What is Indian music?
[[File:Tamak and Tumdak 01.jpg|thumb|[[Tamak']] (r.) and [[Tumdak']] (l.) - typical drums of the Santhal people, photographed in a village in [[Dinajpur district]], [[Bangladesh]].]] There are lots of different varieties of '''Indian music'''. Most of the different types of music are similar to Western music types. Pop, classical, and folk are all included. [[India]]’s [[classical music]] has a history originating hundreds of years back and is still popular in India today, as religious inspiration or pure entertainment. Girl and boy bands are common in India. [[Farida Vakil]] founded one of the first female bands in India, The Ladybirds. Like Africa, India has many different ethnic groups, speaking their own languages, and having very distinct cultural traditions. The tal, or '''tala''', is a repeating rhythm pattern usually played by the tabla. It usually has between six and sixteen beats. The beats are grouped into small sections in the pattern. The first note in the pattern is called a ‘sam’. It shows the beginnings and ends of improvisation, so it is often emphasized. The '''Raga''' is also a pattern, but it differs from Western scales or melodies. Ragas are sort of a mix of scales and melodies. They have particular ascending and descending patterns. Ragas are used to symbolize the time of day, season, mood or special occasion. A '''drone''' is a note that’s either held or repeated throughout a piece of music. It’s usually the tonic note, the starting note. Nowadays, the drone is played by an electrical box, but traditionally, it is played using the tanpura, which is also known as the Tambura. '''Improvisation''' is when the player does not have a prepared piece or an incomplete piece of music, and they make up notes as they play. Improvisation is recognized as a form of composition. There are 4 types of structure in Indian Music, Alap, Jhor, Jhala and Gat/Bandish. Each of these has different roles in a piece of Indian music. '''Alap''' is the name for the opening part of a piece of classical music from