UPMSP High School Vocal Music flashcards

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

Nada

In Indian music, nada is sound produced by vibration; aahat nada is struck or regular vibration used in music, while anahat nada is the unstruck, metaphysical sound.

Shruti

The smallest perceptible pitch interval in Indian music; tradition enumerates 22 shrutis, and Sa and Pa are treated as fixed reference points in most ragas.

Saptak

The seven-note octave divided into mandra, madhya, and taar registers; each saptak spans an octave from Sa to the next Sa.

Vadi swara

The most prominent note of a raga, often emphasized in alaap and pakad; samvadi is the second most prominent, and vivadi is avoided.

Swaralipi

The notation system for Indian music using Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni with marks for komal, tivra, and octave placement; Bhatkhande's system is widely used.

Thaat

A parent scale of seven notes from which ragas are derived; Bhatkhande defined ten thaats, including Bilawal, Khamaj, Kafi, Bhairav, and Kalyan.

Pakad

A short characteristic phrase that identifies a raga; it captures the essential movement and is used by performers to establish the raga quickly.

Jati

Classification of a raga by number of notes: audav (5), shadav (6), or sampoorna (7); aroha and avaroha may have different jatis.

Teentaal

A 16-matra tala with four vibhags of four; tali on 1, 5, 13 and khali on 9; widely used for khayal, tarana, and instrumental compositions.

Ektaal

A 12-matra tala with six vibhags of two; tali on 1, 5, 9, 11 and khali on 3, 7; commonly used for vilambit khayal.

Rupak tala

A 7-matra tala with vibhags 3+2+2; its sam is khali, with tali on 4 and 6, making it unusual among common Hindustani talas.

Laya

Tempo in Indian music; vilambit is slow, madhya medium, and drut fast; dugun and chougun are double and quadruple speeds.

Khayal

The dominant Hindustani vocal form with bada khayal in vilambit laya and chhota khayal in drut; it uses alaap, taan, bol-alaap, and sargam.

Dhrupad

The oldest surviving classical vocal form, with four sections - sthayi, antara, sanchari, abhog; accompanied by pakhawaj and using nom-tom alaap.

Tarana

A fast vocal form using rhythmic syllables such as nom, tom, ta, na, dir, and da instead of meaningful text; often set in Teentaal or Ektaal.

Bhajan

A devotional song, usually in Hindi or a regional language, set in talas like Dadra or Kaharva; emphasis is on text and bhakti bhava.

Tat vadya

String instruments whose sound comes from plucked or bowed strings; examples include sitar, sarod, tanpura, veena, violin, and sarangi.

Sushir vadya

Wind instruments whose sound comes from a vibrating air column; examples include bansuri, shehnai, harmonium, nagaswaram, and clarinet.

Tanpura

A drone instrument with four strings usually tuned Pa–Sa–Sa–Sa or Ma–Sa–Sa–Sa; it provides the reference pitch for the performer.

Shehnai

A double-reed wind instrument associated with Ustad Bismillah Khan; it is played at auspicious ceremonies and has a piercing, auspicious tone.

Natya Shastra

The earliest surviving Indian treatise on music, dance, and drama, attributed to Bharata Muni and dated roughly between 200 BCE and 200 CE.

Sangeet Ratnakar

A 13th-century treatise by Sharangadeva covering swara, raga, tala, and instruments; it is a major source for medieval Indian music theory.

Bhatkhande

Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (1860–1936) created the ten-thaat system and wrote Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati, standardizing modern notation.

V. D. Paluskar

Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar (1872–1931) revived notation and founded the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in 1901, promoting institutional music education.

Ustad Amir Khan

An Indore gharana vocalist (1912–1974) known for slow, expansive vilambit khayal and the nom-tom style of elaboration.

Bismillah Khan

Ustad Bismillah Khan (1916–2006) was a shehnai maestro and recipient of the Bharat Ratna in 2001, famous for popularizing the instrument.

Alankar

A systematic pattern of swaras in ascending or descending order used for practice; for example, Sa Re Ga, Re Ga Ma, Ga Ma Pa.

Palta

A practice pattern that reverses or reorders swaras, such as Sa Ga Re Ma Ga Pa; it builds flexibility and control in vocal practice.

Lakshangeet

A composition that displays the characteristic phrases (lakshan) of a raga; it is used to teach raga identity and movement.

Sargam

Singing with swara names such as Sa Re Ga Ma instead of text; it is used in khayal elaboration and as a teaching tool.

Yaman

An evening raga with tivra Ma and all other shuddha swaras; it is sampoorna, with vadi Ga and samvadi Ni, and is often the first raga taught.

Bhairav

A morning raga using komal Re and komal Dha with all other shuddha swaras; its vadi is Dha and samvadi Re, giving a serious mood.