Indian Musical Terms
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Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary.
d (D) – See also “safed do). A pitch of the Western scale. Depending upon which octave one is considering, it may have the frequency of: 27.5Hz, 55Hz, 110Hz, 220Hz, 440Hz, 880Hz, 1760Hz, 3520Hz, or 7040Hz.
d# (D#) – See “D-sharp”.
db (Db) – D-flat. See “C-sharp”.
d-flat – See “C-sharp”.
d-sharp – See also “kali do”). A pitch of the Western scale. Depending upon which octave one is considering, it may have the frequency of: 19.445Hz, 38.891Hz, 77.782Hz, 155.56Hz, 311,13Hz, 622.25Hz, 1244.5Hz, 24.89.0Hz, 4978.0Hz, or 9956.1Hz.
da – 1) A tabla bol of pakhawaj origin. 2) A bol describing the striking of sitar or sarod.
daan – The neck of a sitar. (more info.)
daankara – A stick dance, similar in some ways to the dandiaya raas of Gujarat. However, the daankar is performed in Punjab.
dadra – A semi-classical style of singing. (more info.)
dadra tal – A common six beat tal used in light and semi-classical music. (more info.)
dadra tal ki lahren – Laharas in Dadra tal. (more info.)
daf – A tambourine. (more info.)
daffali – See “daf”.
dagar brothers – Two singers of the 20th century famous for preserving and re-popularising the dhrupad.
dagarbani – The style of Dhrupad maintained by the Dagars.
dagga – The large metal left hand drum in a pair of tabla. (more info.)
dakki – See “gummeta”.
dakla – A folk drum. (more info.)
dakshaman tal – An obscure tal of 21 beats.
dam – (lit. “breath”). A pause, specifically the two pauses which separate the three sections of a tihai. (more info.)
damaru – A small hour-glass shaped drum traditionally ascribed to Shiva. (more info.)
damaru yati – (Archaic) An ancient form where the tempo begins very fast, decreases to slow, then increased towards the end. So called because its graphic representation resembles a damaru. (more info.)
damdar tihai – A tihai in which each section is separated by a pause. (more info.)
damodar tal – An obscure tal of nine beats.
damodara mishra – 17th century music scholar, author of “Sangeet Darpan”.
danda – The cross bar found in the rudra veena or similar stick zithers. (more info.)
dandaria – A folk dance of Andhra Pradesh.
daniélou, alain – 20th century Indologist.
daphu – See “daf”.
darasa piya – Nom de plume of Mehboob Khan of the Agra Gharana.
dard – Pain. An emotional quality of ghazal.
dardila – The quality of pain, very important for bringing out the emotional content of ghazal.
darbar – Royal court.
darbari kanada – A common evening rag related to Asavari, it is said to have been invented by Tansen. (more info.)
darbari kanada ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Darbari Kanada. (more info.)
dargha – A Sufi shrine, usually the tomb of an important saint, which is a common venue for qawwali singing.
darshan – Divine visitation or vision.
darshan ashtapadi – 19th Ashatapadi of of Jaidev’s “Geeta Govinda”. It is so called because legend has it that Jaidev had stopped working for a while. One day when he was away, Krishna comes diguised as Jaidev and finishes it.
darshan do ghanshyam – A very popular bhajan that was written by Gopal Singh Nepali, but commonly and incorrectly attributed to Surdas. (more info.)
dasavatar – The ten incarnations of Vishnu, a very popular theme for vocalists.
das pran – (Archaic, lit. “ten breaths”) The ten characteristics of tal (archaic). (more info.)
das syandan tal – An obscure tal of 10 beats.
dasakathia – A folk theatre of Odissa.
dattatreya v. paluskar – A popular and talented vocalist of the last century. Son of V.D. Paluskar.
day, c.r. – Author of “Music and Musical instruments of Southern India and the Deccan” (1891).
dayan – 1) The small wooden right hand drum of the tabla. (more info.) 2) The right hand face of the pakhawaj or similar drum. (more info.)
dedh – Playing 3 strokes over two beats (i.e., 1 1/2 times). (more info.)
