Riyaaz

करत करत अभ्यास के जड़मति होत सुजान |

रसरि आवत जात ते सिल पर पडत निसान ||

Karat Karat Abhyaas Ke Jadamati Hot Sujaan |

Rasaree Aavat Jaata Te Sila Par Padat Nisaan ||

This doha is taken from 'Vrinda-Satsai' by poet Vrinda. Just as marks are formed on the stone of the well due to the repeated rubbing of the rope, similarly, with constant practice ,even a dull- witted person can become intelligent or wise!

Just as rishis would recite and repeat the mantras regularly to attain mantra siddi, music aspirants need to practice with focus and repeat the exercise to achieve clarity in what is sung or performed. Without practice and discipline, it is difficult to reach one’s full potential.

“Riyaaz” is perhaps the most commonly used term in the discourse of Hindustani Music. It enjoys a prestige next only to such other terms as guru, gharana and raag. 

Riyaaz is an Arabic word, which is used in the context of practice and sadhana in music. Riyaaz is the means of doing prescribed actions again and again to attain perfection or proficiency and to practice it diligently and regularly to attain proficiency in any work.

During the Muslim rule, the word 'riyaaz' became popular among musicians both vocal and instrumental. In Hindustani classical music, 'riyaaz' is considered the key to excellence. Regular and proper practice broadens the talent of the practitioner and infuses life into the art. Riyaaz hones the throat, which increases the impact of singing. Music is an experimental art, which is proved by its presentation. To achieve success in this art, regular and correct 'practice' is very important and this practice is called 'Riyaaz'. 

To do Riyaaz is to honestly follow a systematized and impersonalized body of psycho-physical procedures of self-study intended to help performers acquire skills adequate for giving acceptable and effective presentations for a notional audience.

It is indicative of the persistent efforts that an Artist makes and also the level of commitment one has towards the Art of Music making in the Hindustani Tradition.

Voice culture falls under the umbrella of Riyaaz and inbuilt into the techniques of Riyaaz. The skills acquired through Riyaaz equip the performers to give presentations that meet standards of a performance and thereby determining the success of the artiste and his career.

It is through Riyaaz a learner graduates into performer with confidence. 

There is nothing without Riyaaz. First learn and then practice and then practice. Riyaz should be done with knowledge and understanding 

The time of your practice definitely has an impact on your singing. The person who practices during the Dev Muhurat will have a heart touching voice. The person who practices at 10-11 in the morning, his singing remains the same. And the person who practices at night, his singing is aggressive.

To establish and strengthen the notes, keep practing 'Sa' and Also other notes.  To make a Swar firm in the throat, it should be viewed from a different angle.  In every raga, the vision to view the Swar is different. Similarly, the image of each note has to be created unique to every raga,

Pandit Jasraj

The term Taalim and Riyaaz are profusely used in the classical music because our music is following the ancient and traditional Guru- Shishya Paramapara.

Seekhya is to learn from the Guru, Dekhya is to listen attentively, Parkhya is after Observed listened and assimilation of every 'impression' being received throughout the life and then analyzing it in such a way that it comes out with your interpretations and becomes your own 'property', this is the essence of 'Taalim and ‘Riyaaz'. When the student attains maturity in musical thinking, he recognizes the right and wrong.

Pt. Shivkumar Sharma

Riyaaz doesn't mean the physical exercise of vocal music. It is the correct realization of every note closely. Training is an essential part of Riyaaz. Riyaaz makes your musical presentation, your musical thought process formative as you visualize it with your aesthetic vision.

Begum Parveen Sultana

If God gave me a lifespan of 400 years, I would practice for 300 years and play only for 100 years.

Pandit Samta Prasad Mishra

First of all, the throat instrument must be prepared, after that any one raga can be practiced. Hard work is necessary for music practice.

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

What is most important in music? "Riyaz, Riyaz and only Riyaz"

Ustad Ziafariduddin Dagar

A good voice is a God-gift, but it can be made performance-worthy only by properly training and practicing it.

