Khyal
Khyal or Khayal is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian/Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with romantic poetry, and allows the performer greater freedom of expression than dhrupad and is sung with the tabla instead of the pakhavaj. In khyal, ragas are extensively ornamented, and the style calls for more technical virtuosity.
Etymology
is an Urdu word of Arabic origin which means "imagination, thought, ideation, meditation, reflection". Hence khyal connotes the idea of a song that is imaginative and creative in either its nature or execution. The word entered India through the medium of the Persian language. Just as the word reflects ideas of imagination and imaginative composition, the musical form is imaginative in conception, artistic and decorative in execution and romantic in appeal.Characteristics
There are three main characteristics of khyal: various musical materials that can be employed, the selection of different types of improvisation, and the placement of various materials in order to produce a balanced and aesthetically pleasing performance.Musical Materials
Raga
is a melodic framework for improvisation based on the idea that certain characteristic patterns of notes evoke a heightened state of emotion. These patterns of notes are a fusion of scalar and melodic elements, and each raga can be described in terms of its ascending lines and descending lines, as well in terms of its characteristic melodic figures in which certain intervals are emphasised and attention is focused on particular notes.Khyal can be played in hundreds of ragas and there are few conceptual limitations when it comes to selection. Instead such decisions are made on the basis of artistic preference, vocal quality, the nature of the composition and time of the day of the performance. Some khyal singers maintain a large anthology of ragas while others prefer to focus their attention on a smaller selection. Those with high pitched voices often prefer ragas in the upper register while those with heavy vocal quality can choose ragas that are deep and ponderous in nature. Similarly artists that are adept in intonation can cultivate ragas which has melodic skips and those who enjoy intellectual and musical challenges might choose ragas of a complex nature.
Tala
The term Tala |, which is perhaps best translated as 'time measure', covers the whole subject of musical meter in Indian classical music. A tala is a metrical framework, or structure of beats, within which musical compositions are composed and performed. They can be performed in different tempi - slow, medium and fast.Khyal is usually performed in seven talas, which are Tilwada|, Jhoomra|, Rupak Tala|, Ektal|, Jhaptal|, Tintāl and Aḍacautāl. Tilwada, Jhumra and Rupak are generally used for vilambit performance although composers who use tilwada are relatively few. Ektal was traditionally used for vilambit and madhya performances, but it is also used for drut performances. Jhaptal is used for madhya performances. Adacautal is used for both slow and fast performances, but rarely encountered. Tintal was conventionally associated with drut performances, especially those that emphasize rhythmic play. It is now used for playing performances in all three tempi.
Bandish
Khyal bases itself on a repertoire of short songs ; a khyal song is called a bandish|. Every singer generally renders the same bandish differently, with only the text and the raga remaining the same. Khyal bandishes are typically composed in a variant of Hindi-Urdu or occasionally the Dari variant of the Persian language, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, or Marathi. These compositions cover diverse topics, such as romantic or divine love, praise of kings or gods, the seasons, dawn and dusk, and the pranks of Krishna, and they can have symbolism and imagery. The Rajasthani or Marwari khyals were usually written down in the Dingal language.A bandish is divided into two parts, the sthayi| and the Antara |. These sections can be characterised in terms of three pitch registers, low middle and high. The sthayi section is composed in the low register and bottom of the middle half register, while the antara section is composed in the upper middle register and high registers. The sthayi section is considered more important because it shows the pitch selection and melodic contours of the raga, while antara section is more textually dense.
