Unlike Western classical music it is essentially individualistic, and continuously improvised by the soloist. The basic elements are rhythm and melody that flow together but are never harmonious. Melody hangs on the raagas, a classical framework within which the musician improvises his recital. Different ragas evoke various moods, elements and seasons. For instance, there are specific morning, afternoon and evening raagas, monsoon and winter raagas, wind, water and desert raagas.
Every recital is the musician's own variation on a given theme or musical pattern.
The commonest is a pair of drums called a tabla, one bowl-shaped and usually fashioned from clay, the other slender and made of wood that can be tuned to match the pitch of the performance. The sitar, sarangi and sarod are common north Indian string instruments, usually played solo, and the shehnai is a kind of oboe with a pure, powerful sound that is heard at practically every Hindu wedding. Western instruments such as the flute and violin have also been adapted with interesting results. Hindustani, that springs from the Hindi heartland of northern India and Carnatic, the distinctive style of the south. Recitals can be instrumental or vocal, but the latter is usually found in carnatic music, which often uses clay pots as percussion instruments, among many.