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Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary.
b (B) – See also “safed saat”). A pitch of the Western scale. Depending upon which octave one is considering, it may have the frequency of: 30.87Hz, 61.74Hz, 123.47Hz, 246.94Hz, 493.88Hz, 987.77Hz, 1975.53Hz, 3951.07Hz, or 79.02.13Hz.
b# (B#) – See “B-sharp”.
bb (Bb) – B-flat. See also “A-sharp”.
b-flat – See also “kali panch”, or A-sharp”.
b-sharp – This has a significance in Western musical theory, but is completely irrelevant to Indian music. B-sharp is just another name for C.
baaj – See “baj”.
baaz – See “baj”.
bada kheyal – (lit. “large”). The slow movement of a kheyal.
bade ghulam ali khan – (1902-1968) Famous vocalist of the Patiala gharana, famous for his thumris.
badhat – A detailed and deliberate development of the rag.
badhi – The tasma (lacing) of the tabla or pakhawaj.
badi savari tal – An obscure tal of 16 beats.
bageshwari – A Hindustani night-time rag, belonging to Kafi that.
bagurumba – A folk dance from Assam.
bahadur shah zafar – A great poet who was the last Mughal emperor.
bahaduri todi – A rare rag of Todi that, generally played in the morning.
bahand – See “bhand”.
bahar – 1) A very popular spring-time rag of Kafi that. 2) The major body of a ghazal.
baiju bawara – (1486-1526) Famous Dhrupad singer in the court of the Raja Man Singh Tomar.
baj – A style of playing an instrument such as tabla and sitar (i.e., Dilli baj, Ajrada baj, etc.).
baj ka tar – (A.K.A. “baaj taar”) The main playing string on a stringed instrument.
bakshu naik – Famous singer in the court of Gwalior in the early 16th century.
bal – In tabla, a palta or permutation of rela or kaida.
bal gandharva – See “Gandharva, Bal”.
balasaraswati – A South Indian version of a taus or mayuri veena.
balaswami dikshitar – (1786-1858) Famous South Indian musician and composer.
banam – A bowed folk instrument of N. India and Bangladesh.
bana – See “pena”.
banarasi baj – A style of playing tabla originating in Benares, often considered synonymous to purbi baj.
band – (lit. “closed”.) In tabla or pakhawaj, the non-resonant strokes such as Te, Ka, Kat, Tak, etc.
bandish – A composition or fixed musical piece.
bangal bhairav – A rare rag.
bani – 1) A style of singing or performing (e.g. “dhrupad bani”). 2) The hymns or songs of great saints (e.g., “Gurbani”) 3) Some intelligible resonance, message, or sound (i.e. “vani”).
banjo – See “bulbul tarang”. This instrument should not be confused with the American banjo.
bansi – Corruption of bansuri (bamboo flute).
bansuri – A bamboo flute.
bant – 1) Another name for kaida. 2) A way of dividing or apportioning words or swars in a song.
banti – Another name for kaida.
barabar lay – 1) Thah or single time. (more info.) 2) Playing in chaturstra jati (i.e., 1/2 time, single time, double time, etc.)(This second definition is subject to the context. In many situations this might be stretching the definition a bit.)
barhams sarang – a rare rag.
barkat ali – Famous singer of the 20th century, who was the younger brother of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.
basant – (lit. “spring”) A common spring-time rag of Purvi that.
basant mukhari – A rag.
basant tal – An obscure tal of nine or 18 beats.
basant shikhir tal – An obscure tal of 26 beats.
bastani – In the old days this was a sling in which tabla, sarangi or some other instrument was placed. In this manner the instrument could be played while walking or standing.
bathakamma – A folk dance of Andhra Pradesh.
baul – 1) A state of spiritual ecstasy practiced by a sect of wandering minstrels of Bengal. 2) A sect of wandering minstrels of Bengal.
bayalata – An open air theatre of Karnataka.
bayan – The large metal left hand drum.
baz bahadur – A famous musician in the court of Akbar, who was the erstwhile Sultan of Malwa (16th century).
bazm – A mehafil, or small gathering for a performance.
bedum tihai – A tihai in which the three sections are not separated by a pause.
beebhatshya – See “vibhatsa”.
been – See “bin”.
been-sitar – A very rare instrument which is a cross between a bin and a sitar.
beenkar – 1) One who plays the bin. 2) The lineage of Naubat Khan, the son-in-law- of Tansen.
begum akhtar – (1914-1974) A very great singer of the 20th century who was famous for her gazals and thumris.
beher – The meter or poetic form of the lyrics in a song or poem.
behla – A violin (possibly a corruption of “viola”).
benares – A city in North India. A gharana from that city.
bengal – A region covering the Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh.
bengali – 1) An Indo-European language common to the Bengal region.
beroza – See “biroza”.
besur – (lit. “without musical pitch”) – Out of tune.
betal – (lit. “without rhythm”) To be out of rhythm, or tal.
bhadaua daadra tal – An obscure tal of six beats.
