Alap

Singing and playing of any raga is not started straight away, it is done with its alap. Expanding the main notes (Swars) of a raga in a delayed rhythm is called alap. Which is decorated with Varna, Gamak, Meend, Khatka, Murki etc. The singer or player presents the form of the raga through alap and expresses the feelings of his mind. Alap is emotion dominant.

There are two types of alap in singing. Alap is performed at two main places, first with Aakar and second with words like 'Nom-Tom' etc. One is before the song or gat which is rhythmless and the other is in between the song or gat which is rhythmic.

The chant of 'Nom Tom' is divided into four parts: permanent, antara, sanchari, abhoga. By chanting Alap, a complete atmosphere of Raga is created which is enjoyed by everyone. After this the song or gat is started with the tabla. Alap is performed in between the playing of songs. The singers join the tabla by holding the head of the song and the players hold the head of the gat.

The instrumentalists first perform aalap and then add alap. After this, the joints start playing the Jhala. Singers first perform alap in Aakar or Nom Tom and in the middle of the song they perform alap based on aakar (Lingth) and lyrics of the song. By singing the song and chanting the song, the essence of the raga remains constant.