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan

Swar Sadhana is like a line drawn on water, which vanishes as it is drawn.

Prabha Atre ji

That is, the state of Sadhana is like a line drawn on water, just as to make a line stable on water, you have to draw it continuously and only then it becomes visible, similarly in music, there is a need for repeated practice.

If you don't practice for a day, only you get to know about it, if you don't practice for seven days, your neighbors get to know about it and if you miss practice for many days, the entire world understands.

Old Saying among Musicians

'Riyaaz' is the foundation of all music aspirants. If the foundation is strong, the student can build any high building of music on it. Riyaaz should be done with utmost care, concentration and thought. Practice should be done keeping in mind how to use the note, the place of note, whether the correct notes are being used in the Ragas or not.

You should make your ears your second Guru. Because the Guru will not always be in front of you. That is, during practice, you should concentrate so much that you can understand your every mistake. Practice should always be done with awareness.

' Every note in every raga has its own 'individual personality'. In that raga, each note has its own face, expression and personality. During riyaaz, each note should be sung by looking at it from that perspective.

Listening is an important part of riyaaz. If you sit with elders, you get to hear their experiences and just by listening to them, we gain a lot of knowledge. And a student should develop the habit of listening to the tanpura.

Also, "Our Gurus never imposed any restriction that we should only listen to the music of our own gharana. The tune is given by nature. 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni' is the same for everyone. It is just that the vision of the tune may be different in different gharanas because everyone has a different vision of beauty. But the tune is one."

"When listening, do not listen as a critic, but listen as a student. Only then will you be able to learn something from the music and only then will you be able to recognize the good qualities in it and adopt them within yourself."

To sing every raga, the artist must change his nature. Only by immersing oneself in the emotion of the raga can the notes of that raga be sung. There are so many ragas with similar notes. To differentiate between them, one has to first go into the emotion of that raga and sing with devotion towards that raga.

"There is a difference between 'listening' and 'Shravan'. Shravan means accepting something, loving it. A student should have the habit of accepting what is listened to. All the words of the Guru should be recorded in the heart."

Do your work and don't worry about the result.

""Humility" is the mother of learning. One must remain humble within oneself. One must know how to bow before one's teachers and elders. Only then one can enjoy learning and all this together gives fragrance to practice. If one is in tune, it should feel like a drop of honey. It should feel like someone is dripping honey juice."

We should pray to God 'Oh Lord, Oh Mother Saraswati, Oh Guru, please help me to sing a tune today'

Pandit Rajan Mishra Ji

The near equivalent word in Indian ethos is Sadhana which refers to a long-term, perhaps lifelong, discipline whose end is not only a well-defined goal but the pursuit of sadhana itself. In that sense, sadhana doesn’t make a clear distinction between labour and its fruit, between preparation and performance. Sadhana, unlike riyaaz, isn’t a music-specific word.

Saadhana is the next level of riyaaz which can be achieved by a disciple only through his rigorous penance. The achievement of sadhana is the means of attaining music. Saadhana means to accomplish i.e. the act of accomplishing a task or the achievement of feeling. Practice is necessary to accomplish any task. When this practice reaches another level and its goal becomes bigger, then it is called sadhana. Sages and saints used to call sadhana as japa-tapa. Just as mantras were chanted to achieve siddhi, similarly, Penance is first necessary to achieve the perfection of notes in music. It is impossible to understand sadhana in any genre without regular practice and discipline. 

The student's throat is prepared in riyaaz and practice. But after that there is an important thing which is called sadhana. With this, the sadhak starts on a spiritual journey. The "DIVINE TOUCH" in the singing of an artist is the feeling of the soul. It can be obtained through sadhana.

Through Saadhana in music, one eventually encounters realization of various nature in Swar, Shruthi, Laya, Taal, Bandish and other elements of the performing art. These happen in various stages of ones leaning and practice journey. A Eureka moment which a musician relishes infusing more encouragement and zeal to practice further with a fanatic seal and ardent dedication to the guru and the music.

