Editing Alap

{{Short description|Opening of Hindustani classical music}}
{{for multi|the 1977 Bollywood film|Alaap|the 2012 Bollywood film|Aalaap|the village in Hungary|Alap, Hungary}}
{{one source|date=April 2007}}
The '''Alap''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|ˈ|l|ɑː|p}}; {{IPA|hns|aːˈlaːp|lang}}) is the opening section of a typical [[Hindustani classical music|North Indian classical]] performance. It is a form of melodic improvisation that introduces and develops a [[raga]]. In [[dhrupad]] singing the alap is unmetered, improvised (within the raga) and unaccompanied (except for the [[tanpura]] [[Drone (music)|drone]]), and started at a slow tempo.
For people unfamiliar with the raga form, it introduces the [[thaat]] to the listener. It defines the raga, its mood, and the emphasized notes and notes with a secondary role.

Instead of wholly free improvisation, many musicians perform alap schematically, for example by way of ''vistar'', where the notes of the raga are introduced one at a time, so that phrases never travel further than one note above or below what has been covered before. In such cases, the first reach into a new octave can be a powerful event.

In instrumental music, when a steady pulse is introduced into the alap, it is called [[jor (music)|jor]]; when the tempo has been greatly increased, or when the rhythmic element overtakes the melodic, it is called [[jhala]] (dhrupad: ''[[nomtom]]''). The jor and jhala can be seen as separate sections of the performance, or as parts of the alap; in the same way, jhala can be seen as a part of jor.<ref>Kamien, Roger, and Anita Kamien. Music: an Appreciation. McGraw-Hill Education, 2018.</ref>

== Classifications ==
Several [[musicologists]] have proposed much more complicated classifications and descriptions of alap. In the same way as traditional four-part compositions have a ''sthai'', ''antara'', ''sanchar'' and ''abhog'', some treat alap with a four-part scheme using the same names. [[Bengal]]i researcher Bimalakanto Raychoudhuri in his ''Bharatiya Sangeetkosh'' suggests classification both by length (''aochar'' being the shortest, followed by ''bandhan'', ''kayed'' and ''vistar'') and by performance style (according to the four ancient ''vanis'' or singing styles – ''Gohar'', ''Nauhar'', ''Dagar'' and ''Khandar''), and proceeds to list thirteen stages:

# ''[[Vilambit]]''
# ''[[Madhya laya]]''
# ''[[Drut]]''
# ''[[Jhala]]''
# ''[[Thok]]''
# ''[[Lari/Ladi]]''
# ''Larguthav''
# ''Larlapet''
# ''Paran''
# ''Sath''
# ''Dhuya''
# ''Matha''
# ''Paramatha''

Even though Raychoudhuri admits the 13th stage is wholly extinct, as we see we are in jhala already at the fourth stage; the sthai-to-abhog movement is all part of the first stage (vilambit). Stages six and up are for instrumentalists only. Other authorities have forwarded other classifications. For example, when alap is sung with lyrics or at least syllables, as in [[dhrupad]], it is called ''sakshar'' as opposed to ''anakshar''.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}

==See also==
* [[Alapana]]
* [[Hindustani classical music]]
* [[Buka (music)|Buka]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Hindustani music terminology]]
[[Category:Formal sections in music analysis]]