Indian Classical Music

The Vocal Music trad­ition (Singing) is especially strong in the gamut of In­dian music which consists of other forms including Instruments.  It goes without saying that the song is probably the most ancient form of music.  

It is said that the "Samaveda" is the oldest musical text in India.  It is true that the Samaveda is written in a crude musical notation.  Indian Contemporary musical forms are built up from very well defined structures.  There are many genres to Indian Classical Music, some are old and some new.  Dhrupad and dhammar are one of the oldest in use today. Another equally old form is the tarana which is based upon meaningless syllables.  More modern (by In­dian stan­dards) are the highly improvised kheyal, dadra, and thumri.  Then there are local developed forms of Indian classical music style is the tappa of Punjab.
Classical songs of north India are mainly devotional in nature, but there are a few genre which are especially oriented toward religion.  Most notable of them are the bhajan, dhun or kirtan for Hindus, the qawwali for Muslims, and the shabad for Sikhs.
Today, Indian Music has become a broad definition where Indian Film Music (Bollywood Music) is also becoming a notable contributor to the same. Its developing as another genre. There are a mix of variety used to create the same.
For a performer it is very important to pickup a style of music and create a perfection for himself/herself. Learning in Vocal Music starts with the basic Sa Re Ga Ma and various alankaars as they help improve the voice quality and the range of singing.