For Musicians who have dedicated their lives to music, the journey is beyond Riyaaz and takes the form of Saadhana or penance in music.

In the Vedic guru shishya Parampara, all knowledge systems were passed on orally to students and great care placed on the method of teaching, learning, practice and performance, as in the case of vedic recitation. The shiksha and pratishakhya literature illustrate the rules in study of Sama-sangeet. The Naradiya Shiksha provides detailed instructions on the how to study the Vedas.

The disciple should sing as the guru does, by keeping his hands on his knees. The singer should not move his body while producing a note. The portion below the waist should be relaxed and the hands should move according to the sequence (of the gestural notation). One should utter a note or a varna with the body still as a tortoise, and with fearless and calm mind. The body should be tremor less or still and quiet as a hawk.

Gaatra Veena - There were many methods of riyaaz since ancient times. Out of them, Gaatra Veena was one of the systems at that time.  Gaatra Veena is a symbolic representation of Musical Swars on a palm of right hand. The thumb is used to point and indicate a note to be sung at SaamGaan.” When Sama singers sing Saam, they imagine the notes of the Veena in the fingertips of the hand with the help of Gaatra Veena. 

Read about Vedic Paat

In the world of Music, Practice is for development of both the faculties of Voice and Musicality. Each person has a different level of innate musical understanding, unique voice and issues in both. 

One needs to pay attention to the limitations of one’s Voice. The strengths of one's voice also needs to be maintained and improved. 

It is through Riyaaz one needs to be reduced and rid of the defects in the voice. The Voice culture training needs to be used for this purpose first. If one is going wrong or getting stuck at a particular place while singing, then one practices to correct that aspect of singing. 

Hindustani Classical Music is predominantly Raga Sangeet or elaboration of the Raga as the main theme in a performance. It is through Riyaz one gets the necessary foundation to Understand & Practice

1. voice and its defects

2. The 12 Swars and its territory of shruthis 

3. The Raga and its movement and its associated Swar Uccharan

4. Singing a Bandish in various formats

5. Singing various embellishments such as Alaap, Bol, Behelava, Layakari, Taan 

According to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi: Riyaaz is that where we work on something which we are unable to do. And that which we have mastered, we present in a Concert. 

Anecdote: Aadat, Jigar and Hisab & Chilla

In the context of why Riyaaz? the three terms Aadat, Jigar and Hisaab provide a crisp definition on the expectations from a Musician and also what basic aspects of music one must focus while in practice.

In the Muslim era, the practice of a singer was called trigunatmak. These three qualities are considered to be Aadat, Jigar and Hisab. Hindustani Classical Music is predominant on development of the Raga through the various forms and aspects such as Khayal (Bada, Chota) and embellishments such as Alaap, Bol, Behalava, Taan etc.

Aadat- means a singer and instrumentalist should make it a habit to practice as much as possible every day.

Jigar - The form of the raga is its life, i.e. jigar. While practicing, the form of the raga should be kept in mind. That is, the form of the raga, i.e. prana, should be maintained. If a person does not have prana, he cannot live. Similarly, if the proportion of notes in the raga is not kept correct, then the form of the raga will be destroyed.

Hisaab – Hisaab means calculation in rhythm, beat and tune i.e. a singer should perform only after keeping in mind the rhythm, beat and tune and only then he will be considered a true musician.

From these three, it is understood that in the old times, practice, keeping the raga format correct and singing by keeping in mind the rhythm, beat and tune is Habit, Jigar and Hisab

In music, all the three elements, 'swara', 'taal and rhythm', 'kavya and literature' are important. If any music student pays attention to all these elements, then only he can become a top class artist.

