Glossary

189 terms, from A to Z, with the Sanskrit or Tamil spelling where it helps.

Filter terms

A

Accompanist: A musician who supports the main performer, for example the violinist or the drummer in a vocal concert. See also: Pakka vadya
Achala swara · acala svara: A 'fixed' note: Sa and Pa never change their pitch from raga to raga. All the other notes have variants.
Adhara Shadja · ādhāra ṣaḍja: The base Sa of a performance: the pitch the performer picks for Sa, to which the drone is tuned. See also: Shruti,Drone
Adi tala · ādi tāḷa: The most common tala: eight beats in the pattern laghu, drutam, drutam (I4 O O). It is Triputa tala in the four-beat (chatusra) jati. See also: Triputa tala
Akshara · akṣara: The basic counting unit of a tala: one beat of the cycle. A tala is described by how many aksharas it has. See also: Avarta
Alankaram · alaṅkāra: A set of note patterns, each fitted to a different tala, used as a training exercise after the first lessons.
Alapana · ālāpana: A slow, free exploration of a raga with no fixed beat and no composed words, in which the performer builds the raga phrase by phrase. See also: Manodharma,Tanam
Amsa swara · aṃśa svara: In older theory, the 'dominant' note of a raga, the one around which the raga is organised. See also: Jiva swara
Anagata eduppu: Starting a composition a little after the first beat (sama) of the tala, the reverse of atita eduppu. Check with your teacher, since sources here are informal. See also: Eduppu
Anga · aṅga: A section of a tala, made of one or more aksharas. The three common angas are laghu, drutam and anudrutam.
Antara Gandhara (G3) · antara gāndhāra: The highest Ga, four semitones above Sa. It has no shared name. See also: Gandhara (Ga)
Anubandham · anubandham: An optional short epilogue sometimes found at the end of older varnams. See also: Varnam
Anudrutam · anudruta: An anga marked U: always one beat, a single clap. See also: Laghu
Anupallavi · anupallavi: The second section of a kriti, which follows the pallavi and usually moves into higher notes. See also: Pallavi,Charanam
Anya swara · anya svara: A 'foreign' note: one that is not in the parent scale of a raga but is used in it for colour. See also: Bhashanga
Arohanam · ārohaṇa: The upward path of a raga: the notes in the order they are sung going up from Sa to the upper Sa. See also: Avarohanam
Arudhi · āruḍhi: In a pallavi line, the point where the first half of the line ends and the second half begins. See also: Pallavi
Ata tala: One of the seven basic tala families, built as laghu, laghu, drutam, drutam (I I O O). See also: Suladi Sapta Tala
Atita eduppu: Starting a composition a little before the first beat (sama) of the tala, so the tala arrives after the melody has begun. Teachers' blogs and forums agree on this reading; confirm with your teacher. See also: Eduppu
Audava · auḍava: A raga with five notes in its ascent or descent. See also: Shadava,Sampurna
Avarohanam · avarohaṇa: The downward path of a raga: the notes in the order they are sung coming down from the upper Sa to Sa. See also: Arohanam
Avarta · āvarta: One complete round of a tala, from its first beat to the beat just before it comes round again. See also: Sama

B

Bhakti · bhakti: Devotion to a personal god, a strong theme in the songs of Carnatic composers.
Bhashanga · bhāṣāṅga: A janya raga that borrows one or more notes from outside its parent scale (an anya swara). See also: Upanga,Anya swara
Bhava · bhāva: Feeling or expression: the emotional meaning that a performer brings out through the way a phrase is sung or played. See also: Rasa

