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By far the most dynamic and popular music of Pakistan is qawwali, which has been internationally popularized by stars like Nusrat Ali Khan. Qawwali, in multiple forms, is widespread throughout Pakistan and Northern India.

Qawwali refers to both the performance and the genre of music. Qawwals typically consist of a lead vocalist, two back-up vocalists and any number of percussionists. Qawwalis are traditionally led by a sheikh and are meant to help the audience realize the mystical ideals of Sufi Islam. Amir Khusrau is said to have invented qawwali in the 13th century; the legendary poet and composer is also said to have invented the tabla and sitar. The idea of music (sama) inspiring an understanding and love for the divine and communication with spiritual guides is known from at least the 9th century. Orthodox Muslims sometimes criticize qawwali for its erotic imagery and sometimes frank sensuality.

Qawwali is similar to HindustanHindustan may relate to any of these another name by which the country India is called A term for the pre-Islamic political culture of India. HMS Hindustan one of the eight ships of the King Edward VII class battleships "Hindustan" ( 1918), a popular publi musical genreMusical genres are categories which contain music which share a certain style or which have certain elements in common. See also musical form. Some genres, such as Indian music, are geographically defined; others, like Baroque music, are largely defined bs; it has three components: a rhythmRhythm is the variation of the duration of sounds over time. When governed by rule, it is called meter. It is inherent in any time-dependent medium, but it is most associated with music, dance, and most poetry. The study of rhythm, stress, and pitch in sp (traditionally played on the dholakThe Dholak (sometimes dholaki is a classical North Indian hand drum. A dholak may have traditional lacing or turnbuckle tuning. The dholak has a simple membrane on the right-hand side. The left-hand membrane has a special coating on the inner surface.), the melodic line of the vocals, and the pitch of the melody which is reinforced on harmoniumThis article is on the musical instrument; for information on other kinds of harmonia, see Harmonium (disambiguation). The harmonium is a small, manually-pumped reed organ. There are two main types of harmonium: a foot-pumped version that resembles a smal. Poetic verses are usually mixed with a chorus and instrumental passages. Traditional languages used include Persian and an ancient form of Hindi called braj bhasha , as well as PunjabiIndo-Aryan languages Languages of India Languages of Pakistan Punjabi (sometimes spelled Panjabi is the language of the Punjab regions of India and Pakistan. It is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Iranian subfamily. Also, as an adjective, the word Pu, Urdu and Arabic.

The ancient tradition of tarana, a rhythmic series of nonsensical syllables with meaning only to the singers, if anyone, has helped lead a fusion with qawwali and jazz, due to the parallel practice of scat singing. Qawwali fusion with filmi and Western pop music have achieved some popularity, with attendant criticism from purists for allegedly watering down the sacred sound of qawwali. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sabri Brothers and Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali Group have become especially popular, especially after Nusrat's collaborations with Michael Brook (a Canadian producer), resulting in the unexpected hit of "Mustt Mustt", remixed by Massive Attack and popularized by its use in a Coca-Cola television commercial.

See also : List of Pakistani musicians, Pakistani Metal (needs cleanup)

See sample music on : PakistaniMusic.com