Chilla is a vow taken mainly by Muslim musicians to practice music rigorously for 40 days at specified hours. It is a kind of spiritual 'retreat'. This is followed by a religious ritual in which the almighty is asked to confer blessings on the performer. Chilla has derived from chalees the Hindi term for forty."

In Hindustani music education, the word Chilla had a great significance in ancient times. In this, the Guru would give orders to the disciple, in which the disciple was required to practice rigorously at one place for a fixed time in the Brahma Muhurta before sunrise for forty days continuously. During these forty days, the disciple could not go out anywhere.  The importance of Chilla was so much that earlier the Gurus used to know the count of the Chillas of the student before making him their disciple. ' The hard work would start every day at four in the morning. In this Chilla, the stability of each note is made perfect. For the first hour, only the Sa was played.

Riaz is not just an act but it is an important part of a practitioner's musical journey.  To perform it, a practitioner must keep a few things in mind.  

1. One must have knowledge of the correct method of practice. 

A practitioner should not just practice but practice correctly. Guidance of the right Guru, knowledge of correct Riaz techniques and proper practice is the path to this art. The most important of all is the correct use of voice. If the voice is sore after Riyaaz, then one has used the voice in the wrong way.

2. Regularity in Practice. 

Whatever is learnt, it is essential to do it regularly every day for many years.  Regularity in practice is as important as knowledge of those Riyaz tantras. Another aspect is the focus and concentration during practice to get the most benefit from the session

3. Repetition in Practice

Any exercise in practice must be repeated at least 100 times each. Repetition helps improve muscle memory and vocal cord approximation. All vocal exercises are done in slow tempo and speed is increased when one is able to sing correctly. When learning Ragas, One should practice the phrases of a Raga till the time one is able to sing it properly. One should repeat the Bandish hundreds of times in order to firm up the phrases and understand the elaborative possibilities.

4. Contemplation

The role of intellect is also very important in Riyaz and art presentation. For the musical development of a singer and a seeker, contemplation of the ideas of Sur, Taal, Raga, Bandish is very essential to discover newer aspects of presentation. Mental imagery of Swar, Taal and Bandish is very essential in exploring creative avenues of practice. After learning any particular Raga mental thinking of that Raga is also essential. Suppose you are relaxing on a chair and humming Aaroh, Avroh of the Raga or the outline of the Bandish, it is called mental Riyaz.

5. Listening

Practice does not only mean singing but also listening. It is necessary to listen to recordings of olden day artistes and of ones Guru and his/her tradition and listen to live performances. Listening is necessary to become a good artist.

6. Mental Balance

Mental balance is extremely important in riyaaz and sadhana. During riyaaz, the student needs to have concentration, meditation, peace of mind, no separate thoughts in the mind, and freshness and a single focus in the mind. There should be no tension or any kind of fear, restlessness in the mind of the practitioner.

The Tanpura is a revered instrument for all vocalists as it serves to provide the ambience of the Tonic Swar on which all Raga Sangeet is created. 

The first step involved is tuning the Tanpura which is a very skilled activity in itself! Dr. Ashok Ranade has explained about what it means to tune a Tanpura. 

"When you say I tune the Tanpura what do I mean? One has to reduce the distance between the two things. The idea of Swara that we have in our mind and the Swara that is created in the Tanpura need to come closer. The gap between the two needs to disappear. That is Tuning of Tanpura. When we match a radio station frequency we say that we tune the station. Same idea is here. The image of Swara in the mind and the instrument need to match. So Riyaaz should happen with acoustic instruments. In the acoustic Tanpura the kind of harmonic spectrum one gets is not there in case of electronic instruments."

Unless one has a clear idea of the placement of the Main Swars Sa, Pa, Ma and Ni, one cannot tune the Tanpura.

In case of a well-tuned Tanpura, if one plucks the Kharaj string all the strings start to vibrate. All the harmonics are generated. The tempo of the plucking decides the spectrum of harmonics that are generated.