C

Carnatic music: The classical music tradition of South India, built on raga and tala and usually sung, with the words of its compositions in several South Indian languages. See also: Hindustani music
Chakra · cakra: A group of six consecutive melakartas that share the same Ri and Ga. The 72 melakartas fall into 12 chakras, each with a name such as Indu, Netra or Agni. See also: Melakarta
Chapu tala · cāpu tāḷa: A family of talas counted in groups of beats with claps rather than the laghu-drutam scheme, for example the five-beat Khanda chapu or the seven-beat Misra chapu.
Charanam · caraṇam: The last and longest section of a kriti. It usually reuses melody from earlier sections and traditionally ends with the composer's signature (mudra). See also: Pallavi,Mudra
Chaturdandi Prakashika · caturdaṇḍī prakāśikā: A Sanskrit treatise by Venkatamakhin, from about the 17th century, which sets out the melakarta approach to classifying ragas. See also: Melakarta
Chatushruti Dhaivata (D2) · catuśruti dhaivata: The middle Dha, nine semitones above Sa. It shares its pitch with Shuddha Nishada (N1). See also: Dhaivata (Dha)
Chatushruti Rishabha (R2) · catuśruti ṛṣabha: The middle Ri, two semitones above Sa. It sounds at the same pitch as Shuddha Gandhara (G1). See also: Rishabha (Ri)
Chatusra · caturaśra: Four-fold. As a jati, a laghu of four beats; as a nadai, each beat splits into four. It is the default, which is why Adi tala is the most common. See also: Jati,Nadai (Gati)
Chittaswaram · ciṭṭasvaram: A passage of notes only (no words) in some kritis, usually placed between the anupallavi and the charanam. See also: Kriti

D

December season: The annual Chennai music festival (Margazhi season) in December and January, when hundreds of concerts take place across the city. See also: Madras Music Academy
Dhaivata (Dha) · dhaivata: The sixth note, written Dha or D. It comes in three variants: D1, D2 and D3.
Dhruva tala: One of the seven basic tala families, built as laghu, drutam, laghu, laghu (I O I I). See also: Suladi Sapta Tala
Drone: A steady background sound on the tonic (and usually the fifth) that plays throughout a piece, so the ear always has a reference note. See also: Tambura
Druta kala · druta kāla: Fast speed. A piece or passage sung at twice the usual speed. See also: Kala
Drutam · druta: An anga marked O: always two beats, a clap followed by a wave of the hand. See also: Laghu

E

Eduppu · eḍuppu: The point in the tala cycle where a composition begins, also called graha. It may start on the first beat or slightly before or after it. See also: Sama eduppu
Eka tala: The simplest of the seven basic tala families: a single laghu (I). See also: Suladi Sapta Tala
Ettugada swaram · eṭṭugaḍa svaram: The note-only passages in the second half of a varnam, each of which ends by returning to the same line of the song. See also: Varnam

G

Gamaka · gamaka: An ornament: a shake, slide or glide applied to a note. Gamakas give each note in a raga its characteristic movement and cannot be separated from the raga. See also: Kampita,Jaru
Gandhara (Ga) · gāndhāra: The third note, written Ga or G. It comes in three variants: G1, G2 and G3.
Gayaki · gāyakī: The singing style. Carnatic music is built around the voice, and instrumentalists try to imitate the phrasing of singing.
Ghatam · ghaṭam: A clay-pot drum played with the fingers and palms, used for quick, crisp rhythms alongside the mridangam.
Gitam · gītam: A simple song with a plain melody and steady rhythm, used early in learning. It has no melodic variations and moves at one speed. See also: Swarajati,Varnam
Graha swara · graha svara: The note on which a phrase, or in older theory the raga itself, begins. See also: Nyasa swara
Guru-shishya parampara · guru-śiṣya paramparā: The tradition of passing on music directly from teacher (guru) to student (shishya), often by listening and repeating, over many years. See also: Sampradaya

H

Haridasa · haridāsa: A 'servant of Hari': a devotional poet-singer of the Kannada-speaking region who composed songs in praise of Vishnu. Purandara Dasa was one.
Hindustani music: The classical music tradition of North India. It shares roots and many concepts with Carnatic music but developed its own forms, ragas and style over the last several centuries. See also: Carnatic music

I

Improvisation: Creating music on the spot within the rules of the raga and tala. In Carnatic music it sits alongside composed pieces and is a skill built over years. See also: Manodharma

