, grama and jati - the roots of raga.

Brihaddeshi by Matanga (c. 8th–9th century) is the first text to use the word 'raga' as a musical concept.

Sarangadeva's Sangita Ratnakara (13th century) systematises ragas, talas and prabandha forms; it is the key bridge between ancient and medieval music.

Sangita Parijata (Ahobala, 17th century) and Sangita Ratnakara influenced Hindustani raga classification; the mela/raga classification grew through these texts.

Bhatkhande (1872–1944) collected oral traditions, created the ten-thaat system and published Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati; he also convened the All India Music Conferences.

Vishnu Digambar Paluskar (1872–1931) founded the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya (1901, Lahore) and created a notation system to make music education mass-accessible.

Post-independence, All India Radio and Sangeet Natak Akademi (1952) institutionalised music transmission; Bhatkhande's and Paluskar's notation systems remain standard in syllabi.

The shift from gurukul oral transmission to institutional teaching (20th century) is why written notation and graded syllabi exist in modern examinations.

Gharana = a stylistic lineage traced through a guru-shishya chain, with a characteristic treatment of raga phrases, laya and ornamentation.

Major vocal gharanas: Gwalior (open, bol-bant, tappa influence), Kirana (slow, sustained, pure sur), Agra (nom-tom, powerful), Jaipur-Atrauli (rare ragas, intricate), Patiala, Indore, Benaras.

Gwalior gharana is the oldest khayal gharana; Kirana is associated with Abdul Karim Khan and Amir Khan; Agra with Faiyaz Khan.

Instrumental gharanas: Maihar (Allauddin Khan), Imdadkhani/Etawah (Imdad Khan, Vilayat Khan - sitar), Senia (Beenkar, Rabab).

Tabla gharanas: Delhi (Chhotelal Mishra), Ajrada, Lucknow, Farukhabad, Benaras (Ram Sahai lineage, Kishan Maharaj).

Bhatkhande (1872–1944): lawyer-musicologist, author of Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati (4 vols), created the ten-thaat classification, founded Marris College (Lucknow).

Paluskar (1872–1931): vocalist and educator, founded Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, developed the swara-lipi notation used widely in schools.

Other key figures: Amir Khan (Kirana, slow vilambit), Faiyaz Khan (Agra), Allauddin Khan (Maihar, sarod), Ravi Shankar (sitar, popularised Indian music abroad), Kishan Maharaj (Benaras tabla).

Traditional classification: tata (string), sushira (wind), avanaddha (membrane/skin), ghana (solid/idiophone). This is the Natyashastra fourfold scheme.

Modern classification (Hornbostel–Sachs): chordophones (sitar, sarod, tanpura), aerophones (bansuri, shehnai), membranophones (tabla, mridangam), idiophones (jaltarang, ghatam).

Tanpura: four strings tuned Pa–Sa–Sa–Sa (or Ma–Sa–Sa–Sa for ragas avoiding Pa); the jawari bridge gives sustained overtones.

Sitar: fretted long-neck lute with sympathetic strings (tarab); sarod is fretless with a metal fingerboard and chikari strings.

Tabla pair: daya (right, tuned to Sa or Pa with the gatta/syahi) and bayan (left, tuned by adjusting the syahi paste; gives the bass glide).

Tuning rule: tanpura and sitar are tuned to the performer's Sa; tabla daya is tuned to Sa or Pa of the raga, bayan a fourth/fifth below or to the tonic.

Bansuri is tuned by length and hole placement; shehnai is a double-reed conical oboe tuned by reed adjustment; both are sushira/aerophone.

Pakhawaj (mridang) accompanies dhrupad; tabla accompanies khayal, thumri and light forms; the choice of instrument follows the composition form.

Alankara = ornament/exercise pattern: e.g. Sa Re Ga Ma, Re Ga Ma Pa (kram), or Sa Ga Re Ma, Ga Pa Re Dha (vakra); practised in all three saptaks and in dugun/chaugun.

Palta is a variation exercise that expands a phrase through the saptak; alankaras and paltas build flexibility and swara accuracy before raga study.

Raga rendition sequence: alap (unmetered, no tabla, slow vistar) → jod/bandish (metered) → bol-bant, taan, and tihai to conclude on sam.

Khayal structure: sthayi and antara with gradual vistar; the performer returns to sam on key phrases; drut khayal follows bada khayal.

Tabla solo sequence: peshkar/uthan → kaida with palta and tihai → rela → tukda/chakradar; all resolve on sam.

Accompaniment rule: the tabla player follows the vocalist's laya, marks khali lightly, and matches tihai so that the last bol lands on sam.

Tihai = a phrase repeated three times so the final note falls on sam; the gap before sam after the third repetition is zero.

Laya change in accompaniment: when the soloist moves to dugun, the tabla doubles the bol density within the same tala cycle, keeping sam fixed.