Indian music is perhaps one of the most complex types of music ever heard. It has been in existence in its present form for almost 2,000 years, and it still is unequaled. Indian classical music is performed mainly for artistic reasons in urban concert halls, while rural music accompanies life cycle and agricultural rites. The melody line may either be composed in advance or improvised, and it is based on one of several hundred traditional matrices called raga. Ragas are associated with moods, performance times, deities, etc.
Measured time can consist of many possible measures, called talas.
Talas consist of a repeating number of time units that form a cyclical pattern, with different points receiving different degrees of stress within the cycle. Alapas are often used as a preliminary improvisation and followed by a tala. Needless to say, this type of music is very sophisticated. There are two traditions in Indian music, Hindustani and Karnataka. Hindustani is the usual vocal concert form found in north India today.