J

Janaka raga · janaka rāga: A 'parent' raga that other ragas are derived from. The melakartas are the parents in the modern scheme. See also: Melakarta,Janya raga
Janta varisai · jaṇṭa varisai: Exercises in which each note is sung twice in a row (Sa Sa, Ri Ri, ...). They follow the sarali varisai in the traditional order of lessons.
Janya raga · janya rāga: A 'derived' raga, built from a parent melakarta by dropping notes, changing the note order, or adding an outside note. See also: Melakarta
Jaru · jāru: A kind of gamaka: a slide from one note to another, passing through the pitches in between. See also: Gamaka
Jati · jāti: The number of beats in a laghu, which sets the size of a tala: tisra (3), chatusra (4), khanda (5), misra (7) or sankirna (9). See also: Laghu
Javali · jāvaḷi: A light, faster song on a romantic theme, related to the padam and used mainly in dance and late in concerts. See also: Padam
Jhampa tala: One of the seven basic tala families, built as laghu, anudrutam, drutam (I U O). See also: Suladi Sapta Tala
Jiva swara · jīva svara: The 'life' note of a raga: a note that is leaned on often and brings out the raga's identity. See also: Nyasa swara

K

Kaishiki Nishada (N2) · kaiśikī niṣāda: The middle Ni, ten semitones above Sa. It shares its pitch with D3. See also: Nishada (Ni)
Kakali Nishada (N3) · kākalī niṣāda: The highest Ni, eleven semitones above Sa, a semitone below the upper Sa. See also: Nishada (Ni)
Kala · kāla: A speed level. In the first kala each akshara gets one count; in the second kala the music moves twice as fast against the same beat, and so on. See also: Laya
Kalpanaswara · kalpanasvara: Improvised sequences of note names (Sa, Ri, Ga ...) sung in the tala, which return to a line of the composition at the end of each round. See also: Niraval,Manodharma
Kalpita sangita · kalpita saṅgīta: Composed music: pieces whose melody and words are fixed beforehand, as opposed to improvised music (manodharma). See also: Manodharma
Kampita · kampita: A kind of gamaka: an oscillation, where the note is shaken between itself and a neighbouring pitch. See also: Gamaka
Kanjira · kañjira: A small frame drum of one head with a few metal discs that jingle, played with one hand while the other holds it.
Katapayadi sutra · kaṭapayādi sūtra: A letter-to-number code. Applied to a melakarta's name, the first two syllables give its number, read in reverse (Ha-ri gives 8,2, so number 28). See also: Melakarta
Khanda · khaṇḍa: Five-fold. As a jati, a laghu of five beats; as a nadai, each beat splits into five. See also: Jati,Nadai (Gati)
Kirtana · kīrtana: A devotional song in which the words are the focus and the tune is usually simple and repeats for each verse. It has fewer melodic variations than a kriti. See also: Kriti
Konnakol: Reciting drum syllables aloud (ta ka di mi ...) to work out or perform rhythm patterns. See also: Solkattu
Korvai: A rhythmic composition, usually in a pattern built of repeated parts, that ends exactly on a chosen beat.
Kriti · kṛti: The main composition form of the concert: a song in sections (pallavi, anupallavi, charanam), usually a prayer or hymn, with a fixed melody that performers may elaborate on. See also: Kirtana,Pallavi
Kriya · kriyā: A hand action used to keep tala: a clap, a finger count, or a wave. See also: Sasabda kriya,Nishabda kriya
Kutcheri · kacēri: A Carnatic concert, with a main performer and accompanists, in a traditional order of items from a varnam through kritis and a main piece to a closing mangalam. See also: Mangalam

L

Laghu · laghu: An anga marked I: a clap followed by finger counts. How many beats it has depends on the tala's jati (four for the common chatusra jati). See also: Jati
Laya · laya: Tempo, or the steady pulse underneath the music. The speed at which the beats of a tala are counted. See also: Kala

