Indian Musical Terms
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary.
half-step – See “semi-tone”.
hamd – An Arabic song in praise of Allah, usually found at the beginning of a qawwali.
hamir – A rag.
hamir ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Hamir. (more info.)
ham-radif – A ghazal which repeats the same words. (more info.)
hamsadhwani – (lit. “the sound of the swan”) – A common rag, originally from the South, but today popular all over India.
hamsadhwani ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Hamsadhwani. (more info.)
hamsakinkini – A rag.
hamsakinkini ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Hamsakinkini. (more info.)
hamsalol tal – An obscure tal of five beats.
hanuman tal – An obscure tal of 22 beats.
haridas swami – See “Swami Haridas”.
harmonium – A small hand-pumped reed-organ. (more info.)
harmonic – 1) A series of frequencies that have an integral relationship (2x, 3x, 4x, etc.) to a fundamental frequency in a musical tone. 2) The component frequencies of a musical tone. (more info.)
harmony – The musical effect (i.e., consonance / dissonance) of two or more notes being played simultaneously. (more info.)
hasya – The humorous or comical emotion, one of the Navaras (nine emotions) behind all art forms. (more info.)
hathodi – The small hammer used to tune the tabla.
haveli sangeet – Devotional classical songs of Vaishanava orientation.
helmholtz – Hermann von Helmoltz (1821-1895) Scientist who worked out the psychoacoustics of musical sounds. (more info.)
hem kalyan – A rare rag.
hem kalyan ke filmi git (more info.)
hemant – A popular rag of Bilawal that.
hemant ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Hemant. (more info.)
hemant kumar – see “Kumar, Hemant”.
hemavati tal – An obscure tal of 21 beats.
heptatonic – A scale composed of 7 notes. (more info.)
hertz – The number of vibrations-per-second. It is generally abbreviated to Hz. (e.g., 1Hz = 1 cycle-per-second). (more info.)
hexatonic – A scale composed of six notes. (more info.)
hijaz – A rare rag.
himangshu tal – An obscure tal of 15 beats.
hamsadhwani – A common rag, originally from the South, but today popular in the North.
hamsakankani – A rare rag.
hamsamanjari – A rare rag.
hamsashree – A rare rag.
hinch – A popular hemiola beat folk tal of Gujarat.
hindi – One of the two major groups of dialects of Hindustani, the other being Urdu.
hindol – A rag.
hindoli – see “Bhinashadaj”
hindustani – Pertaining to the region corresponding to today’s Pakistan and Northern India.
hindustani sangeet – North Indian classical music. (more info.)
hindustani sangeet paddhati – The multi-volume publication on N. Indian music published by V.N. Bhatkhande in the early 20th century. (more info.)
holi – See “dhammar”
hoonkar – Humming
hori – See “dhammar”
humnawa – A group of qawwali musicians.
hussaini kanada – A rare rag.
hz (Hz) – See “Hertz”.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
| THESE BOOKS MAY NOT BE FOR YOU |
|---|
A superficial exposure to music is acceptable to most people; but there is an elite for whom this is not enough. If you have attained certain social and intellectual level, Elementary North Indian Vocal (Vol 1-2) may be for you. This has compositions, theory, history, and other topics. All exercises and compositions have audio material which may be streamed over the internet for free. Are you really ready to step up to the next level? Check your local Amazon. |