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Glossary L

Indian Musical Terms

by David Courtney working tools


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Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary.

laathi nauch – A folk dance of NE India and Bangladesh.
lachari todi – A rare rag.
ladant – (lit. “fighting”) An interaction between two musicians such that they both assert themselves at the same time.
ladi – In tabla, a type of laggi. (more info.)
ladi kaida – In tabla, a kaida created by having a ladi follow a strict kaida format.
laggi – In tabla, a fast lively style of playing, similar to rela, used in light styles of playing, particularly with bhajans, thumris, gazal, etc. (more info.)
laggi kaida – In tabla, a laggi constructed upon a strict kaida structure.
laghu – An archaic unit of time equal to two drut. (more info.)
laghushekhar tal – An obscure tal of five or seven beats.
lahara – A simple, repetitive melody used to accompany tabla solos and Kathak dance. Sometimes referred to as naghma. (more info.)
lahara peti – A small electronic device which gives laharas for tabla and Kathak practice. (more info.)
lajawanti – A rare rag.
lakadi – (lit. wood) The wooden shell of the tabla. (more info.)
lakhnowi baj – The style of tabla playing originating from Lucknow.
lakshan geet – A style of singing where the lyrics are a description of the rag. (more info.)
lakshanakara – A musicologist.

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lakshmi – Goddess of wealth.
lakshmi kalyan – A rare rag.
lakshmi tal – An obscure tal of 18 or 36 beats.
lakshmi todi – A rare rag.
lalit – A common rag. (more info.)
lalit ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Lalit. (more info.)
lalit gauri – A rare rag.
lalit pancham – A rare rag.
lalkila paran – In tabla, pakhawaj and Kathak, a type of dohatthu which is inspired from nagada.
langalul tal – An obscure tal of 14 beats.
lanka dahan sarang – A rare rag of North India.
lasya – The feminine gentle aspect of dance, as opposed to tandava
lata mangeshkar – See “Mangeshkar, Lata”.
lav – 1) The maidan, or sur. The part of the tabla’s playing surface between the chat (kinar) and the syahi. (more info.) 2) An archaic unit unit of time said to be equal to eight kshan. (more info.)
lavani tal – An eight beat tal.
lay – Tempo. (more info.)
layakari – 1) The relationship between the performed pulse of a composition and the theoretical beat. (more info.) 2) Complex divisions of the beat.
laya-vadya – Rhythmic instruments.
lecchasakh – A rare rag.
lilawati tal – An obscure tal of 13 beats.
linguaphone – Instruments of the jaw harp class. (e.g., gagona of Assam {more info.} or the murchang of South India. {more info.})
lithophone – Instruments made of stones that are struck.
lohati – A tribal drum of Central India. (more info.)
lokmata tal – An obscure tal of 19 beats.
lom-vilom – In tabla, a novel structure which is composed of two parts. The first part being a mirror image of the second. Therefore, the composition is the same whether it is read backwards or forwards. (more info.)
lucknow – 1) A city in northern India. 2) The gharana from this area.
luddi – A very cha­rac­teristic form of Bhangra.
lute – Any instrument where the neck gradually expands to accommodate the resonator. (e.g., sitar, saraswati vina)


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