M

Madhya sthayi · madhya sthāyi: The middle octave, where most music begins and where a beginner's notes are written without any dot. See also: Sthayi
Madhyama (Ma) · madhyama: The fourth note, written Ma or M. It has two variants: M1 (the lower, shuddha) and M2 (the higher, prati).
Madhyama kala · madhyama kāla: Medium speed, the normal speed of most pieces. See also: Kala
Madras Music Academy: A Chennai institution, founded in 1928, famous for its annual December festival and for awarding the Sangita Kalanidhi title. See also: December season,Sangita Kalanidhi
Main item: The longest and most elaborate part of a concert, usually a ragam-tanam-pallavi or a big kriti with alapana, niraval and kalpanaswara. See also: Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi
Mandra sthayi · mandra sthāyi: The lower octave, below the middle one. In notation it is marked with a dot below the note. See also: Sthayi
Mangalam · maṅgaḷam: A short, auspicious closing piece that ends a concert. See also: Kutcheri
Manodharma · manōdharma: The part of the music that is created on the spot by the performer: alapana, niraval, kalpanaswara and the like. 'Manodharma sangita' means improvised music. See also: Kalpita sangita
Matya tala: One of the seven basic tala families, built as laghu, drutam, laghu (I O I). See also: Suladi Sapta Tala
Melakarta · melakartā: One of the 72 parent ragas. Each uses all seven notes in straight order going up and coming down, and each has a fixed number from 1 to 72. See also: Janya raga,Chakra
Melody: A tune: a sequence of single notes heard one after another. Carnatic music is melody-first, meaning it is built on tunes rather than chords.
Microtone: A pitch step smaller than a semitone. Ancient theory describes 22 such steps in an octave; today's practice is usually explained with twelve positions. See also: Shruti
Misra · miśra: Seven-fold. As a jati, a laghu of seven beats; as a nadai, each beat splits into seven. 'Misra' means mixed. See also: Jati,Nadai (Gati)
Morsing · mōrsiṅg: A small metal jaw harp held to the teeth and plucked, playing rhythmic patterns that follow the mridangam.
Mridangam · mṛdaṅgam: The main drum of Carnatic music: a two-headed barrel drum made of jackfruit wood, played with the hands and tuned to the performer's tonic.
Mudra · mudrā: A composer's signature, worked into the words of a song, often a name of the god praised or the composer's own pen name. See also: Charanam
Muktayi swaram · muktāyi svaram: A passage of notes only in a varnam, which closes the first half of the piece. See also: Varnam

N

Nadai (Gati) · naḍai / gati: The 'walk' of the beat: how many equal parts each beat is split into. Four is the default; three, five, seven and nine give a different feel against the same tala. See also: Chatusra
Nadaswaram · nāgasvaram: A loud double-reed wind instrument of South India, played mainly at temples and weddings, and always paired with the tavil. See also: Tavil
Natya Shastra · nāṭyaśāstra: An ancient Sanskrit treatise on drama, dance and music, traditionally credited to the sage Bharata. Scholars place its compilation anywhere from about 500 BCE to 500 CE. See also: Sangita Ratnakara
Niraval · niraval: Improvising new melodies on a single line of a composition, over and over, within the same words and rhythm. See also: Kalpanaswara,Manodharma
Nishabda kriya · niḥśabda kriyā: A silent hand action, such as a finger count or a wave. See also: Kriya
Nishada (Ni) · niṣāda: The seventh note, written Ni or N. It comes in three variants: N1, N2 and N3.
Notation: Writing music down. Carnatic notation uses the note initials (S R G M P D N) with numbers for variants, dots for octaves, and tala marks for timing. See also: Sargam
Nyasa swara · nyāsa svara: A note on which a phrase can comfortably stop and rest. See also: Jiva swara,Graha swara

