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.
ra – A bol for tabla, sitar, sarod or other instrument.
raas – A folk dance from Gujarat.
rabab – 1) A class of stringed instrument similar to sarod. 2) The common name for the kabuli rabab (more info.)
rababiya – One who plays rabab.
rabindranath tagore – See “Tagore, Rabindranath”
radif – The repeated words of a ghazal. (more info.)
rafi, mohammad – Noted playback singer of the 20th century. (more info.)
rag – The Indian musical modes. (more info.)
rag / ragini – An archaic approach to the categorisation of rags based upon mythical familial relations between the anthropomorphised representations of rags. (more info.)
raga – See “rag”.
ragdarpan – A 17th century work on music written by Faqir Allah (a.k.a., Faqir-ullah).
rageshri – A popular rag. (more info.)
rageshri ke filmi git – Film songs in rag Rageshri. (more info.)
rageshwari – See “rageshri”
ragi – The cantor in a Sikh Gudwara.
ragini – A female rag. (more info.)
ragmala – 1) A style of performance where numerous different rags are joined together. 2) A style of painting based upon the characterization of the various rags. (more info.)
raja man singh – Maharaja of Gwalior who was a great patron of the arts.
rajab ali khan – (1874-1959) A great vocalist of the turn of the 20th century.
rajamandit tal – An obscure tal of 14 beats.
rajasingh tal – An obscure tal of 40 beats.
rajeshwari – A popular rag.
rajkalyan – A rare rag.
rajnarayan tal – An obscure tal of 28 beats.
ramamatya – South Indian musicologist of the 16th century.
ramdasi malhar – A rare rag.
ramkali – A rag.
rampur gharana – An offshoot of the Gwalior gharana.
rang tal – An obscure tal of 16 beats.
rang pravesham – The first performance of a musician or dancer marking their transition from student to full fledged artist. See also “arrangetram”.
rangile gharana – Another name for Agra gharana.
rangoli – 1) The decorative patterns drawn on the ground in front of the doorsteps of traditional Hindu families. 2) The powder used to draw the patterns.
rao – In tabla a rela-like style that accompanies instrumental jhala.
ras tal – An obscure tal of 13 beats.
raschandra – A rare rag.
rasika – A lover of music and the arts.
rasiya – 1) A seeker of pleasure. 2) A rare rag. (more info.)
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raskhan – Pen-name for Sayed Ibrahim Khan (1548-1628) who, in spite of his Islamic background, was a devotee of Krishna and composed numerous devotional dohas.
rasoolan bai – (1902-1974) A great vocalist who specialised in thumri, tappa, and dadra.
rasranjani – A rare rag.
rassi – The rope lacing on the dholak. (more info.)
ratanjankar, s.n. – (1899-1974) A famous vocalist, musicologist, and scholar.
rati tal – An obscure tal of 12 beats.
ratri – Night.
ratri-chautha-prahar – (lit. “fourth part of the night”) A period whose exact time is variable, but roughly that of 3:00am to 6:00am. It is also called “Usha”.
ratri-doosra-prahar – (lit. “second part of the night”) A period whose exact time is variable, but roughly that of 9:00pm to midnight. It is also called “Nishitha”.
ratri-pehla-prahar – (lit. “first part of the night”) A period whose exact time is variable, but roughly that of 6:00pm to 9:00pm. It is also called “Pradosha”.
ratri-teesra-prahar – (lit. “third part of the night”) A period whose exact time is variable, but roughly that of midnight to 3:00am. It is also called “Triyaamaa”.
raudra – The emotion of anger, one of the Navaras (nine emotions) behind all art forms. (more info.)
ravanhath – See “ravanhasta”
ravanhasta – Bowed folk instrument of Rajasthan. (more info.)
ravi shankar – Sitarist at the end of the 20th century who was greatly responsible for popularising Indian classical music abroad. (more info.)
ravinandani tal – An obscure tal of 14 beats.
rayabank tal – An obscure tal of 24 beats.
razakhani gat – A fast gat played by instruments such as sitar or sarod.
rd burman – See “Burman, Rahul Dev”.
re – the second note of the Indian scale (rishabh). (more info.)
register – A span of notes. Usually it is expressed as an octave (see “saptak”), but it can also be expressed as a tetrachord (see “ang #2”).
rela – A very fast manipulation of small structures. (more info.)
reva – a rare rag.
revati – A rare rag.
ri – A tabla bol.
riaz – See “riyaz”.
rigveda – One of the Vedas, considered to be the oldest musical text. (more info.)
rishabh – The second note of the scale (Re). (more info.)
riyaz – Perseverance, practice, dedication.
roshanara begum – (1917-1982) A famous vocalist of the Kirana gharana.
rudra tal – An obscure tal variously considered to be 11, 15, 16, or 17 beats.
rudra vina – An ancient vina composed of a single stick with two gourd resonators. (more info.)
rupak tal – A common seven beat tal with uncommon variations of 5, 6, 9 or 11 beats. (more info.)
rupak tal ki lahren – Laharas in Rupak tal. (more info.)
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