''Taan'' (

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

: , ur, ) is a technique used in the vocal performance of a

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 ...

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

. It involves the improvisation of very rapid melodic passages using vowels, often the long "a" as in the word "far", and it targets at improvising and to expand weaving together the notes in a fast tempo. It is similar to the technique '' ahaat'', used in Arabic music. The ''murki'', a type of

ornamentation An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve on ...

, is a swift, short and taan-like movement that is heavily used in

thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dra ...

.Murki index

Types

Taans are clustered in different types: ''Bol Taan'' : Taan can be sung by utilizing the words of the bandish. This is a difficult type of a taan as in this correct pronunciation, meaning of the composition, everything has to be taken into consideration. ''Shuddha/Sapat (Straight) Taan'' : The notes are placed in an order in one or more octaves. ''Koot Taan'' : The notes do not remain in order. Therefore, the nature of ''Koot Taans'' is complicated. ''Mishra Taan'' : Combination of sapat and koot taans. ''Gamak Taan'' : Gamak is a technique by which a force is added to notes and each note is repeated at least twice. Many other types of taan exist, e.g. Ladant taan, Zatkaa taan, Gitkari taan, Jabde ki taan, Sarok Taan, Halak Taan or Palat taan.

References

Hindustani music Hindustani music terminology {{India-music-stub

Types

See also

References