P

Pada varnam: A varnam that has words in the sections that follow the main theme, which makes it suited to dance and its expressive acting. See also: Varnam,Tana varnam
Padam · padam: A slow, expressive song, usually on love and longing which stand for the soul's longing for the divine, and used in dance and in concerts. See also: Javali
Pakka vadya · pakka vādya: The accompanying instruments in a concert, melodic (such as the violin) and rhythmic (such as the mridangam).
Pallavi · pallavi: The opening section of a kriti or similar song, which acts like a refrain and returns after each verse. Also the central line of an improvised 'ragam-tanam-pallavi' item. See also: Anupallavi,Charanam,Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi
Panchama (Pa) · pañcama: The fifth note, written Pa or P. It has only one form and is, with Sa, one of the two fixed notes.
Pann · paṇ: A melodic mode in ancient Tamil music. The old hymns were set to panns, which later scholars have tried to match with ragas.
Parent scale: The melakarta from which a janya raga is derived, giving the full set of notes that the janya may draw on. See also: Janya raga
Pitamaha · pitāmaha: 'Grandfather'. In 'Sangita Pitamaha', a title given to Purandara Dasa for his role in shaping the way Carnatic music is taught.
Prati Madhyama (M2) · prati madhyama: The higher Ma, six semitones above Sa. The melakarta scheme puts all ragas with this Ma in its second half (numbers 37 to 72). See also: Madhyama (Ma),Shuddha Madhyama (M1)
Prayoga · prayoga: A characteristic phrase: a short run of notes that is typical of a raga and helps you recognise it.

R

Raga · राग: A melodic framework: a set of notes plus the rules and typical phrases that give a tune its character.
Raga lakshana · rāga lakṣaṇa: The defining features of a raga: its notes, their order, key phrases, ornaments, and the notes that are stressed or avoided. See also: Raga
Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi · rāgam tānam pallavi: The most elaborate concert item: an alapana, then tanam, then a single-line pallavi set in a tala, which is explored with niraval and kalpanaswara. See also: Alapana,Tanam,Pallavi
Ragamalika · rāgamālika: A 'garland of ragas': a composition whose sections are set in different ragas, one after the other. See also: Raga
Rasa · rasa: Emotional flavour. Ragas are traditionally said to evoke particular moods, but this is a traditional view, and listeners often differ on it. See also: Bhava
Rishabha (Ri) · ṛṣabha: The second note, written Ri or R. It comes in three variants: R1, R2 and R3.
Rupaka tala: One of the seven basic tala families, built as drutam, laghu (O I). See also: Suladi Sapta Tala