The second aspect is the playing of the Tanpura throughout ones practice or performance. Only a correct technique of plucking the string can help generate the correct harmonics and ensure the strings dont go out of tune. The four Strings also need to be plucked in a constant rhythm there by the concept of laya is also practiced.

The third aspect is in listening to the Tanpura. Apart from the Basic notes of Sa, Pa, one also also hear a Ga and Re. These Swars are called Harmonics. 

The fourth aspect is listening to the Tanpura and the voice together. The Tanpura also helps one in understanding the correct position of a Swar. Due to the generation of all the seven swars from the strings of Tanpura as harmonics, unless one hits the right frequency of a note, the human voice and the sound from Tanpura will be dissonant and one can hear the dissonance.

Hence Practice with a well tuned Tanpura is very essential to develop the correct position of a Swar in our Minds and then one must work to tune a Tanpura well!

1. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, a highly talented and top class artist of the Kirana Gharana, used to practice Mandra Sadhna from 4 to 7 in the morning for many years. After that, he used to practice Todi Raga from 9 to 12 in the morning. After that, he used to practice Raga Multani in the evening from 4 in the evening and Raga Puriya in the night. During practice, each palta was sung for two to three hours. 

2. Begum Parveen Sultana, a great artist of the Patiala Gharana, used to practice a Taan or Palte up to 600 times a day on a regular basis. Her daily practice duration was close to 10 hours.

3. Ustad Saiduddin Dagar has said - When Guru used to give a Palta, its practice had to be done by counting the beads of 11 Malas (rosaries) and doing it that many times every day and each Malaika had 1100 beads. This means for one Palta, 1100 beads had to be pulled 11 times. Till one cycle was not completed, they did not get any food.

4. Pandit Gajanan Rao Joshi told the method of Riyaz to understand Ragas which was practiced by Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar and he told in a discussion session. To understand each Raga, first of all a structure of notes was made in that Raga which included the ascent, descent and main swara-group of that Raga. Gajanan Bua ji made all the disciples memorize this structure. After that they had to sit in taal and then try to sing it in different matra. This made it easy to understand the movement of the Raga, the structure of the Raga, the preparation of the Raga and the Raga. This has been discussed further in the Swara Prakaran.

5. Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar Ji used to say the importance of Riyaaz – If a Palta is sung 100 times then it is remembered, if a Palta is sung 500 times then it is not forgotten throughout life but if it is sung 1000 times then the Palta gets faster. The art of music is a dynamic activity.

The Basic foundational Riyaaz for a student a musician is covered in the Topic of Voice Culture in Riyaaz. Khayal sangeet being predominantly Raga Sangeet needs focus on other areas of Performance during Riyaaz.

1. The Raga 

The difference between a Thaat and a Raga lies in the special application of Swars called Swar Uchharan or Swar Lagav, phrases of swars unique to Raga called Raag Ang vachak Swar Sangathi. Without these, only the structure of the raga can be presented, but the raga-bhaav and raga-form cannot be made alive to the audience. A Swar which is used in different ragas have different approaches in each Raga. The Swar uses various musical embellishments such as Kan, Andolan, Gamak, Meend, Khatka, Murki, Apatv-Bahutva, Nyas, Apanyas in combination with other Swars to give unique flavour to each Raga. Therefore, after the basic practice of Sur, it is very important to learn, understand, and practice different aspects of Swar Lagaav for Khayal singing in every Raag-anga and associated Ragas. One must have a good grasp in all Ashray Ragas and Raag-angas to learn ragas which are derivative of the Thaat and Raag-anga. Not every raga uses all forms of embellishments and hence it is best learned from a practitioner from a strong background in the Classical tradition.

The next aspect in presentation of a Raga is Alaap and Raag Vistar or elaboration. Each Gharana has a different approach to the elaboration of a Raga but the mood of the Raga is kept intact by use of correct Phrases and Swar Lagaav or Uchharan. The opening of every Raga is given a very important place in Khayal. 