deepak – See “dipak”.
deepchandi – See “dipchandi”.
delhi – See “Dilli”.
desh – 1) A land, or country and its people. 2) A popular night-time rag of Hindustani music. (more info.)
desh rag ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Desh. (more info.)
deshakhya – A rare rag,
deshi – 1) Pertaining to the land, country, or its people. 2) A rag. 3) In antiquity, a style of music which arose spontaneously without connection to formal tradition, one in opposition to Margi sangeet. (more info.)
deshi rag ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Deshi. (more info.)
deshi todi – A rag.
deshi nishabd kriya – (Archaic) An ancient concept regarding timekeeping with the hands, performed so that sound was not produced. This was specifically used in the deshi sangeet. (more info.)
deshi sashabd kriya – (Archaic) An ancient concept regarding timekeeping with the hands, performed so that sound was produced (i.e., snapping of fingers, clapping of hands, etc.). This was specifically used in the deshi sangeet. (more info.)
deshi tal – A tal which is of the ordinary material world, opposite of margi tal. (more info.)
deshkar – A rag very similar to Bhupali. (more info.)
deshkar ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Deshkar. (more info.)
dev nagri – (also devnagri) The script in which modern Sanskrit, Marathi, and Hindi are written.
devadatta – The name of the conch shell used by Arjun in the Mahabharat.
devadhwani tal – An obscure tal of 17 beats.
devagandhar tal – An obscure tal of 23 beats.
devagandhari – A rare rag.
devagandhari ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Devagandhari. (more info.)
devaguna tal – An obscure tal of 12 beats.
deval, k. b. – Indian musicologist at the turn of the 20th century.
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devaranjani – A rag.
devasakh – A rare rag.
devgiri bilawal – rag.
devil’s interval – The tritone, or an interval of three whole steps. (i.e. the interval between Sa and tivra Ma).
dey, manna – Noted playback singer of the 20th century. (more info.)
dha – The 6th note of the Indian scale (dhaivat). (more info.)
dhaa – A fundamental bol of both tabla and pakhawaj. (more info.)
dhad – A small waisted drum of the Punjab. (more info.)
dhadhi – A Muslim community of hereditary musicians, generally considered to be low caste.
dhaivat – The sixth note of the scale (Dha). (more info.)
dhak – A drum of Bengal. (more info.)
dhama – 1) An older style left hand drum of the tabla that has an application of flour and water applied to it. 2) The application of flour and water to the left hand playing surface of pakhawaj, old style tabla, or similar drums.
dhamal – 1) A folk dance of Punjab. 2) A folk dance of Andhra Pradesh.
dhamar tal – See “dhammar tal”.
dhammar – An old style of singing, similar to Dhrupad, generally associated with the spring season. (more info.)
dhammar punjabi tal – An obscure tal of 14 beats.
dhammar tal – A 14 matra pakhawaj tal. (more info.)
dhammar tal ki laharen – Laharas in Dhammar Tal. (more info.)
dhammari tal – An obscure tal of 11 1/2 beats.
dhanashri – A rare rag.
dhani – A rare rag.
dhani ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Dhani. (more info.)
dhatu – The various thematic sections of a song ( i.e., Sthai, Antara, Sanchari, and Abhog).
dhi or – A fundamental bol of tabla.
dhin – A fundamental bol of tabla. (more info.)
dhol – A large barrel drum. (more info.)
dholak – A crude folk drum characterized by a cylindrical wooden shell covered with skin on both sides. (more info.)
dholak masala – A paste applied to inner surface of left hand drum skin on many folk drums. (more info.)
dholki – A small folk drum popular in Maharashtra. (more info.)
dhrupad – A classical style of music, once popular but then nearly extinct. Today it is seeing a major resurgence in popularity. (more info.)
dhrupad bani – The various styles of Dhrupad.
dhrupad vani – See “Dhrupad bani”.
dhruva – 1)(Archaic) A type of timekeeping in marg sashabd kriya characterized by the snapping of fingers. (more info.) 2) In the Natyashstra, this is mentioned as the first theme, similar to the modern stahi or pallavi.