Types of Improvisation
Alap
is a form of improvisation that is used to introduce the characteristics of a raga in a gradual and systematic fashion. It can be sung to vocables in free form, in which case it is known as. It can also be sung to the text of the bandish in metrical form, in which case it is called or . The degree of rhythm that is introduced to the alap by the bandish also varies from singer to singer. There are various styles of presenting a raga, such as and . The pacing and divisions of alap can also vary, some artists spend more time in a certain pitch register than others.Tans
are fast melodic figures of a virtuosic nature, sung to a vowel - usually 'ā'. They can vary in shape, range, presence of ornamentation, speed, etc. The concept of tans is elusive and difficult to define. Some singers are well known for singing tans, especially tans of shape such as 'roller-coaster' and 'plateau', while others use only a few in their performances. Tans can be sung in different sections, or they can be ornamented to the point that the different pitches are indistinguishable.When tans are sung to syllables of the bandish text they are known as boltans. They provide a textual element to improvisation in khyal. The bols in bolton are supposed to be spaced in a scattering of tans so that the meaning of the text can be properly understood. They can be described as being melismatic and contrasted with the long and stretched form of akars. They can be used to create rhythmic interest or they can be indistinguishable to akars.
Bolbant
refers to the use of the bandish text for the purpose of rhythmic play. It is used by musicians who excel in the control of tala. Some artists create passages of bolbans with rhythmic placement of the straight lines of the bandish text while others recombine the text words and phrases for variety. Many artists use simple syncopation patterns while others use more audacious patterns such as layakari. The rhythmic variety in bolbant is essentially unlimited.Sargam
passages are those enunciating the syllables for the pitches as they are sung. Most artists use them for speed, in the manner of tans, but with manifestation of mathematically proportioned rhythmic densities relative to the speed of the tala counts than a 'flowing' tan is likely to give. Another option is to use sargam in bolbant-like improvisation, and a few khyal singers bring the text syllables into play.Nom-tom
features rhythmic pulsations, achieved by pitch repetition, particular ornamentation, and enunciation of text syllables, vocables, or vowels. It is only used by a limited number of artists since it is associated more often with dhrupad than with khyal. In dhrupad, it is sung as part of the unmetered ragalap which is presented before the composition is performed, and it is sung to vocables. In khyal, it is sung before or after the composition is presented, and it can be sung to either vocables or syllables of the bandish text. Its features complement the rippling effects of tans and the lyrical element of alap while avoiding the rhythmic complexity of boltans.Placement of various materials
A typical khyal performance uses two bandish compositions — the constitutes most of the performance, while the is used as a finale and is usually in the same raga but a different tala. The bada khyal covers a wide range of possibilities, ideally giving attention to all musical elements - melody, rhythm and speed. In the chota khyal, melody is accomplished through the bandish while rhythm and speed is emphasised through improvisation. Another difference is one of speed, the bada khyal begins at a slow speed or medium speed, while the chota khyal begins at a fast speed. In each of these two songs, the rate of the tala counts gradually increases during the course of their performance.The main portion of the khyal performance is often preceded by some kind of melodic improvisation which widely varies due to artistic preference. Some artists begin their performance by singing to a small number of vocables, such as 'de', 'ne', or 'na', or to vowels, or to the words of the bandish text. For some, this section acts as a kind of vocal warm-up, taking up only a few seconds. Others use it in order to set the mood, singing for a minute or two, with the effect of beginning a ragalap, or singing a kind of 'mini-ragalap', or possibly foreshadowing the bandish that comes next. Meanwhile, some singers make it a major structural portion of their bada khyal and surround it ragalap before and rupakalapti after.
The first phrase of the sthayi is the most important component of the bandish because it provides material for most cadences in the performance. Some artists present the antara gradually by creating a cadence or two in the process while the first phrase of the antara provides material for the cadence. The mukhda can be performed as an element of rhythm, or it can be blended into the alap-oriented structure of the slow bada khyal. The melody of the mukhda generally undergoes a great deal of change during improvisation. The bandish is usually sung with its sections separated in some way. In the bada khyal, especially at a slow speed, artists usually sing the sthayi only at the beginning, after which the sthayi text are augmented with new melody. Most artists begin singing the antara some point when the high pitch register is reached. Meanwhile, other artists prefer to skip the antara section, thereby reducing the textual density of the bada khyal, and instead sing the sthayi text in an antara-like melody. Some artists sing both the sthayi and the antara are the beginning of the bada khyal, this is particularly common in medium speed bada khyal performances. They often use some kind of improvisation to separate the sthayi from the antara, or they might use a different arrangement.