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.
jaba– See “jawa”.
jabra – A type of tan.
jaddanbai – Composer, singer, and early film maker at the turn of the 20th century. (more info.)
jagadamba tal – An obscure 19 beat tal.
jagajhampa tal – An obscure 15 beat tal.
jagjit singh – (1941-2011) Stage name for Jagmohan Singh Dhiman, who became very famous for his singing of ghazal.
jagpal tal – An obscure 11 beat tal.
jaidev – See “Jayadeva”.
jaijaivanti – A popular rag.
jaijaivanti ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Jaijaivanti. (more info.)
jaipur – 1) A city in Rajasthan, famous for its arts. 2) A gharana from this city.
jairaj – A rare rag.
jait – A rag
jait kalyan – A rag.
jait kalyan ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Jait Kalyan. (more info.)
jaitshree – A rag.
jalad – Fast tempo. See also “drut”.
jaldhar kedar – A rare rag.
jaltarang – A set of bowls tuned by adding or removing water, hit with small wooden sticks. (more info.)
jamjama – See “zamzama”.
janaka raga – In Carnatic music this is a “parent ragam”. It is a concept somewhat analogous to the concept of “that” in Hindustani music except that it is a fully established rag instead of just a mode.
janasamohini – A rag.
janasamohini ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Janasamohini. (more info.)
jangala – A rare rag.
janya raga – In Carnatic music it is a rag which is derived from a parent raga (janaka raga).
jarab – See “zarab”.
jaspuria – A folk drum of Bengal. (more info.)
jat tal – An obscure tal, variously considered to be 8, 12, or 16 beats.
jat dipchandi – See “dipchandi”.
jati – (lit. “class”, “caste” , or “category”) 1) A class of rhythm. (more info.) 2) The number of notes present in a rag. (more info.) 3) An ancient modal form of singing. (more info.)
jatiswaram – A Carnatic approach to music based upon sargam. This is similar to the North Indian concept af swarmalika.
jaunpuri – A rag.
jaunpuri ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Jaunpuri. (more info.)
java – A coconut shell pluck used to play the sarod.
javali – In Carnatic music this is a light classical form characterised by its romantic nature.
javari – 1) The gentle curve on an otherwise flat bridge. 2) The point in the tanpura where the thread will elicit the maximum amount of overtones (see picture). 3) A broad flattish bridge found in sitars and similar instruments. (more info.)
jaw harp – see “mouth harp”.
jayadeva – The 12th century poet who wrote the Geetagovinda.
jayamangal tal – An obscure tal which some consider 13 beats while others consider 14 beats.
jazbaat – Emotion, sentimentality.
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jet – A rag.
jet kalyan – A rag.
jetshri – A rare rag.
jew’s harp – see “mouth harp”.
jhala – The fast rhythmic style of instrumental music characterized by a constant plucking of drone strings (chikari). (more info).
jhampa tal – An obscure tal variously considered to be 6, 7, 8, 10, or 12 beats.
jhampak tal – An obscure 11 beat tal.
jhanj – A pair of very large manjira (cymbals) used in devotional music. (more info.)
jhaptal – A common tal of 10 beats. (more info.)
jhaptal ki lahren – Laharas in Jhaptal. (more info.)
jhinjhoti – A rag.
jhinjhoti ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Jhinjhoti. (more info.)
jhoomar – A dance of the Mundas and Mahantas of Odissa.
jhoomra – See “jhumra”.
jhorka – A folk drum of northern Bangladesh and India. (more info.)
jhumar – A slow version of bhangra dance performed at weddings and other festive events.
jhumra tal – A tal of 14 beats, used primarily in kheyal. (more info.)
jhumra tal ki laharen – Laharas in Jhumra Tal. (more info.)
jinjhoti – See “jhinjhoti”.
jiva – (lit, “life”)The thread which is placed between the string and the bridge on a tanpura, used to bring the “life” to the sound. (see picture)
jiva swar – A note which is particularly important to bring the “life” to the rag.
jiwarai – see “javari”.
jod – A style of instrumental music characterized by rhythm, but no rhythmic cycle. (more info.)
joda – The two middle strings of the tanpura. So called because they are tuned to the same pitch.
jog – A rag.
jog ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Jog. (more info.)
jogiya – A rag of Bhairavi that.
jogiya ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Jogiya. (more info.)
jogkauns – A rag.
jogkauns ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Jogkauns. (more info.)
jones, sir william – Author of “On the Musical Modes of the Hindus” (1799)
jor – See “jod”.
joralap – See “jod”.
jori – The tabla pair. (more info.)
jugalbandhi – Duet between two similar instruments or vocalists.
julli – A folk dance performed in the Punjab that is done sitting down.
just intonation – A musical scale whose intervals are determined by harmonic relationships between the notes.
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