Key learning points

1. Improvising is creating music in the moment.
2. In Hindustani classical music, we can only improvise using the notes in the raag.
3. Improvisation does not need to be complicated and using fewer notes can effectively convey a feeling or emotion.
4. When we play a raag, we can add an emotion we want the listener to hear and feel. This is called ras or rasa.
5. Changing the tempo and the dynamics of our playing can give the music a different feel or emotion.

Keywords

• Improvisation - creative, in-the-moment musical composition

• Raag - musical notes used to make a composition (from Sanskrit language meaning ‘to colour’)

• Tempo - how fast or slow the music is played

• Dynamics - how loud or quiet the music is played or sung

• Ras or rasa - Sanskrit word meaning essence (of a piece of music)

Common misconception