A Beginner's Guide to (Hindustani) Classical Music

raga music intro type long blogpost

Indian Classical Music is seen as something hard to get into. In the current generation especially, it’s seen as something which is for the old and music which is outdated, gatekept and not interesting at all. It can also be intimidating for people without a foot in to take the leap of fate into classical music, but it’s very straightforward — just listen to it!. The purpose of this piece is just to explain the bare bones so you don’t feel lost when you start.

Beware (or rejoice! if you’re bored and have nothing to do) though, it might take you while to get used to it, but once you get hooked to this, you’re very hooked.

The stories of the musicians itself and their antics are also incredibly interesting.

Notes:

Indian music consists of seven basic notes — sa, re, ga, ma, pa, da, ni

And then there are various microtones(shrutis) between the notes.

The Raga or Raag

Now the structure of Hindustani and Indian classical music is a term called “Raag” or “Raga”. There are many definitions and the concept of Raga is a vast one, but all you need to know to start of with, is that a Raga is a set of notes intending to create a vibe, a mood, an aura in the area and evoke emotions in the audience.

Hindustani music is divided into two parts — khayal and dhrupad. Dhrupad is the more meditative, ancient form of music and is slower and more fixed, while khayal is more free flowing, faster, and imaginative. I’ll be mostly focusing on khayal, (since that’s what I listen to the most : ), but you’ll find a few sprinklings of Dhrupad.

A point to note is that no Hindustani classical music is ever rehearsed as such. Most of it is improvised on the spot by the artist, based on pretty much everything. The weather may inspire an artist to play a Raag a certain way one day, while his own mood may make him improvise differently the next day and then feel of a place and the audience may make nudge him in a different direction of improvisation. A rule of thumb, and also why this music is so mystic in nature — is that no two pieces are ever the same.

Ragas also have specific times of the day they’re supposed to be played at. This is done with the intention that raagas have their full impact on the audience at certain times of the day. There are also seasonal raags based on the seasons, and some ragas have carte blanche and can be played any time of the day.

The samay — Raga chakra (does not contain all the ragas, but most of the commonly performed ones).

So in summary a Raga is a system used by the artist to influence the atmosphere. Now a Raga contains many different aspects and these aspects may vary instrument to instrument and in vocal, but a few basic elements are:

Alaap — The starting chunk of the Raga, done slowly, and the muscian improvises along the way in order to set the foundation for a raga. There is no tabla or pakhawaj (percussional elements) involved here. Basically a prelude to the raga, without tabla accompaniment. In vocal music, the artist(s) are usually accompanied by only the Sarangi or Harmonium during the alaap. Alaap can be further broken down into vistaar (gentle, calm introduction) and then Jod (the transition phase into the bandish) and Jhala (faster improvised phrases). The Jod and Jhala are mainly visible in Instrumental music, while the aalap is usually more brief in vocal music. Examples are given below.

GREAT ALAPS-Ustad Amanat ali and Ustad Fateh ali khan-raag darbari — YouTube

Amazing Dhrupad: Gundecha Brothers — Raga Bhupali alap — YouTube

Vilambit (slow), Madyalaya (medium) and Drut (fast) Bandishes — This is the next stage of the music, and fixed compositions (called bandishes, and often very poetic and beautiful) become the centerpiece. Improvisation is carried out around these bandishes by the artist. The bandishes and the notes of the Raga act as the canvas for the artists creative brush. Elements here include taans, sargams, tarana, and various types of techniques. This is the point where the tabla enters the fray and acts as the timekeeper to the raag via the taal or a rhythm pattern. There are various different taals, but the most commonly used one is teentaal, and it has 16 beats. The poetry becomes symmetrical. The vilambit bandish is first, and then the madhyalaya and drut. The artist may also in some cases transition the vilambit into madhyalay and move directly to the drut bandish (i.e only 2 bandishes, not 3). The Raag usually ends with the drut bandish or a tarana in vocal and a drut bandish in instrumental music. This is the crecendo of the performance and the pace is fast. For the audience, atleast in my humble opinion, the moment right after the artist concludes, and puts his hands together (right before the applause) is the greatest.

PS — Vilambit may sometimes be known as bada khayal and Drut-chota khayal.

I’ve attached some (vocal) bandishes as a way of example below:

Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Rare Jaunpuri ‘Chaturang’ — YouTube

Khan Bandhu Raga Miyan Malhar Compositions — YouTube

PT.MUKUL SHIVPUTRA-bandish beautiful-tilak kamod — YouTube

Smt. Kishori Amonkar, Mudriki Kanada (Drut Khayal) — YouTube

GREAT RENDERINGS 2-RAAG CHAYANAT-vidushi veena sahasrabuddhe-chayanat — YouTube

Note: I’ve only attached khayal vocal music above, since it’s the most common but will be attaching various instrumentals through the course of this piece.

Lighter and Heavier forms: Artists also more often than not have a repertoire of lighter genres like Thumris, Dhuns and Tappas, which they usually sing/play after they have completed a raga towards the end of a concert. There are also heavier forms which are a bit more religious in nature like Bhajans (which fall into the same category as the others) and other forms which are related but have their own niche like Qawwalis and Haveli Sangeet.

The chronology of a concert:

Raga 1 -> Alaap + Bada Khayal + Chota Khayal(s)

Maybe a Raga 2, or 3 or 4(depending on the duration of the concert)

Thumri/Tappa/Bhajan/Dhun

Where do I start?

The answer to this question is quite simple. Start anywhere. Find a link to some music, vocal or instrumental, you might vaguely know and/or heard of. Go from there. It may be hard to get used to sometimes heavy music, but it get’s easier to listen to as your musical palate gradually acclimates. I’m going to attach videos below of a wide spectrum of classical and semi classical music.

Dhrupad and Dhaamar-

Khayal Vocal:

Kumar Gandharva accompanied by Ram Narayan — YouTube

Pt. Mukul Shivputra- Bageshri — YouTube

Three illustrious brothers~ Pt Maniram Ji~Pt Pratap Narayan Ji~Pt Jasraj Ji — YouTube

Ustad Amir Khan — Raga Darbari Kanada — YouTube

Sarod:

Ustaad ali akbar khan with zakir hussain rare — YouTube

Sarangi:

Pandit Ram Narayan Foundation — YouTube

Sarangi player Ustad Murad Ali Khan | SPIC MACAY, IIT Gandhinagar Chapter | 2019 — YouTube

Nicholas Magriel’s site — Sangi Rangi — Sarangi.net (growingintomusic.co.uk) Is a great reference for all things sarangi.

Sitar ( and also some surbhahar):

Note: I’ve left out the Tabla and Pakhawaj as it has it’s own niche and different style of solo-playing, and I’ve also not included much lesser known but spectacular instruments such as the esraj. The above videos are just a smidgen of the wide world of Hindustani classical music.

Below are pieces of Haveli Sangeet and Qawwali if you want to more Sufi-Folk / Temple Music.

Additional Videos and Links on the basics,

but I’d recommend that if you’re a beginner, just try to listen to music, see what you like and that itself will take you along the journey of the vast ocean of classical Indian music.

Notes, Octaves and Scale — kaminimusic.com

Understanding a Raga Performance — Raag Hindustani (raag-hindustani.com)

Samay Chakra (swarganga.org)

What time is optimal to listen to what raga?

Thank you for taking the time to read.

Written by Chinmay Hegde and published May 2022 originally.

Find him through the handle @chimneyhedge on Twitter/Instagram.