S

Sabha · sabhā: A music society that organises concerts. Concerts in sabhas, usually ticketed or supported by members, became the main way of presenting Carnatic music after royal patronage declined. See also: Madras Music Academy
Sadharana Gandhara (G2) · sādhāraṇa gāndhāra: The middle Ga, three semitones above Sa. It shares its pitch with R3. See also: Gandhara (Ga)
Sahitya · sāhitya: The words, or lyrics, of a composition.
Sama · sama: The first beat of each cycle, which is the main landing point of the tala. See also: Avarta
Sama eduppu: Starting a composition exactly on the first beat (sama) of the tala. See also: Eduppu,Sama
Sama Veda · sāmaveda: One of the four Vedas, made up of hymns meant to be chanted to set melodies. It is often cited as an early root of Indian music.
Samashti charanam · samaṣṭi caraṇam: In a kriti with no separate anupallavi, the single concluding section that follows the pallavi. See also: Kriti
Sampradaya · sampradāya: A tradition or school of practice handed down through a line of teachers. See also: Guru-shishya parampara
Sampurna · sampūrṇa: A raga that uses all seven notes in its ascent or descent. See also: Audava,Shadava
Sanchara · sañcāra: A melodic movement or phrase in a raga, especially one that wanders up and down the scale. See also: Prayoga
Sangati · saṅgati: A planned melodic variation of a line in a kriti, sung one after another with growing elaboration. They are part of the composition, not improvised. See also: Kriti
Sangita · saṅgīta: Music in the broad traditional sense: vocal music, instrumental music and dance together.
Sangita Kalanidhi · saṅgīta kalānidhi: A prestigious title awarded each year by the Madras Music Academy to a leading musician. See also: Madras Music Academy
Sangita Ratnakara · saṅgīta ratnākara: A major Sanskrit music treatise by Sarngadeva from 13th-century India, treated as authoritative by both Carnatic and Hindustani traditions. See also: Natya Shastra
Sangraha Chudamani · saṅgraha cūḍāmaṇi: A late 18th-century treatise by Govindacharya, credited with standardising the names of the 72 melakartas and the classification of ragas under them. See also: Melakarta
Sankirna · saṅkīrṇa: Nine-fold. As a jati, a laghu of nine beats. It is the rarest of the five. See also: Jati
Sankirtana · saṅkīrtana: A devotional song of praise. Annamacharya's devotional songs to Venkateswara are known by this name. See also: Kirtana
Saptaswara · saptasvara: The seven basic notes: Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni. 'Sapta' means seven. See also: Swara
Sarali varisai · saraḷi varisai: The first graded exercises a student learns: simple note patterns that go up and down a scale, traditionally taught in Mayamalavagowla. See also: Alankaram
Sargam: Singing with the note names Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma and so on instead of words. The Carnatic equivalent of solfege.
Sasabda kriya · saśabda kriyā: A hand action that makes a sound, such as a clap or a tap of the palm. See also: Kriya
Semitone: The smallest step between neighbouring notes on a keyboard (one key to the next). The twelve swarasthanas are twelve semitone steps up from Sa.
Shadava · ṣāḍava: A raga with six notes in its ascent or descent. See also: Audava,Sampurna
Shadja (Sa) · ṣaḍja: The first note, written Sa. It is the home note of the scale and the reference every other note is measured from. See also: Adhara Shadja
Shatshruti Dhaivata (D3) · ṣaṭśruti dhaivata: The highest Dha, ten semitones above Sa. It shares its pitch with Kaishiki Nishada (N2). See also: Dhaivata (Dha)
Shatshruti Rishabha (R3) · ṣaṭśruti ṛṣabha: The highest Ri, three semitones above Sa. It sounds at the same pitch as Sadharana Gandhara (G2). See also: Rishabha (Ri)
Shruti · श्रुति: The pitch of the tonic (Sa) a performer chooses; every other note is measured from it.
Shruti box: A small box or phone app that sounds the tonic and fifth continuously. It stands in for the tambura. See also: Tambura,Drone
Shuddha Dhaivata (D1): The lowest Dha, eight semitones above Sa. See also: Dhaivata (Dha)
Shuddha Gandhara (G1): The lowest Ga, two semitones above Sa. It shares its pitch with R2. See also: Gandhara (Ga)
Shuddha Madhyama (M1): The lower Ma, five semitones above Sa. See also: Madhyama (Ma),Prati Madhyama (M2)
Shuddha Nishada (N1): The lowest Ni, nine semitones above Sa. It shares its pitch with D2. See also: Nishada (Ni)
Shuddha Rishabha (R1): The lowest Ri, one semitone above Sa. See also: Rishabha (Ri)
Silappadikaram · cilappatikāram: An ancient Tamil epic poem that describes music and dance of its time. It is an early source for the study of Tamil musical traditions.
Slokam · ślōkam: A Sanskrit verse, sung in free rhythm as an introduction to a piece in a concert.
Solkattu · solkaṭṭu: The system of spoken rhythm syllables used to learn and describe percussion patterns. See also: Konnakol
Sthayi · sthāyi: An octave register: the lower (mandra), middle (madhya) or upper (tara) range of the voice or instrument.
Suladi Sapta Tala · sūḷādi sapta tāḷa: The seven basic tala families: Dhruva, Matya, Rupaka, Jhampa, Triputa, Ata and Eka. Each can be set in five jatis, giving 35 talas. See also: Jati
Svaramelakalanidhi · svaramēḷakalānidhi: A 1550 treatise by Ramamatya which classifies ragas under 20 parent scales, an earlier step towards the 72-melakarta scheme. See also: Melakarta
Swara · स्वर: A musical note with a fixed place in the scale. Carnatic music names seven: Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni.
Swarajati · svarajati: A composition that sits between the gitam and the varnam in the order of learning, with sections that have words and sections that use only note names. See also: Gitam,Varnam
Swarasthana · svarasthāna: A note position. There are twelve positions in an octave; the sixteen note names (S, R1 to R3, G1 to G3, and so on) are spread over them, with some names sharing a position. See also: Swara

