New genres of music were formed as well, such as khyal and qawwali, that combine elements of both Hindu and Muslim musical practice. The barrel-shaped pakhavaj drum, which was the ancestor of both the tabla and the mrdangam, has been depicted in countless paintings and prints.

Legend has it that the tabla was formed by splitting a pakhavaj drum in half, with the larger side becoming the bayan and the smaller side the dahini. New instruments were introduced, including the tabla and sitar ( 1999.399), which soon became the most famous Indian musical instruments worldwide. During this time, the music of North India began to acquire and adapt to the presence of Persian language, music, and musical instruments, such as the setar, from which the sitar got its name the kamanche ( 1998.72) and santur, which became popular in Kashmir and the rabab (alternately known as rebab and rubab), which preceded the sarod. From the late twelfth century through the rise of British occupation, North India was under the control of a Muslim minority that was never able to extend its sphere of influence to South India. One of the main differences between North Indian and South Indian music is the increased influence of Persian music and musical instruments in the north. Within these rhythmic structures, musicians ( 1996.100.1) can create their own rhythmic patterns building off the compositional styles of others. Likewise, tala is a system of rhythmic structures based on the combination of stressed and unstressed beats. Ragas form a set of rules and patterns around which a musician can create his or her unique performance.

The music of the Indian subcontinent is usually divided into two major traditions of classical music: Hindustani music of North India and Karnatak music of South India, although many regions of India also have their own musical traditions that are independent of these.īoth Hindustani and Karnatak music use the system of ragas-sets of pitches and small motives for melody construction-and tala for rhythm.

Carnatic music youtube hd video