Indian classical music has two fundamental elements, raga/ raag and tala/taal. The raga, based on swara (notes including microtones), forms the fabric of a melodic structure, while the tala measures the time cycle.
The raga gives an artist a palette to build the melody from sounds, while the tala provides them with a creative framework for rhythmic improvisation using time. In Indian classical the space between the notes is often more important than the notes themselves, and it does not have Western classical concepts such as harmony, counterpoint, chords, or modulation.
A raga is not a tune, because the same raga can yield a very large number of tunes. A raga is not a scale, because many ragas can be based on the same scale. A raga, states Bruno Nettl and other music scholars, is a concept similar to mode, something between the domains of tune and scale, and it is best conceptualized as a "unique array of melodic features, mapped to and organized for a unique aesthetic sentiment in the listener".
In the hands of an expert tabla player, the tabla can make all kinds of fantastic sounds. They are called bol, and it is these bols that are combined in various ways to get many interesting rhythm patterns (taal). There are over a hundred different taals, but only a handful are used in serious classical music.
Our Indian raga music, easy Raag & Taal Learning app helps you to acquire an accurate idea of the raagas and taals to play them accordingly using an instrument or to sing the same by your own, as well as to learn the taals properly and play them accordingly using a Tabla.
Raag & Taal Learning app is entirely free off cost and completely offline capable. It presently contains the details of 50 most popular ragas and the details of 56 most popular taals which are quite in use.
Indian raga music, easy Raag & Taal Learning, as per the name, consists of a very innovative and user friendly disc, which you can rotate and see the details like Anga, Prakriti, Barjita Swar, Araho, Abaroho, Pakar, Chhanda, Theka, Bol, Taali, Khali and more!
To change from Raag to Taal and vice versa you can just tap in the center of the disc to see the details of your choice.
