Haridasa
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A
saint who asked Tyagaraja,
when he was about eighteen years of age, to recite ‘Rama Nama’ 6-860
million times. It is said that Tyagaraja
was able to complete this number in twenty-one years. In the Telugu
opera Nowka
Charitram, the composer pays homage to this saint who
transformed his life.
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Harmonics
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The
higher frequency notes related to the fundamental frequency, produced
naturally in all physical vibrations. When a stretched string is
plucked, its vibration consists of a combination of its fundamental
frequency and a number of integral multiples of the fundamental. This is
called the harmonic content of the vibration. The fundamental note would
be dominant in the full string vibration If the string is stopped at
particular points along its length, e.g. half the length, one-third the
length, etc., and then plucked, the sound produced is called an
artificial harmonic. These frequencies are called the upper partials or
higher harmonics. The corresponding notes are called Swayambhu
Swaras, i.e. notes born naturally, of their own accord.
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Harmonium
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A
portable organ-like instrument with bellows, which are pumped using the
hands or feet. Its scale is tempered. It is believed that this
instrument was brought into India by Western Christian missionaries in
the recent past.
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Harmony
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The
overall pleasant awareness of sounds played together in consonant notes.
In Western music, the major third and the major fifth are played along
with the main note, to get a major chord.
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Hechhu Sarani
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The
name of the highest pitched string of the Tala
strings of the Veena.
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Heptatonic Scale
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A
Sampoorna
scale, like any of the 72 Melakartas.
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Hexatonic scale
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Any
six-tone or Shadava
scale, e.g. Sriranjani.
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Hindustani Sangeet
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The
system of music prevalent in the north of India, as contrasted with the
Carnatic system, which has its origins in south India. Both systems of
music have as their foundation the concepts of Raga
and Tala.
Another common point is the fact that both systems have defined the
vocally produced note as the yardstick for the Swara,
unlike Western music, where the notes have been standardized with
respect to the frequency of tuning forks and an equally tempered scale.
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Hrasva
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Literally,
short. A Hrasva
note usually has a length of one unit of time. See also Dirgha
(antonym).
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