Rag Desh

VOCABULARY LIST
Alap the introduction and first section of a piece of Indian classical music. It
introduces the notes of the rag and is improvised.
Bansuri a wooden flute.
Bhajan a devotional Hindu song.
Drone a sustained note/chord.
Gat the composed section of a piece of Indian classical music in which the tabla
enter and the tal can be heard.
Improvisation making music up on the spot.
Meend the technique of sliding between notes.
Modal a type of key that is neither major nor minor; it is often used in music of
other cultures.
Oral tradition music that learnt and taught by word of mouth (i.e. not written
down).
Rag the scale used in a piece of Indian music.
Rasa the mood/emotion of the rag.
Sarangi - a string instrument that uses a bow rather than plucking the strings.
Sarod like a sitar but smaller and played with a wooden plectrum.
Sitar a string instrument that is plucked with a metal plectrum.
Tabla a set of two drums played with hands.
Tal the rhythmic cycle used in a piece of Indian music
Tan - the rapid scalic flourishes between lines of the gat, played on the sitar or sarod.
Tanbura - a string instrument which plays the drone.
Tempo the speed of the music.
Tihai - three repetitions of the same rhythmic pattern/phrase, used to mark the end
of a section.