''Alankara'' (), also referred to as palta or ''alankaram'', is a concept in

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

and literally means "ornament, decoration". An ''alankara'' is any pattern of musical decoration a musician or vocalist creates within or across tones, based on ancient musical theories or driven by personal creative choices, in a progression of ''

svara Svara or swara (Devanagari: स्वर, generally pronounced as ''swar'') is a Sanskrit word that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave or '' ...

s''. The term ''alankara'' is standard in

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

, while the same concept is referred to as ''palta'' or ''alankara'' in Hindustani music. The ancient and medieval music scholars of India state that there are unlimited creative possibilities available to a musician, but each scholar illustrated the concept with a set of ''alankara''. Datilla discussed 13 ''alankaras'', Bharata Muni presented 33, Sarngadeva described 63 ''alankaras'', while mid medieval scholars presented numerous more. The Indian music tradition classifies ''alankara'' as rational or irrational, wherein irrational ''alankara'' being those that cannot be reduced to a fixed scale degree pattern. The Indian theory of ''gamaka'' covers the group of irrational ''alankara''. The concept of ''alankara'' applies to both vocal and musical instrument performance.

Purandara Dasa Purandara Dasa (IAST: Purandara dāsa) ( 1470 – 1565) was a Haridasa philosopher and a follower of Madhwacharya 's Dwaitha philosophy -saint from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-prop ...

, the father of modern Carnatic music, developed learning exercises for students based on ''alankara'' and ''svaravali'', where the student systematically repeats a certain set of patterns over three octave registers, across various ''

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

s'' and ''

tala Tala may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Tala (comics), a fictional character in DC comics *''Tala'', a 1938 volume of poetry by Gabriela Mistral *Tala (music), a rhythmic pattern in Indian classical music * "Tala" (song), by Sarah Geronimo ...

s''.

Types

Here are some common types of ''alankara'' used in classical music are * ''

meend In Hindustani music, meend (Hindi: मीण्ड, ur, ) refers to a glide from one note to another. It is an essential performance practice, and is used often in vocal and instrumental music. On the veena, sitar, sarangi and other plucked str ...

'', a technique of singing notes in a fluid manner with one note merging into the next - there are many different kinds of ''meend'' *''kan-swar'', grace notes - the use of grace-notes depends on the

being performed *''andolan'', a gentle swing on specific notes, used selectively *'' gamaka'', a heavy to-and-fro oscillation involving two or three distinct notes *''khatka/gitkari'', a rapid rendition of a cluster of notes distinctly yet lightly *''

murki Murki is a short taan or inverted mordent in Hindustani classical music, known as ''pratyahatam'' in Carnatic music. It is a fast and delicate ornamentation or '' alankar'', employing two or more notes and is similar to a mordent or ''ulta murki''. ...

'', an even lighter and more subtle rendition of a cluster of notes

Other definitions

''Alankara'' also refers to: * a pattern on a

group within a given octave, in ancient Indian music.} * a type of exercise based on the 7 main talas and their variations.

References

{{reflist

External links

Ornamentation in Indian Classical Music
Indian classical music Carnatic music terminology Hindustani music terminology