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Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary.
pa – The fifth note of the Indian scale (pancham).
padhat – See “padhant”.
padhant – In Kathak, the recitation of bols.
padmini – (Archaic) A style of silent timekeeping (deshi nishabd kriya).
pahadi – (lit. “of the hills”) A very light and popular rag.
pakad – (lit. “to catch”) The characteristic movement of a rag. (more info.)
pakhawaj – A barrel shaped drum with playing heads on both sides.
pakhawaji – One who plays the pakhawaj.
palla – A section of the tihai that is repeated three times.
pallavi – The primary theme in Carnatic music, comparable to the Hindustani sthai.
palta – In tabla, a permutation of a kaida.
paluskar – See “Vishnu Digambar Paluskar”.
panch savari tal – See “pancham savari tal”.
pancha mukha vadyam – A very large pot drum with five heads.
pancham – 1) Pa, the fifth note of the scale. 2) A rare rag.
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
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.
paran tal – See “chautal”.
parampara – A lineage, or continuum (e.g., Guru-Shishya-Parampara)
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.
pashupati tal – An obscure tal of 26 beats.
pat tal – An obscure tal in two beats.
patadeep – A rag.
patak – (Archaic) A style of silent timekeeping (deshi nishabd kriya).
patbihag – A rare rag.
patiala gharana – A vocal gharana of Punjab,
patit – (Archaic) A style of silent timekeeping (deshi nishabd kriya).
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.
pehla-prahar – (lit. “first period”) See also “din-pehla-prahar” or “ratri-pehla-prahar.
pena – Bowed folk instrument of Manipur.
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
pepa – A hornpipe of Assam.
peshkar – (lit. “introduction”) An introductory movement similar to kaida but with a different system of permutation.
peshkar kaida – In tabla, a kaida produced by having a peshkar follow a strict kaida format.
phag – Songs and dance from northern India celebrating the month of Phalgun
phara – A folk drum of Kerala.
pick – 1) A plectrum or mizrab used to strike a string. 2) The act of striking a string.
pilu – A very popular rag, generally performed in a very light style.
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.
pital – (lit. “brass”) The brass shell of the bayan.
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. 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).
pudi – A tabla head.
pung – A folk drum of Manipur somewhat reminiscent of a khol.
pungi – A snake charmer’s instrument.
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. 2) An Indo-European language common to the Punjab region of India and Pakistan.
puran tal – An obscure tal of 18 beats.
puriyadhanashri – A very common rag.
puriyakalyan – A rag.
purna tal – An obscure tal of 19 beats.
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)
purvi – A common sunset rag. See also “purbi”.
purvi that– A mode corresponding to Sa Re Ga Má Pa Dha Ni Så.
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.)
pungi – 1) A bin or snake charmers instrument. 2) Any reeded noise-maker.
pythagorean intonation – A type of just intonation.
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