12 MUSICAL FORMS OF HINDUSTANI CLASSICAL MUSIC - FSM BUDDY

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12 MUSICAL ELEMENTS OF HINDUSTANI CLASSICAL MUSIC
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Introduction

• The beauty of our Indian culture is entrenched
  within the art of Hindustani Classical Music that
  displays the rich cultural grandeur of our
  country.
• At Furtados School of Music, we aspire to exalt
  the essence of Hindustani music vocals, an
  integral part of Indian culture.
• Hindustani music classes are ideal opportunity
  for every passionate artist to dive into the
  world of classical music.
• Under the guidance of dignified music educators,
  students will be introduced to the twelve
  distinct forms of Hindustani music that form the
  foundation of Hindustani vocals.

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Khayal

• Khayal is a Hindustani musical form that
  encapsulates the essence of romantic poetry by
  allowing the vocalist to dive into his creative
  genius by artistically demonstrating his
  imaginative prowess.
• It finds its roots in the Persian/Arabic word
  meaning imagination.
• It gives the performer the freedom to eloquently
  express himself through extensively ornamented
  ragas, which calls for more technical deftness
  and intellectual artistry.

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Dhrupad

• The oldest surviving musical form of Hindustani
  music is derived from dhruva-pada which means
  refrain.
• It is introduced by a somber and controlled set
  of recurrent syllables, Alap, emphasizes purity
  and clarity within each classical note, fiercely
  extolled by the vocalist.
• Dhrupad is monophonic and modal, with a single
  melodic line and no harmonic parts.
• Performed by a solo singer or a small group of
  singers in unison, to the beat of a barrel drum,
  mridangam, or pakhawaj, and can be accompanied by
  a sitar.
• The songs are highly devotional in nature and are
  used as a meditative tool to attain
  self-realization.

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Dhamar

• The classical art form of Dhamar has a lot of
  similarities to dhrupad.
• It is additionally a compositional structure like
  Dhrupad which is sung to the backup of Pakhawaj.
• Its themes are in accordance with reverential
  obeisance towards Lord Krishna and the festival
  of Holi.
• It is typically performed in dhamar tala of
  fourteen beats.

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Tappa

• Tappa, one of the Hindustani music forms, is said
  to have its origins in the songs of the camel
  drivers from Punjab.
• It espouses ideas pertaining to love, separation,
  and union which are intricately woven with the
  soulful symphonies that display dramatic twists
  and turns on vowels and consonants.
• The unpredictable quality of these melodic
  patterns is created by the quicksilver taans or
  swift phrases.
• Tappas are set to taals like Punjabi, Pashto, and
  Sitarkhani, and other compositions that
  elaborately display rhythmic dexterity in the
  realm of creating a melodic-rhythmic tension.
• Tappas has been primarily presented by Gwalior
  and Banaras Gharana vocalists.

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Tarana

• This form of Hindustani music perfectly captures
  a vocalists urge to dive into the soulful
  essence of instrumental music.
• It uses syllables like dere, naa, deem, tana, and
  pakhawaj syllables.
• Therefore, these syllables are used to voice a
  musical narrative that is imbued with melody and
  rhythm that unburdens an artist from the
  restrictions posed by literal language.

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Thumri

• It is derived from the Hindi verb thumakna, which
  means "to walk with dancing steps so as to make
  the ankle-bells tinkle."
• This artistic form thereby represents the art of
  sensuality within classical dance forms along
  with dramatic gestures that are infused in
  evocative love poetry and folk songs.
• Thumri texts are highly romantic or devotional in
  nature which portrays greater flexibility within
  the raga.

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Hori

• This musical form is semi-classical in nature
  that can be beautifully adorned with a Bhairavi
  or a Thumri.
• It comes in a series of season songs, like
  Chaiti, Sawani, and Kajari
• It is traditionally sung in the villages and
  towns of Uttar Pradesh around Banaras, Mirzapur,
  Mathura, Allahabad, and the Bhojpur regions of
  Bihar.

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Bhajan

• The musical form of Bhajan upholds reverential
  attributes of Hindustani music that extols
  religious themes or spiritual ideas within the
  Indian subcontinent.
• It does not follow a prescribed pattern and is
  based on melodic ragas.
• It perfectly captures the ideas from scriptures,
  legendary epics, the teachings of saints, and an
  intense feeling of devotional longing towards a
  deity.

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Dadara

• It is a light classical vocal form that comprises
  a Hindustani classical tala
• This is a rhythmic cycle consisting of six beats
  in two equal divisions of three.
• The most commonly accepted theka or basic
  pattern for this tala is dha dhi na, dha tu na.
• It is mostly performed in Agra and in the
  Bundelkhand region.

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Chaiti

• Chaiti is a semi-classical song sung during the
  month of Chait.
• These songs are rendered during the Holy month of
  Sri Rama Navami and fall under the light
  classical form of Hindustani classical music.
• It comes in the series of seasonal songs, like
  Kajari, Hori, and Sawani, and is traditionally
  sung in the villages and towns of Uttar Pradesh.

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Chaturanga Trivat

• Trivat and chaturanga are compositions that
  combine multiple styles of vocalization.
• A trivat is a combination of three styles, while
  a chaturanga is a combination of four styles.
• The styles entail meaningful lyrics, wordless
  syllables as in a tarana, sol-fa syllables
  (called sargam), and vocal recitation of pakhavaj
  compositions (padhant).
• All or several of these are combined together and
  set to melody following the rules of raga and
  rhythm.

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