''Tarana'' is a type of composition in

Hindustani classical 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 ...

vocal music in which certain words (e.g. "odani", "todani", "tadeem" and "yalali") based on Persian and Arabic phonemes are rendered at a medium (''madhya laya'') or fast (''drut laya'') rate. It was invented by Amir Khusro (1253-1325 CE). In modern times, the singer Amir Khan helped popularize it and researched its origins and the syllables used.

Nissar Hussain Khan Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan (1909–1993) was an Indian classical vocalist from the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana. He was a disciple and son of Fida Hussain Khan and after a long and illustrious career was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1971. He was the co ...

was a tarana singer. Tarana was also used by

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

tenth

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Sing ...

in his compositions.

Form

A second, contrasting melody, usually with higher notes, is introduced once before returning to the main melody. The tarana may include a Persian quatrain, and may use syllables from sitar or tabla such as "dar-dar" or "dir-dir"; singers might recite full compositions (e.g. tihais, gats, tukdas) within the body of the tarana.

History

Thakur Jaidev Singh Jaideva Singh (19 September 1893 in Shoratgarh, Uttar Pradesh – 27 May 1986 in Banaras) was an Indian musicologist and philosopher. He played a key role in the development of All India Radio where he was chief producer. He was influenced by the ...

, a commentator on Indian music, said:

References

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