Editing Carnatic music (section)

==Improvisation==
Improvisation in ''raga'' is an essential aspect of [[Indian classical music]].<ref name="Mann1912">{{cite journal | last = MacCarthy |first = M.| title = Some Indian Conceptions of Music| journal = Proceedings of the Musical Association|volume = 38th Sess | pages = 41–65  |year = 1912 | doi=10.1093/jrma/38.1.41|url = https://zenodo.org/record/1431793}}</ref><ref name="Kassebaum1987">{{cite journal | last = Kassebaum |first = G. R.| title = Improvisation in Alapana Performance: A Comparative View of Raga Shankarabharana
 | journal = [[Yearbook for Traditional Music]] |volume = 19 |pages = 45–64 |year = 1987 | doi = 10.2307/767877 | jstor = 767877 | publisher = International Council for Traditional Music| s2cid=192945498 }}</ref> "''Manodharma Sangeetam''" or "''kalpana Sangeetam''" ("music of imagination") as it is known in Carnatic music, comprises several varieties of improvisation.<ref name="Kassebaum1987"/><ref>[[#Arnold2000|Kassebaum (2000)]], p17</ref>

The main traditional forms of improvisation in Carnatic music are:<ref name="Higgins1973">{{cite journal | last = Higgins |first = J. B.| title = untitled | journal = Asian Music |volume = 4 | issue = 2 |pages = 27–35  |year = 1973|doi = 10.2307/833829|jstor = 833829}}</ref><ref>[[#NettlRussells1998|Viswanathan & Cormack (1998)]], pp. 219–220.</ref>

* Alapana 
* Niraval
* Pallavi
* Ragam 
* Swarakalpana
* Tanam
* Tani Avartanam

===Raga Alapana===
{{Main|Alapana}}
An alapana, sometimes also called ragam,<ref name="Wolf1999">{{cite journal | last = Wolf |first = R.| title = untitled | journal = Asian Music |volume = 30 | issue = 1 |pages = 199–203 |year = 1999|doi = 10.2307/834271|jstor = 834271}}</ref> is the exposition of a [[raga]] or tone – a slow improvisation with no rhythm,<ref name="RoyalCarpetGlossary-R">{{cite web|url=http://www.karnatik.com/glossr.shtml|title=Royal Carpet: Glossary of Carnatic Terms R|work=karnatik.com}}</ref> where the raga acts as the basis of embellishment.<ref name="Nettl1974"/> In performing alapana, performers consider each raga as an object that has beginnings and endings and consists somehow of sequences of thought.<ref name="Nettl1974"/>

The performer will explore the [[ragam]] and touch on its various nuances,<ref name="Wolf1999"/> singing in the lower octaves first, then gradually moving up to higher octaves, while giving a hint of the song to be performed.<ref name="RoyalCarpetGlossary-R"/>

Theoretically, this ought to be the easiest type of improvisation, since the rules are so few, but in fact, it takes much skill to sing a pleasing, comprehensive (in the sense of giving a "feel for the ragam") and, most importantly, original raga alapana.

===Niraval===
{{Main|Niraval}}
Niraval, usually performed by the more advanced performers, consists of singing one or two lines of text of a song repeatedly, but with a series of melodic improvised elaborations.<ref name="Higgins1987">{{cite journal  | last = Higgins |first = J. B.
|title = Performing Arts in India: Essays on Music, Dance, and Drama| journal = Asian Music |volume = 18 | issue = 2 |pages = 103–118  |year = 1987 | doi=10.2307/833942|jstor = 833942
}}</ref> Although niraval consists of extempore melodic variations, generally, the original patterns of duration are maintained;<ref>[[#Randel2003|Randel (2003)]], p562</ref> each word in the lines of text stay set within their original place (''idam'') in the [[Tala (music)|tala]] cycle.<ref name="Viswanathan 1998 p232">[[#NettlRussells1998|Viswanathan & Cormack (1998)]], p232</ref> The lines are then also played at different levels of speed which can include double speed, triple speed, quadruple speed and even [[sextuple]] speed.<ref name="Henry2002">{{cite journal  | last = Henry |first = E. O.
|title = The Rationalization of Intensity in Indian Music| journal = Ethnomusicology |volume = 46 | issue = 1 |pages = 33–35  |year = 2002  | doi = 10.2307/852807  | jstor = 852807  | publisher = Society for Ethnomusicology}}</ref> The improvised elaborations are made with a view of outlining the raga, the tempo, and the theme of the composition.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}

===Kalpanaswaram===
{{Main|Kalpanaswaram}}
Kalpanaswaram, also known as swarakalpana, consists of improvising melodic and rhythmic passages using ''[[swara]]s'' (solfa syllables).<ref>[[#NettlRussell1998|Viswanathan & Cormack (1998)]], p219</ref> Like niraval,<ref>[[#NettlRussell1998|Viswanathan & Cormack (1998)]], p232</ref> kalpanaswaras are sung to end on a particular swara in the [[raga]] of the melody and at a specific place (''idam'') in the [[Tala (music)|tala]] cycle.<ref>[[#NettlRussell1998|Viswanathan & Cormack (1998)]], p221</ref>

Kalpanaswaras have a somewhat predictable rhythmical structure;<ref>[[#SolisNettl2009|Solis & Nettl (2009)]], p188</ref> the swaras are sung to end on the ''samam'' (the first beat of the rhythmical cycle).<ref name="Henry2002"/> The swaras can also be sung at the same speed or double the speed of the melody that is being sung, though some artists sing triple-speed phrases too.<ref name="Henry2002"/>

Kalpanaswaram is the most elementary type of improvisation, usually taught before any other form of improvisation.

===Tanam===
Tanam is one of the most important forms of improvisation, and is integral to Ragam Tanam Pallavi.<ref name="Palackal1998">{{cite journal | last = Palackal |first = J. J.
|title = untitled| journal = Yearbook for Traditional Music|volume = 30 | pages = 207 |year = 1998 | doi=10.2307/768616|jstor = 768616
|s2cid = 191394968
}}</ref> Originally developed for the veena, it consists of expanding the raga with syllables like ''tha, nam, thom, aa, nom, na,'' etc.

===Ragam Tanam Pallavi===
{{Main|Ragam Tanam Pallavi}}
Ragam, Tanam, and Pallavi are the principal long form in concerts,<ref name="Palackal1998"/> and is a composite form of improvisation. As the name suggests, it consists of raga alapana, tanam, and a [[pallavi]] line. Set to a slow-paced [[Tala (music)|tala]], the pallavi line is often composed by the performer. Through niraval, the performer manipulates the pallavi line in complex melodic and rhythmic ways.<ref name="Wolf1999"/> The niraval is followed by kalpanaswarams.

=== Tani Avartanam ===
Tani Avartanam refers to the extended solo that is played by the percussionists in a concert,<ref name="Kassebaum 2000">[[#Arnold2000|Kassebaum (2000)]], 158</ref> and is usually played after the main composition in a concert.<ref name="Viswanathan 1998 p232"/> The percussionist displays the full range of his skills and rhythmic imagination during the solo, which may take from two to twenty minutes.<ref name="Kassebaum 2000"/>