bhagavan tal – An obscure tal of 17 beats.
bhagn tal – An obscure tal of 23 beats.
bhai – (lit. “brother”) See “guru bhai”.
bhairav – A very common morning rag of north India. In South India this scale is known as Mayamalavagaula, and is considered to be the “natural scale”. In the West it is commonly referred to as “Arabic minor”.
bhairav tal – An obscure pakhawaj tal of 22 beats.
bhairav that – A mode based upon Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Så.
bhairavi – A common morning rag.
bhairavi that – A mode based upon Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Så.
bhajan – A Hindu religious song.
bhakti – Devotion to god.
bhand – A community in northern India, Nepal, and Bangladesh who have traditionally specialised in street theatre.
bhangra – A folk dance from the Northwest Indian state of Punjab.
bhankhar – A rare rag.
bhanumati tal – An obscure pakhawaj tal of 11 beats.
bhayanik – The emotion of fear or terror, one of the Navaras (nine emotions) behind all art forms.
bharan – In tabla, it is a filler. Something of little theoretical importance used to fill up a certain number of beats.
bharata – (4th BCE) Author of the Natyashastra.
bharatnatyam – A classical dance form of South India.
bhargavi tal – An obscure tal of 22 beats.
bhari – (lit. “full”) 1) Clapped, see “tali”. 2) A section of tabla performance which is characterized by open strokes.
bhasha – 1) Language (e.g., Brijbhasha) 2) ) One of the Margi ragas described by Sarangdev in his “Sangit Ratnakar” (13th century).
bhaskar bua bhakhle – (1869-1936) Famous Hindustani vocalist at the turn of the 20th century.
bhatkhande – See “Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande”.
bhatiyar – A common rag.
bhatkhande paddhati – The theoretical and notational system of Bhatkhande.
bhava – Emotional content.
bhava bhatta – A musical scholar of the 17th century.
bhavani – A common rag.
bhendi bazaar gharana – A vocal gharana of Bombay (Mumbai).
bhimpilasi – A common afternoon rag of Kafi that.
bhinashadaj – A rag.
bhojpuri – A major dialect of Hindi.
bhrang tal – An obscure tal of 15 beats.
bhrangi tal – An obscure tal of 16 beats.
bhumika – An opening phrase for tabla solos used in the purbi styles.
bhupal todi – A rag.
bhupali – A very common pentatonic rag, said to belong to Kalyan that.
biadi lay – Playing in misra jati (i.e., 1 3/4 times, 3 1/2 times, or seven times.) See also “paune duggan”. (more info.)
bihag – A common rag.
bihagara – A rare rag.
bihu – A folk dance from Assam.
bijnor brothers – The originators of the Bhendi Bazaar gharana.
bilahairi tal – An unusual tal of 91/4 beats.
bilas khan – A famous dhrupad singer in the court of Shah Jahan (17th century).
bilaskhani todi – A rag
bilawal – A common rag.
bilawal that – A mode corresponding to the Western major scale (i.e., Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Så).
bin – 1) A vina, specifically Rudra vina. 2) (Incorrectly) A snake charmers instrument.
binkar – See “beenkar”.
biradari – (lit. “brotherhood”) The relationship that exists between musicians of the same gharana.
biroza – Rosin, used to rub on the hair of a bow for sarangi, dilruba, or any other bowed instrument.
bismillah khan – A famous artist on the shehnai.
black five – A-sharp (B-flat), so called because it is the fifth black key of the octave on the harmonium.
black four – G-sharp (A-flat), so called because it is the fourth black key of the octave on the harmonium.
black one – C-sharp (D-flat), so called because it is the first black key of the octave on the harmonium.
black three – F-sharp (G-flat), so called because it is the third black key of the octave on the harmonium.
black two – D-sharp (E-flat), so called because it is the second black key of the octave on the harmonium.
bol – The mnemonic syllabi of tabla, sitar, or other instrument. (more info.)
bol-bant – A method of dividing the lyrics of a Dhrupad to clarify the meaning.
bol paran – A type of composition (tabla, pakhawaj or Kathak) whose syllabi are actually words.
bol tan – A tan (fast run) that is based upon the lyrics of the song.
bollywood – The culture, dance, song, or style of the Hindi film.
bombashi – A fipple flute of Bangladesh.
brahma – The supreme creator (God).
brahma tal – An obscure tal either of 14 or 28 beats.
brahma vina – An instrument of the 14th century, believed to be similar to a tanpura.
brahmayog tal – An obscure tal of 15 or 18 beats.
braj bhasha – A literary dialect of Hindi originating in the Braj (Vraj) region of Northern India.
brihaddeshi – An ancient musical text written by Matang (5th century).
brihaspathi – An ancient sage who was said to be an expert on music.
brindavani sarang – A popular rag.
budike – See “gummeta”.
bulbul tarang – (lit. “waves of nightingales”) A plucked hurdy-gurdy.
bundu khan – A famous sarangi player of the early 20th century.
burra katha dimki – See “gumetta”.
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