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Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary.
ma – The fourth note of the Indian scale (madhyam).
madal – A folk drum of central India of the mridang class.
madan tal – An obscure tal of three or 12 beats.
madar – A folk drum of central India of the mridang class.
madanti – In the 22 shruti system Madanti is the first shruti of Dhaivat.
madhmad sarang – A rag.
madhukant – A rare rag.
madhukauns – A rag of Kafi that.
madhumalati tal – An obscure tal of 16 beats.
madhura – The first shruti of Rishabh in the old 22 shruti system.
madhura dhwani – Another name for Rag Durga.
madhuri – A rare rag of Khammaj that.
madhuvanti – A rag.
madhya lay – Medium tempo. (more info.)
madhya saptak – The middle octave.
madhyam – The fourth note of the scale (Ma).
madhyamad sarang – A rag of Hindustani sangeet.
madhyamagrama – (archaic) A parent scale from which numerous jatis (modal forms) were derived.
magadi vina – A simple stick zither.
magadh tal – An obscure tal of 23 beats.
magudhi – Another name for the pungi (snake charmer’s instrument.)
maha tal – A non-standard name for tintal.
mahaadi lay – Double tempo of adi lay. (i.e., tigun) (more info.)
mahabiadi lay – Double tempo of biadi lay. (more info.)
mahakuadi lay – Double tempo of kuadi lay. (more info.)
mahalingam, t.r. – (1926-1966) Affectionately known as “mali”, he was a very famous artist on the South Indian flute known as venu.
mahanat tal – An obscure tal of 14 or 16 beats.
maharashtra – A state in western India
mahasen tal – An obscure tal of 20 beats.
mahavraj tal – An obscure tal variously considered to be of 8, 12 or 20 beats.
mahesh tal – An obscure tal of nine beats.
mahfil – A gathering, usually for poetry or music.
maidan – The main resonating membrane of tabla or pakhawaj.
maihar gharana – An illustrious gharana of instrumentalists that include such greats as Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, and Baba Allaudin Khan.
major fourth – An interval of two-and-half steps corresponding to the interval between Sa and shuddha Ma. In Western music it is fixed at 500 cents but in Indian music it is variable.
major scale – The shuddha-swar-saptak of Hindustani sangit (i.e., Bilawal that)
major second – see “whole-tone”.
major sixth – An interval of four-and-half steps corresponding to the interval between Sa and shuddha Dha. In Western music it is fixed at 900 cents but in Indian music it is variable.
major seventh – An interval of five-and-half-steps corresponding to the interval between Sa and shuddha Ni. In Western music it is fixed at 1100 cents but in Indian music it is variable.
major third – An interval of 2-steps corresponding to the interval between Sa and shuddha Ga. In Western music it is fixed at 400 cents but in Indian music it is variable.
makarandakirti tal – An obscure tal of 17 beats.
makta – See “maqta”.
malarani – A rare rag.
malayalam – A Dravidian language found in the South Indian state of Kerala.
malgunji – A rag from Kafi that.
mali – The nickname for the late venu player T.R. Mahalingam.
maligaura – A rare rag.
malin – A rare rag.
malkauns – A very common pentatonic rag.
malkaush – See “malkauns”
malla tal – An obscure tal, some say of 21 beats, others say 13.
mallikatamode tal – An obscure tal of 16 beats.
malshree – A rare rag.
malvi – A rare rag.
manarang – The pen name for Bhupat Khan of the Gwalior gharana.
mand – A popular rag of Bilawal that.
mandra – The name of the lowest pitched string of a tanpura.
mandra sadhana – Vocal exercises designed to increase the range and clarity of the lower octave.
mandra saptak – The lower octave.
mangalam – In Carnatic performances it is a concluding item.
mani tal – An obscure 11 beat tal.
manipuri – A classical dance style from the North-Eastern state of Manipur.
manjira – Small cymbals.
manjh – A popular raga.
manohar – A rare rag.
manqabat – A song in praise of Imam Ali or some saint.
manmath tal – An obscure tal of 20 beats.
mansij tal – An obscure tal of 21 beats.
manthika tal – An obscure tal of 13 beats.
mantra – A short phrase or syllables which is repeated over long periods, said to have certain spirtitual benefits.
maqta – The final couplet in a ghazal, which contains the poet’s nom de plume
marathi – An Indo-European language common in the state of Maharashtra.
marg – (Archaic) 1) Describing the music of the gandharvas or celestial beings. (more info.) 2) An ancient concept regarding the pauses between the beats. (more info.) There were four types of marg: dhruva marg, chitra marg, vartik marg, and dakshan marg. marg nishabd kriya – An ancient concept regarding timekeeping with the hands, performed so that sound was not produced. This was specifically used in the marg sangeet.
marg sashabd kriya -(Archaic) An ancient concept regarding timekeeping with the hands, performed so that sound was produced (e.g., snapping of fingers, clapping of hands etc.). This was specifically used in the marg sangeet.
marg tal – (Archaic) A tal of the celestial beings, opposite of deshi tal.
