1 History

Music has long been important to Hinduism, especially for many Vaishnavite sects. The advent of Islamic rule under the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire over northern India caused the traditional musicians to seek patronage in the courts of the new rulers. These Islamic rulers had strong cultural and religious sentiments focussed outside of India; yet they lived in, and administered kingdoms which retained their traditional Hindu culture. This helped spur the fusion of Hindu and Muslim ideas to make qawwali and khayal. Perhaps the most legendary musician of this period is Amir Khusrau, who is credited with systematizing the Hindustani methodologies by studying the forms of Vedic music theory and spurring a chain of creative composition that melded Indian with Persian sensibilities.

Later, the Mughal Empire intermarried with Indians, especially under Jar ad-Din Akbar. Music and dance flourished during this period, and the Hindu musician Tansen is still well-remembered. Indeed, his ragas (which are based on times of the day) were reputed to have been so powerful that according to legend, upon his playing a night-time raga in the morning, the entire city fell under a hush and clouds gathered in the sky.

In the 20th century, the power of the maharajahs (Hindus) and nawabs (Muslims) declined, and thus so did their patronage. The Indian Government-run All India Radio helped to stop this development and replaced the patronage system. The first star was Gauhar Jan, whose career was born out of Fred Gaisberg's first recordings of Indian music in 1902.

2 Types of Compositions

The major vocal forms associated with Hindustani classical music are the khyal, ghazal, and thumri. Other styles include the dhrupad, dhammar, and tarana.

2.1 Dhrupad

Dhrupad is a Hindu sacred style of singing traditionally performed by men with a tampura and pakhawaj accompanying . The lyrics are in a medieval form of Hindi and typically heroic in theme, or else praising a particular deity. A more ornamented form is called dhamar .

2.2 Bhajan

Hindu religious vocal music, bhajan is the most popular form in northern India. Famous performers include Kabir, Tulsidas and Mirabai. It arose out of the Alvar bhakti movement of the 9th and 10th century.

2.3 Ghazal

Ghazals are an originally Persian form of vocal music that is popular with multiple variations across Iran, Central Asia, Turkey and India. Ghazal exists in multiple variations, including folk and pop forms. Notable performers include Ghulam Ali, Jagjit Singh, Mehdi Hasan and Pankaj Udhas . Themes range from ecstatic love to religious piety.

2.4 Khyal

An informal form of vocal music, khyal is partially improvised and very emotional in nature. Though its origins are shrouded in mystery, the 15th century rule of Hussain Shah Sharqi and was popular by the 18th century rule of Mohammed Shah. The best-known composer of the period was Sadarang , a pen name for Niamat Khan . Later performers include Faiyaz Khan , Abdul Karim Khan , Bhimsen Joshi, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan , Amir Khan and Mallikarjun Mansur. Some of the present day vocalists are Kishori Amonkar, Ulhas Kashalkar , Rashid Khan , Aslam Khan , Shruti Sadolikar , Chandrashekar Swami and Mashkoor Ali Khan .

2.5 Tarana

Tarana are songs that are used to convey a mood of elation and are usually performed towards the end of a concert. They have very few lyrics and are mostly composed of rythmic sounds. It can be compared to the Tillana of Carnatic music.

2.6 Thumri

Thumri is an accessible and informal vocal form said to have begun with the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah , 1847- 1856. There are two types of thumri: Punjabi and Lucknavi . The lyrics are typically in a proto- Hindi language called Braj bhasha and are usually romantic. Performers include Shobha Gurtu , Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Girija Devi .

3 Notes in Hindustani music

Hindustani music utilises a system of notation called sargam, a contraction for Sa Re Ga Ma. Re, Ga, Ma, Dha and Ni may be flat (komal), or sharp (tivra). The designation komal or tivra is never sung with the note's syllable, however they are notated as a line under or an acute accent above, respectively, the note's letter, such as &Macute&; and N.

Hindustani note names

Sanskrit name	Sung	Written
Ṣadj	Sa	S
Riṣabh	Re	R
Gāndhār	Ga	G
Madhyam	Ma	M
Pancham	Pa	P
Dhaivat	Dha	D
Niṣādh	Ni	N

4 Other personalities

Pandit Pran Nath is an influential teacher of Hindustani vocal music whose students include Don Cherry, Terry Riley, and LaMonte Young.

5 See Also

• Carnatic music
• Indian music
• Indian classical music
• Raga
• Tala

Classical music Indian music

6 External Links

• Learn Hindustani Music
• Concerts all over the world

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