While a raga can have a different Graha Swar or starting Swar, the singing of the opening Sa, unique to Raga, is also very important. Just by listening to the way Sa is approached, one can guess the Raga to be performed.

Practice of Alaap happens according to tradition such as Nom-Tom, Akaar Alaap, a simple brief Aochar or a Poorna alaap. It is very important to know and Practice the basic phrases in a Raga in both Ascent and Descent to be able to develop the Raga in Alaap. The knowledge of Alankaars to mainly embellish the Raga Alaap and Vistaar. This paves way to approach the Raga with innovative starting phrases in a Raga for Raga elaboration. The complete personality and melody of a raga is seen in alaap only. The balance of activity, emotionality and artistry in alaap is the mark of a good singer. One also focuses on knowledge of Samprakruthi Ragas or Similar Ragas using same swars or phrasing to avoid influence from other Ragas.

2. The Bandish

Bandish is considered the main medium of expression in Raga Sangeet. The Bandish is a composition which is bound by Raga and Taal and conveys the idea of the Raga. Practice of the Basic Bandish has profound meaning to a student and musician. The bandish is repeated multiple times to understand the words, its placement in the Taal and the movement of the Raga.

1. The Swar composition of a Bandish aims to showcase a certain aspect of the Raga in the Sthayi and Antara and whose idea is developed while elaborating the Bandish. 

Just like a Raag has two parts, Poorvang and Uttarang, similarly a verse of a Khayal has two parts which are called Sthayi (first half of the bandish) and Antara (second half of the bandish). 

The Sthayi is most important as it contains the Mukhda or the opening phrase of the composition and the picture of the whole Raga is encapsulated in the Sthayi. Thus, the emotion and form of the bandish are expressed by the opening line of the bandish. The Antara elaborates the Madhya and Taar Saptak and completes the picture of the Raga.

2. The Literature of the Bandish is in sync with the mood of the Raga and must be kept in mind while elaborating the Bandish. Proper pronunciation of the words in a musical phrase is also essential in practice. understanding the meaning of the Bandish and its associated emotion is crucial to evoke the same while elaborating the Raga. 

There are various angas in the elaboration of a Raga within the Bandish. Each Aspect is either present or absent depending on the Gharana. the Approach to each of the aspect also varies with Gharana or artiste.

• Alaap

• Bandish ka Alaap

• Bol alaap

• Behelawa

• Bol-Banav

• Bol-Bant

• Taan

• Bol-Taan

From the view point of Literature, one must pay attention to 

1. How words are pronounced, use and extention of vowels in words

2. Selection of words for bol-banav

3. Selection of word to start and end Bol-Alaap

4. Timing for each syllable in words used in Bol-Alaap

5. Words used for embellishments and Sangathis

6. Creation of meaningful phrases 

A Typical performance of a Raga includes singing the Bada Khayal in vilambit, Chota Khayal in Madhya/Drut and a Tarana in Drut. The Expansion of Raga in each item is unique to the Bandish and form. The idea of Raga Vistaar is to strenghten the sentiment of the Musical composition of the Bandish.

A musician usually practices many Bandishes in a Raga. Because each Bandish in a raga is composed in different ways and by expanding them using them as a medium, various aspects of the raga can be revealed to the singer. In this way, the singer gets new ways, variety and richness in raga presentation. Some bandishes are complex pose a challenge in expanding them. Hence, the intellectual ability and creative approach of the singer comes to the fore. Another importance of expansion through Bandishes is that it is difficult to determine the ascent, descent and movement of some Ragas which are a mixture of three, four or five ragas. In this situation, it becomes easy to expand the raga by following the path shown by the Bandish.

Bandish shows the way to the raga, if one wants to understand the raga then one must understand the bandish 

3. The Taal

Taal is another dimension of Bandish and Raga Vistaar. It is the medium of expansion of the Raga through the Bandish and Laya. For the three main Layas of Vilambit, Madhya and Drut the three compositional forms are used namely Bada Khayal, Chota Khayal and Tarana. 

