Indian classical music

The classical music of India is extremely old, having developed in temples and royal palaces over 2000 years ago. The music is closely related to the Hindu religion, with performances often having a spiritual significance.

Indian classical music has three parts: raga, tala and drone.

Raga

Sitar

• It is played by the solo instrumentalist or singer.
• The solo instrumentalist often plays a sitar.
• The sitar is the best known instrumental used for solo improvisation.
• The sitar has a gourd sound box and a long neck with moveable frets [Fret: A ridge across the fingerboard of a stringed instrument. ].
• It has 7 main strings, one of which is the main melody string while the others play drone notes.
• The main string is often pulled to bend notes.

Tala

Tabla

• A drummer plays the tala on the tabla.
• Tabla are a pair of single headed drums.
• Different parts of the drum-head make different sounds.
• The drummer improvises around the tala.

Drone

• This is performed by the Tambura player.
• The Tambura is similar in shape to the Sitar.
• It is played vertically.
• It has 4 strings, each tuned to the notes of the drone.