“The music that I have learnt and want to give is like worshipping a God. It’s absolutely like a prayer.” — Pandit Ravi Shankar.

When one can wholeheartedly lose themselves in the world of music, immersing one’s senses in it, there is no greater joy than learning lessons in music. If you’re the kind of person who finds yourself crooning to a Hindustani song, you can learn Indian classical music online.

There are only two things you need to be able to thoroughly enjoy Hindustani or any music in general: passion and perseverance. The passion comes from you and the perseverance comes from a persistent and inspiring instructor. There is no learning music without a teacher who truly inspires you to do more and be more, for the music and for yourself versus for a live performance alone.

Vocal lessons for beginners generally include the following lessons, along with the individual choices made by each teacher.

1. Patti — The scale in which a singer renders the song. Similar to the Western concept of scales which are major, minor, harmonic minor etc.

2. Swar — The notes in which songs are rendered. The four types are: Achala, Vikrut, Komal and Teevra. These are similar to the Western concepts of notes: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, etc. Beginners are told how these Swars are sung in the different types.

3. Saptaks — The octaves in Hindustani music, within which notes are sung are referred to as Saptaks in Hindustani music. There are three octaves touched upon in Hindustani music.

4. Raags — Raags form the foundation of both Carnatic and Hindustani music, and sometimes, the two styles of music often have similarities in Raags. A Raag is the melody in which Swars are sung. A Raag is made up of a combination of the different types of Swars.

5. Alaap — Alaaps are rendered in a slow tempo, and are relied upon to portray the prominent features of a Raag. This brings out the very essence of the Raag.

6. Taan — A Taan is rendered by the musician, by improvising different combinations of Swars of the Raag in a fast tempo. This is a tribute to their talent, practice, and overall training.

7. Ras — A Raag has different emotions and moods associated with it, and is capable of evoking emotions. Ras denotes the mood of the Raag. As the Ras is rendered, it is heightened by the time of the day and year that the Raag is rendered, as well as the emotion of the Raag. In Hindustani music, it is believed that some Raags have an exemplary influence over natural conditions like the weather. So, some Raags like the ones under the Malhar category, are only sung during a specific season.

8. More concepts — A beginner who takes Hindustani music lessons online is also gradually introduced to more concepts including Thaat and Alankars, along with the names and origin of Raags.

On ipassio.com, you receive careful and constant guidance when it comes to teachers. These teachers are handpicked based on not just their performance skills but their teaching skills as well. Anyone can become a professional Hindustani vocal musician, but it begins with proper guidance and real passion from the individual’s side.