raga: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

See All Audio →

Topics

grama-raga rāgamālā improvisation alap musical form ragam-tanam-pallavi South Asian music tala khayal śruti dhrupad opera concerto symphony sonata fugue sonata form

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

South Asian arts: Music

Key People

The sound of the sarod

Amjad Ali Khan

Indian musician and composer

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi passionately sings on stage, seated behind a microphone with a tanpura in the background during a classical Indian concert performance.

Bhimsen Joshi

Indian vocalist

default image

Tansen

Indian musician and poet

default image

Tyagaraja

Indian composer

Ali Akbar Khan

Ali Akbar Khan

composer and musician

Young girl wearing a demin jacket playing the trumpet (child, musical instruments, Asian ethnicity)

Sound Check: Musical Vocabulary Quiz

Sheet music from "The Saint Louis Blues" by W.C. Handy, 1914. (St. Louis Blues)

Music in the World (Part Three) Quiz