Carnatic Music: The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)
National Institute of Open Schooling, National Institute of Open Schooling (Government of India)
Open the resource (opens in a new tab)
- Type
- course
- Level
- beginner
- Language
- en
- Cost
- free
- Topics
- overview, history, swaras, ragas, talas, forms, composers, instruments, notation
What it is
The page of the national open-schooling board's secondary-level Carnatic music course. It links the free theory book (origin and history, key concepts, composers, practice pieces, concert forms, instruments, notation) and the practical book with notated pieces.
Why it is useful here
A state-run curriculum that gives an independent account of the basics (swaras, shrutis, melas, talas, composers, forms, instruments); the chapter PDFs it links were read for the lesson fact-checks.
Used on these pages
- Early composers
- The Trinity
- Later composers, scholars and performers
- Gitam, swarajati and varnam
- Kriti and kirtana
- Padam, javali, tillana and ragamalika
- Improvised forms
- The structure of a concert
- Roots and early texts
- From treatises to Purandara Dasa
- The 72-scale scheme
- The Trinity and the courts
- The twentieth century and today
- The voice and the drone
- Melodic instruments
- Percussion and the ensemble
- What is Carnatic music?
- Carnatic and Hindustani music
- How the tradition is passed on
- What is a raga?
- Arohanam, avarohanam and scale shapes
- Gamakas, phrases and key notes
- Parent and derived ragas
- Shruti and the tonic
- The seven swaras
- The twelve swarasthanas
- Octaves and notation
- Counting time
- Angas and hand actions
- The seven talas and five jatis
- Chapu and other talas
Verification
Status verified, checked on by http-fetch. Downloaded the page (HTML title 'Carnatic Music: The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)'). Title matches, creator 'National Institute of Open Schooling' found, and 'Carnatic Music' present. Language inferred from the English title and description.