marg todi – A rare rag.
marichi tal – An obscure tal of 26 beats.
marsiya – A qawwali lamenting the death of Imam Hussain.
maru bihag – A common rag.
marwa – A common rag.
marwa that – A mode composed of Sa Re Ga Má Pa Dha Ni Så.
masit khan – Grand-son of Tansen.
masitkhani gat – A slow form played by sitar, sarod, santur and other instruments.
matang – The author of the Brihaddeshi, the first to mention the term “rag”.
mathuri – A folk dance of Andhra Pradesh.
mathya tal – An obscure tal variously considered to be 8, 10, or 16 beats.
matka – A small earthen-ware pot played in Punjabi folk music, comparable to the south Indian ghatam.
matla – The first couplet of a ghazal.
matra – The beat. (more info.)
matt gayand tal – An obscure tal of 19 beats.
matt tal – An obscure tal of nine or 18 beats.
mattavijay tal – An obscure tal of 13 beats.
mattha – A particular school of thought, usually in reference to particular approaches to Hinduism.
mayur tal – An obscure tal of 17 beats.
mayuri vina – See “Taus”.
meend – A slide.
meera – See “Mira”.
megh malhar – A rag which is associated with the rainy season.
meghranjani – A rare rag.
mehafil – A small gathering of connoisseurs for a musical performance.
mela – 1) A fair. 2) The south Indian equivalent of That.
melakarta – The south Indian system of organising ragas into 72 modes.
melam – The frets on the south Indian vina.
membranophone – Drums that have skin or other membranes. (e.g., tabla, mridangam, dholak, daf).
mian ki – An expression prepended to a raga name to indicate that it was originated by Mian Tansen. (e.g., mian ki todi, mian ki malhar.)
mian ki malhar – A rainy season rag.
mian ki sarang – A Hindustani rag.
mian ki todi – A morning rag of todi that.
mind – See “meend”.
minor scale – In Western music, any of a variety of scales not corresponding to the major scale (i.e., anything other than bilawal that)
minor second – See “semi-tone”.
minor seventh – An interval of 5 whole steps corresponding to the interval between Sa and komal Ni. In Western music it is fixed at 1000 cents but in Indian music it is variable.
minor sixth – An interval of 4 whole steps corresponding to the interval between Sa and komal Dha. In Western music it is fixed at 800 cents but in Indian music it is variable.
minor third – An interval of one-and-half steps corresponding to the interval between Sa and komal Ga. In Western music it is fixed at 300 cents but in Indian music it is variable.
mira – A great woman saint.
mira malhar – A rare rag.
miras – Inheritance or heritage.
mirasi – A low caste Muslim community of hereditary musicians.
mishra – See “misra”.
misra – (lit. “mixed”) The performance of a rag that has other rags mixed in for effect.
misra jati – Any rhythm based upon 1 3/4, 3 1/2, 7, 14, etc. beats. (more info.)
mithilesh tal – An obscure tal of 20 beats.
mitti bayan – A bayan made of clay.
miyan ki malhar – A rag.
miyan ki sarang – A rare rag.
miyan ki todi – a common rag.
mizhavu – A pot drum of Kerala.
mizrab – A pick worn on the finger to play sitar.
mnemonic syllables – See “bol”.
mode – That (thaat). (more info.)
modulation -1) The bending of pitch that occurs on the left hand of the tabla, used for artistic effect. 2) In Western music, it is the sudden shift of the tonic within a performance. 3) murcchana
mohan tal – An obscure tal of 12 beats.
mokti – A very rare rag.
mohammad shah rangila – (1702-1748) 13th moghul emperor who was a great lover of the arts.
mohani tal – An obscure tal of three beats.
mohara – In tabla, a short composition with a tihai which ends on sam.
mohini attam – The feminine dance form of Kerala.
mouth harp – A jew’s harp. In India this would be either a gagona of Assam or more commonly the murchang found in South India.
mridang – Any two-headed barrel shaped drum of the pakhawaj variety.
mridanga yati – An ancient rhythmic form which begins slow, becomes fast towards the middle and again becomes slow towards the end.
mridangam – A south Indian mridang.
mudra – (lit. “stamp”) 1) Hand gestures which refer to definite things (e.g., flags, the moon, lion’s head), often used in dance as an aid to narration. 2) The insertion of an author’s pen-name in a composition.
mukhada – in tabla and vocal, a very small phrase or composition ending on sam. For the tabla, it may or may not have a tihai.
mukhavina – A smaller version of the nadaswaram
mukheda – See “mukhada”.
mulha kedar – A rare rag.
multani – 1) A common rag. 2) A community from the city of Multan.
munajaat – A type of qawwali.
mundi – A term use by Banarasi musicians to indicate khali.
murali – A flute.
murcchana – Modulation, or the process of deriving a new melodic mode by shifting the tonic of an existing mode.
murchang – A jew’s harp.
murki – A small ornamentation of the notes.
mushtaq hussain khan – (1878-1964) A noted performer of the Rampur gharana.
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