The beauty of our Indian culture is entrenched within the art of Hindustani Classical Music that displays the rich cultural grandeur of our country. At Furtados School of Music, we aspire to exalt the essence of Hindustani music vocals that are an integral part of Indian culture. Our Hindustani music classes are the ideal opportunity for every passionate artist to dive into the world of classical music.

As they learn Hindustani music under the guidance of dignified music educators, students will be introduced to the twelve distinct forms of Hindustani music that form the foundation of Hindustani vocals.

The distinct musical forms in rendering compositions are as follows,

Khayal:

Khayal is a Hindustani musical form that encapsulates the essence of romantic poetry by allowing the vocalist to dive into his creative genius by artistically demonstrating his imaginative prowess. It finds its roots in the Persian/Arabic word meaning “imagination”. It gives the performer the freedom to eloquently express himself through extensively ornamented ragas, which calls for more technical deftness and intellectual artistry. 

Dhrupad:

The oldest surviving musical form of Hindustani music is derived from dhruva-pada which means “refrain”. This classical art is introduced by a somber and controlled set of recurrent syllables known as an alap. This emphasizes the purity and clarity within each classical note that is fiercely extolled by the vocalist. Like the other distinct forms of classical music, Dhrupad is monophonic and modal, with a single melodic line and no harmonic parts. It is performed by a solo singer or a small group of singers in unison, to the beat of a barrel drum, the mridangam, or pakhawaj, and can be accompanied by a sitar. The songs are highly devotional in nature and are used as a meditative tool to attain self-realization. 

Dhamar:

The classical art form of Dhamar has a lot of similarities to dhrupad. It is additionally a compositional structure like Dhrupad which is sung to the backup of Pakhawaj. Its themes are in accordance with reverential obeisance towards Lord Krishna and the festival of Holi. It is typically performed in dhamar tala of fourteen beats.  

Tappa:

Tappa, one of the Hindustani music forms, is said to have its origins in the songs of the camel drivers from Punjab. It espouses ideas pertaining to love, separation, and union which are intricately woven with the soulful symphonies that display dramatic twists and turns on vowels and consonants. The unpredictable quality of these melodic patterns is created by the quicksilver taans or swift phrases. Tappas are set to taals like Punjabi, Pashto, and Sitarkhani, and other compositions that elaborately display rhythmic dexterity in the realm of creating a melodic-rhythmic tension. Tappas has been primarily presented by Gwalior and Banaras Gharana vocalists. 

Tarana:

This form of Hindustani music perfectly captures a vocalist’s urge to dive into the soulful essence of instrumental music. It uses syllables like dere, naa, deem, tana, and pakhawaj syllables. Therefore, these syllables are used to voice a musical narrative that is imbued with melody and rhythm that unburdens an artist from the restrictions posed by literal language.

Thumri

It is derived from the Hindi verb thumakna, which means "to walk with dancing steps so as to make the ankle-bells tinkle." This artistic form thereby represents the art of sensuality within classical dance forms along with dramatic gestures that are infused in evocative love poetry and folk songs. Thumri texts are highly romantic or devotional in nature which portrays greater flexibility within the raga.

Hori:

This musical form is semi-classical in nature that can be beautifully adorned with a Bhairavi or a Thumri. It comes in a series of season songs, like Chaiti, Sawani, and Kajari, and is traditionally sung in the villages and towns of Uttar Pradesh: around Banaras, Mirzapur, Mathura, Allahabad, and the Bhojpur regions of Bihar.

Bhajan:

The musical form of Bhajan upholds reverential attributes of Hindustani music that extols religious themes or spiritual ideas within the Indian subcontinent. It does not follow a prescribed pattern and is based on melodic ragas. It perfectly captures the ideas from scriptures, legendary epics, the teachings of saints, and an intense feeling of devotional longing towards a deity. 

Dadara:

It is a light classical vocal form that comprises a  Hindustani classical tala which is a rhythmic cycle consisting of six beats in two equal divisions of three. The most commonly accepted theka or basic pattern for this tala is dha dhi na, dha tu na. It is mostly performed in Agra and in the Bundelkhand region

Chaiti:

Chaiti is a semi-classical song sung during the month of Chait. These songs are rendered during the Holy month of Sri Rama Navami and fall under the light classical form of Hindustani classical music. It comes in a series of seasonal songs, like Kajari, Hori, and Sawani, and is traditionally sung in the villages and towns of Uttar Pradesh. 

Chaturanga and Trivat:

 Trivat and chaturanga are compositions that combine multiple styles of vocalization. A trivat is a combination of three styles, while chaturanga is a combination of four styles. The styles entail meaningful lyrics, wordless syllables as in a tarana, sol-fa syllables (called sargam), and vocal recitation of pakhavaj compositions (padhant). All or several of these are combined together and set to melody following the rules of raga and rhythm.

 Thus, the twelve distinct forms of Hindustani vocal music continue to uphold the essence of our Indian culture.