Indian Musical Terms
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pa – The fifth note of the Indian scale (pancham). (more info.)
padhat – See “padhant”.
padhant – In Kathak, the recitation of bols.
padmini – (Archaic) A style of silent timekeeping (deshi nishabd kriya). (more info.)
pahadi – (lit. “of the hills”) A very light and popular rag. (more info.)
pahadi ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Pahadi. (more info.)
pakad – (lit. “to catch”) The characteristic movement of a rag. (more info.)
pakhawaj – A barrel shaped drum with playing heads on both sides. (more info.)
pakhawaji – One who plays the pakhawaj. (more info.)
palasi – A rag.
palasi ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Palasi. (more info.)
palla – A section of the tihai that is repeated three times. (more info.)
pallavi – The primary theme in Carnatic music, comparable to the Hindustani sthai.
palta – In tabla, a permutation of a kaida. (more info.)
paluskar – See “Vishnu Digambar Paluskar”.
paluskar notation – A system of music notation developed at the turn of the 20th century. (more info.)
panch savari tal – See “pancham savari tal”.
pancha mukha vadyam – A very large pot drum with five heads. (more info.)
pancham – 1) Pa, the fifth note of the scale. (more info.) 2) A rare rag.
pancham savari ki lahren – Laharas in Pancham Savari tal. (more info.)
pancham savari tal – A rare tal of 15 beats.
pancham-se – (lit. “From the note Pa”) A common prefix to a rag name, used by instrumentalists to indicate that it was transposed on their instrument to the Pa fret/string. (more info.)
pancham se gara – A common rag, generally played by instrumentalists.
pancham se pilu – A rag, generally played by instrumentalists.
pancham tal – An obscure tal of 16 beats.
panchashar tal – An obscure tal of 23 beats.
paraj – A rare rag.
paran – In tabla and Kathak, a class of small compositions derived from pakhawaj tradition. (more info.)
paran tal – See “chautal”.
parampara – A lineage, or continuum (e.g., Guru-Shishya-Parampara). (more info.)
paschami baj – The styles of dilli and ajrada gharanas.
pashto – See “pashtu”.
pashtu – A language and culture from an area covering Afghanistan and part of Pakistan. In tabla, it is a 7-beat tal. Some consider this to be mere prakar of rupak while others consider this to be a distinctly separate tal. (more info.)
pashupati tal – An obscure tal of 26 beats.
pat tal – An obscure tal in two beats.
patak – (Archaic) A style of silent timekeeping (deshi nishabd kriya). (more info.)
patbihag – A rare rag.
patdeep – A rag.
patdeep ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Patdeep. (more info.)
patiala gharana – A vocal gharana of Punjab,
patit – (Archaic) A style of silent timekeeping (deshi nishabd kriya). (more info.)
patmanjari – A rare rag.
paune dugan – The division of four beats into seven equal parts. (more info.)
pavri – See “tarpa”.
payal – An ornamental form of ghungharu, usually of made of silver, and used as a form of jewelry. (more info.)
peelu – See “Pilu”
pehla-prahar – (lit. “first period”) See also “din-pehla-prahar” or “ratri-pehla-prahar.
pempa – A hornpipe of Assam. (more info.)
pena – Bowed folk instrument of North East India. (more info.)
pench – (lit. “coil” or “screw”) 1) In tabla, a type of palta or variation in a kaida formed by the repetition of the first line three times. 2) Any palta.
pentatonic – A scale composed of 5 notes. (See also “Audav”)
pepa – A hornpipe of Assam. (more info.)
pepati – see “pepa”
peshkar – (lit. “introduction”) An introductory movement similar to kaida but with a different system of permutation. (more info.)
peshkar kaida – In tabla, a kaida produced by having a peshkar follow a strict kaida format.
peti – The harmonium. (more info.)
phag – Songs and dance from northern India celebrating the month of Phalgun.
phara – A folk drum of Kerala. (more info.)
pick – 1) A plectrum or mizrab used to strike a string. 2) The act of striking a string.
piloo – See “Pilu”
pilu – A very popular rag, generally performed in a very light style. (more info.)
pilu ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Pilu. (more info.)
pipilika yati – (lit. “the movement of an ant”) An ancient rhythmic form characterized by sudden and apparently erratic changes in tempo. This derives its name because such sudden changes are characteristic of the movement of an ant.
Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary.
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pital – (lit. “brass”) The brass shell of the bayan. (more info.)
plectrum – A pick or mizraab.
plut – An archaic unit of time equal to three laghu. (more info.)
prabandha – An style of singing that is older than the Dhrupad. It is not performed today.
prabhat – A rare rag.
prabhatkiran tal – An obscure tal of 11 beats.
pradeepki – A rare rag.
prahar – A unit of time approximately three hours in length.
prakar – Different varieties of theka. (more info.)
praman tal – An obscure tal in 17 beats.
prasad – Food offered to god.
prastar – 1) In tabla, permutations upon a kaida or given theme. (more info.) 2) For the raga it is an algorithmic approach to generating permutations and arrangements of notes.
pratap shikhar tal – An obscure tal of 13 or 17 beats.
prath kaal – Mid-morning
prati tal – An obscure tal of eight beats.
pravesh – (Archaic) A style of silent timekeeping (marg nishabd kriya). (more info.)
pudi – A tabla head. (more info.)
pung – A folk drum of Manipur somewhat reminiscent of a khol. (more info.)
pungi – 1) A bin or snake charmers instrument. (more info.) 2) Any reeded noise-maker.
punjab – 1) An area along the border between India and Pakistan. 2) The gharana from this area.
punjabi – (lit. “from Punjab”) 1) A 16 beat tal similar to Tintal, often referred to as Sitarkhani. (more info.) 2) An Indo-European language common to the Punjab region of India and Pakistan.
puran tal – An obscure tal of 18 beats.
puriya dhanashri – A very common rag.
puriya dhanashri ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Puria Dhanashri. (more info.)
puriya kalyan – A rag.
purna tal – An obscure tal of 19 beats.
purna tal ki laharen – Laharas in Purna tal. (more info.)
purb kalyan – A rag.
purbi – (lit. “Eastern”) The style of playing in the Farukhabad, Lucknow, and Benares traditions. See also “purvi”.
purva – A very rare rag.
purvang – The lower tetrachord (i.e., Sa Re Ga Ma). (more info.)
purvi – A common sunset rag. (more info.) See also “purbi”.
purvi ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Purvi. (more info.)
purvi that– A mode corresponding to Sa Re Ga Má Pa Dha Ni Så. (more info.)
purya – A rare rag.
puryadhanashri – A common rag.
putra rag – In the ancient rag / ragini system a putra rag is the son-rag. (more info.)
pythagorean intonation – A type of just intonation.
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