Each composition is unique in its use of Taal, The starting point of the composition, placement of Sam, use of accent and Laya. One must be well versed with the Theka of the Taal, its division or Chhand and the placement of the words as per the beats and sub beats of the Taal. 

Laya praman starts in ones mind and must be practiced even mentally. Students must practice giving the Thaali Khaali of the Taal while singing the Bandish. Maintenance of Laya in a presentation is a basic requirement and a key area of focus in Riyaaz. 

Just as there are variety of Taals (with different Matras, with same number of Matras and different Theka, Same number of matras but differing in distribution of beats), there are many compositions in a given Taal, varying its length of Mukhda, different starting points, differing in Chhanda or meter or stress on different beats other than those of the Taal. 

The aim is just not to catch the mukhda and arrive at sam by just singing anything in the taal, rather it is necessary to practice how the structure of the entire Bandish comes together with the sections of the taal. The shape of the entire cycle of the taal should be in front of the students eyes. The khaali-bhaari of the taal on which the Bandish is based should be related to it. The personality of the taal, its sections and weight, the statement of the bandish with that rhythm and its poetry, all together are the identity of a good bandish presentation. The poetry of the bandish should be presented in a 'dialogue' with the taal

The Bandish along with Taal also determines the way the Raga is expanded. The process of expansion of the ragas changes according to the mukhdaa of the bandish and the swara on which the sam falls. Phrasing in all aspects of Raga and Bandish elaboration needs to be in sync with the structure of Taal. The Laya of the Bandish should be selected according to the nature and emotion of the Bandish and the raga. 

Hence, learning many Bandishes which uses variety within a Taal and across different Taals helps improve overall musicianship and artistry.

4. Performance Aesthetics

An aesthetic performance of a Raga is judged by how effectively an artiste evokes the overall mood of the Raga from beginning to finish along with showcase of technical brilliance or Vidhwata. While artistes of yesteryears have set incredibly high standards for performance, the current audience, however determine the criteria (to a large extent) in what is an aesthetically pleasing performance. Unless one has tasted (heard) many artistes, old and new, one cannot form a clear picture of what are the elements for a performance to be aesthetically pleasant. Evoking the mood of the Raga is however the foremost goal of every performer.

The artistic perspective of an artist and music aspirant keeps on growing with his listening, practice and experience. And it is through this musical journey that divinity comes in his art which takes him to the ultimate peak. It is the performer in conjunction with the accompanists who work towards the success of the performance, with the main performer guiding the entire team. 

Some popular areas in performance which can earn appreciation for being aesthetically pleasing

1. Raga Aochar, Alaap

2. Aamad, starting of the Mukhda and setting the laya for Bandish

3. Effective and creative use of each Avarthan (cycle of the Taal) for Raga Elaboration

4. Arrival of Sam after each Avarthan

5. Maintaining the Tension in the Avarthan so as to release it during arrival of Sam. 

6. Use of various angas in Gayaki.

7. Balance in proportion of each phase of Raga and Bandish Badat from Bada khayal, Chota Khayal and Tarana and within each section and its sub sections.

8. Taan and its varieties

9. Role of Accompanying artistes and their showmanship

10. Use of Kaku: Kaku is a very important aspect in communication of musical ideas. a musician conveys different emotions through use of Kaku. Kaku is a modulation of the voice. Kaku is used is speech, like how we speak when we want to be stern with a child, or cajol a child when we want to feed him, or express grief on losing a beloved one. The same is extended in music when singing a sentence of a composition and using appropriate vocal modulations and dynamics to express it musically. When a singer creates emotions through difference in sound in his sweet voice, it is called Kaku. It is very important to use Kaku for expressing emotions in Ragas. Kaku is used in any word or in any musical passage. 

1. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/452946

2. Some Thoughts on Riaz - Ashok Ranade

3. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/469190

4. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/251304