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Raga

A raga (Sanskrit rāga राग,રાગ, রাগ, literally "colour, hue" but also "beauty, melody"; also spelled raag, rag, ragam) is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.

It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made. In the Indian musical tradition, rāgas are associated with different times of the day, or with seasons. Indian classical music is always set in a rāga. Non-classical music such as popular Indian film songs and ghazals sometimes use rāgas in their compositions.

The term raga was defined by Joep Bor of the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music as "tonal framework for composition and improvisation." Nazir Jairazbhoy, chairman of UCLA's department of ethnomusicology, characterised ragas as separated by scale, line of ascent and descent, transilience, emphasised notes and register, and intonation and ornaments.

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  • Part of Speech: noun
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  • Industry/Domain: Music
  • Category: Classical
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