dhruva tal – An obscure tal variously considered 11, 14, 21, 23, or 29 beats.
dhruvapada – See “Dhrupad”.
dhumali tal – A variation of kaherava tal.
dhun – 1) A light style of instrumental solo (more info.). 2) A musical religious chant. (more info.)
dhvani – A sound or a voice.
di – 1) A tabla bol of pakhawaj origin.2) A bol describing the picking of sarod or sitar.
diatonic – The state of being characterised by notes whose intervals are whole steps apart. Specifically as being opposed to a chromatic scale. The ten thats of the north Indian system are said to be diatonic.
diggi – A small folk drum. (more info.)
dikshitar – See “Balaswami Dikshitar”.
dilli – Delhi, the present capitol of India.
dilli baj – The style of playing tabla, originally from Delhi, characterized by extensive use of the middle finger and strokes on the rim of the tabla.
dilruba – A bowed instrument with frets like a sitar. (more info.)
dimki – See “gumetta”.
diminished fifth – An interval corresponding to that of Sa and komal Pa. Komal Pa does not exist in mainstream Indian musical theory, but it is a concept that does appear in historical and theoretical discussions. This interval is similar to that of the augmented 4th, but it does represent a different concept.
din – 1) A bol of tabla and pakhawaj. 2) Daytime.
din-chautha-prahar – (lit. “The fourth part of the day”) A period whose exact time is variable, but roughly that of 3:00pm to 6:00pm. It is also called “Sayaankal”.
din-doosra-prahar – (lit. “The second part of the day” A period whose exact time is variable, but roughly that of 9:00am to noon. It is also called “Madhyaanha”.
din-pehla-prahar – (lit. “The first part of the day”) A period whose exact time is variable, but roughly that of 6:00am to 9:00am. It is also called “Purvaanha”.
din-teesra-prahar – (lit. “The third part of the day”) A period whose exact time is variable, but roughly that of noon to 3:00pm. It is also called “Aparaanha”.
dindi – A style of Marathi song known for its narrative quality.
dindigaan – A singer of the dindi style.
dirgha – (lit. “long”) A long note.
dipak – A rag that is supposed to produce fire when sung correctly.
dipchandi tal – A common 14 beat tal. (more info.)
dipchandi tal ki lahren – Laharas in Dipchandi tal. (more info.)
dissonance – Two notes which have complex relationships between their fundamental frequencies such that their juxtaposition produces a jarring, tense, or grating quality. (e.g., Sa-Re, Pa-Dha). (more info.)
ditone – A major 3rd. (i.e., the interval between Sa and Ga.)
dobahar tal – An obscure tal of 13 beats.
doha – In poetry, this is a couplet.
dohara – (lit. “to repeat”) The first variation of the kaida, the one with an AAABAAAB rhyming scheme. (more info.)
dohatthu – A composition where both hands are played on the same drum. (more info.)
dom – A low-caste community of musicians.
dotar – 1) A simple two-stringed instrument played in folk music. (more info.) 2) An instrument similar to rabab played in Bengal. (more info.)
dotara – See “dotar (2)”.
dramyen – A type of rabab played in the folk music of the Indian Himalayan region. (more info.)
drone – A musical note or notes which is sounded continuously. In the case of Indian music this is the “shruti” which usually consists of Sa and Pa, or Sa and Ma. (more info.)
drut – 1) Fast tempo. (more info.) 2) An archaic unit of time equal to two anudrut. (more info.)
duff – See “daf”.
duffli – See “daf”.
dugga – See “dagga”.
dugun – A layakari of 2:1 (i.e., double time). (more info.)
dupalli – 1) In tabla a type of gat where a phrase repeats twice. 2) A type of gat composed of two sections.
daphu – See “daf”.
durat-al-taj – A Persian encyclopedia dating from approximately the 14th century.
durbal – A note of the rag which is weak or subdued.
durga – A common pentatonic rag. (more info.)
durga rag ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Durga. (more info.)
dval – The tasma (lacing) of the tabla.
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