Raga

More than a scale, less than a song. A raga is a melodic framework with rules — which notes to use, which to bend, which to dwell on — bound to a time of day, a season, a mood. Two musicians can play the same raga for an hour each and never repeat themselves.

Tala

The rhythmic cycle. Where Western music tends to count in fours, Hindustani music breathes in cycles of seven, ten, twelve, sixteen — even longer. The tabla holds the cycle; the soloist plays with it, against it, returning home on the first beat (sam) like a tide turning.

Sargam

The seven solfège syllables of Indian music: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa. Sa is the tonic — wherever the singer chooses it. The whole raga is heard in relation to that one note, hummed underneath by the tanpura.

Gharana

Literally "household." A lineage of teaching, passed from master to student over generations. Each gharana has its own dialect — its own way of approaching a note, holding silence, decorating a phrase. Knowing the gharana is knowing where the music comes from.

Tanpura

The unbroken hum at the back of every recording: a long-necked drone instrument with four strings, plucked slowly throughout the entire performance. It is the sound of the tonic and the fifth, breathing — the pillow on which raga rests.

The arc of a piece

A typical instrumental performance unfolds in stages — slow to fast, alone to together:

• ALAPSlow, free exploration of the raga, with no rhythm yet. Just the soloist and the tanpura.
• JORA pulse begins. The melody starts to walk.
• JHALAPulse becomes drive. The piece accelerates.
• GATThe tabla joins. Now there is a composed theme to return to, between flights of improvisation.