T

Tala · ताल: The repeating rhythmic cycle that a piece is counted in, built from a fixed number of beats.
Tambura · tamburā: A long-necked plucked instrument with four strings that sounds the drone. It is tuned to the tonic and the fifth and played throughout a concert. See also: Drone,Shruti box
Tana varnam · tāna varṇam: A varnam whose words appear only in its first sections; the rest uses note names. It is the version usually sung in concerts. See also: Varnam,Pada varnam
Tanam · tānam: A rhythmic exploration of a raga on syllables such as 'a-nam-ta-nam' with a flowing pulse but no fixed tala. It follows the alapana. See also: Alapana,Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi
Tani avartanam · tani āvartanam: The percussion solo in a concert, where the drummers play rhythmic patterns in the tala without the melody. See also: Tala
Tanjore Quartet: Four brothers (Chinnayya, Ponnayya, Sivanandam and Vadivelu) of early 19th-century Thanjavur, who helped shape the Bharatanatyam repertoire and also composed varnams and kritis.
Tara sthayi · tāra sthāyi: The upper octave, above the middle one. In notation it is marked with a dot above the note. See also: Sthayi
Tarana: A song style of rhythmic syllables, associated with North Indian music. The tillana is considered to be derived from it. See also: Tillana
Tavil · tavil: A barrel-shaped drum played with a stick and the fingers of the other hand, the standard partner of the nadaswaram. See also: Nadaswaram
Tillana · tillāna: A lively, rhythmic piece built on syllables like 'tillana', often placed near the end of a concert and in dance performances. See also: Tarana
Tisra · tiśra: Three-fold. As a jati, a laghu of three beats; as a nadai, each beat splits into three. See also: Jati,Nadai (Gati)
Tonic: The home note of a piece, the note everything else is heard against. In Carnatic music this is Sa, at whatever pitch the performer chooses. See also: Adhara Shadja
Trikalam · trikālam: Performing the same phrase in three speeds: the original, double and half (or four times) the speed. See also: Kala
Trinity of Carnatic music: The three composers Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri, who lived around Tiruvarur in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and whose songs form the core of the concert repertoire.
Triputa tala: One of the seven basic tala families, built as laghu, drutam, drutam (I O O). In its four-beat jati it is the well-known Adi tala. See also: Suladi Sapta Tala,Adi tala

U

Upanga · upāṅga: A janya raga that uses only notes from its parent scale. See also: Bhashanga

V

Vaggeyakara · vāggēyakāra: A composer who writes both the words and the music of a song. See also: Kriti
Vakra · vakra: Zigzag. A raga is vakra when its notes do not move in a straight line up or down, for example S R G R G M instead of S R G M. See also: Varjya
Varjya · varjya: Omitted. A varjya note is one that a raga leaves out of its ascent, its descent, or both. See also: Audava,Shadava
Varnam · varṇam: A composition that packs the main features of a raga into a short, structured piece. It trains voice and rhythm and often opens a concert or the central item of a dance recital. See also: Pada varnam,Tana varnam
Veena · vīṇā: The Saraswati veena: a plucked string instrument of about four feet, with 24 frets, four playing strings and three drone strings, played seated on the floor.
Venu (flute) · veṇu: The bamboo side-blown flute used in Carnatic music, played so as to follow the style of singing.
Vidwan / Vidushi · vidvān / viduṣī: A learned and accomplished musician; vidwan for a man, vidushi for a woman.
Vijayanagara Empire · vijayanagara: A major South Indian empire (14th to 17th centuries) whose court and temples supported the arts, including the devotional composers of Karnataka.
Vilamba kala · vilamba kāla: Slow speed. A piece or passage sung at half the usual speed. See also: Kala
Violin: A bowed string instrument, adopted into Carnatic music and played seated on the floor. In most concerts it accompanies the singer by following the melody. See also: Pakka vadya
Viruttam · viruttam: A verse sung in free rhythm, without a tala, often before a kriti.