WBBSE Madhyamik Optional Instrumental Music flashcards

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

Ahata and anahata nada

Ahata nada is struck or physical sound produced by contact, such as a plucked string. Anahata nada is unstruck, inner or cosmic sound. Musical sound is classified as svanita nada in treatises.

Shruti

The smallest interval of pitch the ear can distinguish. Bharata's Natyashastra names 22 shrutis within the saptak, though modern practice works with twelve svarasthanas.

Komal and tivra swara

Komal swaras are lowered forms of Re, Ga, Dha and Ni. Tivra Ma is the raised fourth. Sa and Pa are achala, meaning they have no altered forms.

Saptak

The three-register range of seven swaras: mandra (lower), madhya (middle) and tar (upper). Sa of the madhya saptak is the reference tonic for tuning and notation.

Guru-shishya parampara

The oral lineage of transmission in which a disciple learns raga, bandish and style directly from a guru over years. Gharana identity and repertoire are carried through this chain.

Paluskar notation marks

Swaras are written in Devanagari. Komal is shown by a line below the letter, tivra by a vertical line above, and register by dots. Sam is marked with a cross and vibhags separated by lines.

Bhatkhande notation marks

Komal swaras carry a horizontal stroke below, tivra a vertical stroke above, and dots indicate tar or mandra register. Compositions are barred by matra with sam marked × and khali marked 0.

Carnatic svara notation

Swaras are written Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Ni with numbered variants such as R1, R2, G1, G2, M1, M2, D1, D2, N1, N2, N3. The melakarta number fixes the parent scale.

Carnatic tala symbols

Tala angas are marked laghu with a vertical stroke, drutam with a plus sign, and anudrutam with a U. Gamaka signs and sahitya lyrics are written separately from the svara line.

Raga lakshana

The defining attributes of a raga: its swara set, aroha and avaroha, vadi and samvadi, pakad phrase, jati, and prescribed time of performance. Lakshana distinguishes one raga from similar ones.

Vadi and samvadi

Vadi is the most emphasised swara of a raga, treated as its king. Samvadi is the second most important, usually a fourth or fifth away. Other permitted swaras are anuvadi.

Pakad

A short characteristic phrase that immediately identifies a raga. Because aroha and avaroha alone can be ambiguous between similar ragas, the pakad is the decisive test in viva-voce.

Yaman

An evening raga with tivra Ma and all other swaras shuddha. Vadi is Ga and samvadi Ni. Its ascent uses the characteristic turn Ni Re Ga Re Pa Ma Ga Re Sa.

Bhairav

A morning raga using komal Re and komal Dha in both ascent and descent. Vadi is Dha and samvadi Re. Oscillation (andolan) on komal Re and Dha defines its character.

Malkauns

A grave late-night raga using komal Ga, Dha and Ni, with Sa, Ma and Pa absent from the ascent. Vadi is Ma and samvadi Sa. It is sung in slow tempo.

Matra, vibhag, tali, khali

Matra is a single beat count. Vibhag is a bar grouping matras. Tali is a clapped vibhag and khali a waved, empty one. Sam is matra one, where the cycle resolves.

Teental theka

Sixteen matras in four vibhags of four. Tali falls on 1, 5 and 13, khali on 9. Theka: Dha Dhin Dhin Dha, Dha Dhin Dhin Dha, Dha Tin Tin Ta, Ta Dhin Dhin Dha.

Jhaptal structure

Ten matras in vibhags of 2+3+2+3. Tali on 1, 3 and 8, khali on 6. Theka: Dhi Na, Dhi Dhi Na, Ti Na, Dhi Dhi Na. Common for vilambit and madhya gat.

Roopak tala

Seven matras in vibhags of 3+2+2. Its distinctive feature is that khali falls on sam, matra one, while tali falls on 4 and 6. Theka: Tin Tin Na, Dhin Na, Dhin Na.

Dadra and Keherwa

Dadra has six matras in 3+3 with khali on 4. Keherwa has eight matras in 4+4 with khali on 5. Both are light talas used for thumri, bhajan and drut compositions.

Tihai

A phrase repeated three times so that its final matra lands exactly on sam. Damdar tihai has a pause between repetitions; bedam tihai is continuous without pause.

Dugun, tigun, chaugun

Laya multiples against the theka. Dugun is double speed, tigun triple and chaugun quadruple. Barabar laya means equal speed, and these multiples are used to build tension before sam.

Sitar structure

A long neck with curved movable frets tied by thread, a gourd tumba resonator, six or seven playing strings over a javari bridge, and eleven to thirteen sympathetic tarab strings.

Sarod structure

A fretless instrument with a metal fingerboard, a skin-covered resonator, four to six main strings plus chikari and tarab. It is played with a coconut-shell or horn plectrum.

Tabla tuning

The right drum (dayan) is tuned to Sa or Pa by tapping the syahi and adjusting the gatta wedges. The left drum (bayan) gives bass and glissando through heel pressure.

Bansuri maintenance

A bamboo flute with six or seven holes, closed at one end. Sa is fixed by the flute's length. It must be dried after playing and occasionally oiled to prevent cracking.

Maseetkhani gat

A vilambit gat in Teental of sixteen matras, attributed to Masit Khan. It has sthayi and antara sections and is expanded with vistar, meend and slow phrases before the drut gat.

Razakhani gat

A drut gat in Teental attributed to Raza Khan. It is short and rhythmic, using chikari strokes and tihai, and normally follows the maseetkhani gat in a performance.

Sthayi and antara

Sthayi is the opening section of a gat or bandish in the lower and middle register. Antara is the second section, moving into the upper register up to tar Sa.

Alaap, jod, jhala

Alaap is the unmetered raga exposition. Jod introduces a steady pulse without tabla. Jhala is the fast climax using repeated chikari strokes on Sa and Pa.

V. N. Bhatkhande

Lived 1860 to 1936. He grouped Hindustani ragas into ten thaats, wrote Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati, and founded Marris College in Lucknow in 1926.

V. D. Paluskar

Lived 1872 to 1931. He revived Hindustani classical music, founded the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya at Lahore in 1901 and later in Bombay, and devised a widely used notation system.