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Hindustani music is mainly found in North India. Khyal and dhrupad are its two main forms, but there are several other classical and semi-classical forms. There is a significant amount of Persian influence in Hindustani music in terms of the instruments, style of presentation, and ragas such as Hijaz Bhairav, Bhairavi, and Yaman. Ragas such as Kafi and Jaijaiwanti, are based on folk tunes. Players of the tabla, a type of drum, usually keep the rhythm, an indicator of time in Hindustani music. Another common instrument is the stringed tanpura, which is played at a steady tone (a drone) throughout the performance of the raga. This task traditionally falls to a student of the soloist, a task which might seem monotonous but is, in fact, an honour and a rare opportunity for the student who gets it. Other instruments for accompaniment include the sarangi and the harmonium. Emotions are the prime themes of the different ragas in Hindustani classical music. The performance usually begins with a slow elaboration of the raga, known as badhat. This can range from long (30–60 minutes) to short (8–10 minutes) depending on the raga and the style and preference of the musician.

Thursday, November 3, 2011


Dr.Prabha Atre ji sings raag Shankara. 'Shiv Har har mahadev shankara' drut teentaal. 

Raag shankara is a hindustani raag which is analogous to the carnatic raag Hansadhwani. Both these raags have the same swaras except for the addition of shuddha dhaivat in raag shankara. the other swaras are SA RE GA PA NI SA. in Hansadhwani the swara 'RE' is a very important note whereas in Shankara it is used only for decending from PA to GA ( PA RE GA). In Shankara 'GA' is the vaadi or first important note whereas 'NI' is the samvadi or second important note. This system of important notes is followed only in hindustani shastriya sangeet and not in carnatic music, thus every swara in carnatic music has equal weightage. Also, carnatic music does not follow the system of 'swar-sangati' as it is followed in hindustani. for example in raag Shankara the phrase or swaras 'PA-RE-GA' in this order have to be included inorder to classify it as raag Shankara, ofcourse along with other permutations and combinations. Carnatic music on the other hand is a  game purely compriing of permutations and combinations of swaras, where the order in which they are sung is not important at all.



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