GuidePractice8 min read
A 30-minute daily riyaz
Riyaz works because it is daily, not because it is long. This is a half-hour shape that many students use as a base. If you have a teacher, their plan comes first; use this to fill the days between lessons.
The half hour
| Minutes | Practice | What it builds |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3 | Settle with the tanpura; sing a long Sa | Pitch, breath, attention |
| 3–10 | Kharaj: long notes in the lower octave | Depth, control, steadiness of Sa |
| 10–18 | Alankars, slowly, then faster | Accuracy between swaras, agility |
| 18–23 | Aroha, avaroha and pakad of one raga | The raga’s shape |
| 23–30 | A bandish or song with the tabla | Laya, landing on sam |
Every step below has something to play. Set your Sa once and each player on this page uses it.
Settle on Sa
Start the tanpura at your Sa and just listen for a minute. Then sing Sa, long and soft, until the note and the drone stop beating against each other. If you cannot hear the beating yet, you will in a few weeks — that is the ear you are training.BeatingTwo notes that are nearly, but not quite, the same make the sound waver. As they meet, the wavering slows and stops.
Kharaj
Hold notes in the lower octave — mandra Pa, Ma, Ga — for as long as the breath allows, at a gentle volume. Kharaj is slow work and the most often skipped. Sangat’s harmonium can hold the kharaj note for you to sing with.Kharaj खरजThe low Sa, and by extension the practice of singing in the lower octave. Keep it soft: it is for control, not volume.
Alankars
Patterns such as Sa Re Ga, Re Ga Ma, Ga Ma Pa… up to taar Sa and back. Begin slow enough to be exact; speed is the last thing to add. With Listen on, Sangat marks the swara you actually sang, which catches a flat Ga long before a teacher’s ear has to.Alankar अलंकारA pattern of notes moved up the scale a step at a time, then down again. Also called a palta.
One raga’s outline
Sing the aroha (ascent), avaroha (descent) and pakad (the catch-phrase) of the raga you are learning. Yaman, Bhupali and Bhairav are common first ragas. Five minutes a day on one raga beats an hour once a week on five.
A bandish in taal
Finish with a composition over the tabla — Teentaal for most bandishes, Keherwa or Dadra for bhajans and light songs. Keep the tempo slow enough that you land on sam every time.Bandish बंदिशA fixed composition in a raga and a taal: the words and melody a singer returns to between improvised passages.
Keeping it going
- Same time, same place.Dawn riyaz is traditional, but the time you can keep is the right one.
- Record yourself once a week.Listen back the next day, with fresh ears.
- On a short day, do the first ten minutes.Settle on Sa and sing kharaj. Showing up matters more than the length.
Questions
What is riyaz?
Riyaz is daily, disciplined practice in Indian music — the repeated work on voice, swara, raga and laya that builds a musician over years.
How long should riyaz be each day?
Consistency matters more than length. Thirty minutes every day is more useful than a long session once a week; many students build up to an hour or more.
Do I need a real tanpura for riyaz?
No. A good electronic or online tanpura at your Sa does the job for practice. Sangat plays recorded tanpura strings free in the browser.
What if I only have ten minutes?
Do the first ten: settle on Sa with the tanpura, then sing kharaj. A short riyaz every day does more than a long one now and then.