Indore gharana is one of the vocal

Vocal music

Vocal music is a genre of music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music Vocal music is a genre of...

 gharana

Gharana

In Hindustani music, a gharānā is a system of social organization linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and by adherence to a particular musical style. A gharana also indicates a comprehensive musicological ideology. This ideology sometimes changes substantially from one...

s of Indian classical music

Indian classical music

The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...

. It was founded by Ustad Amir Khan

Ustad Amir Khan

Ustad Amir Khan was a well-known Indian classical vocalist. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Hindustani classical music, and the founder of the Indore Gharana.-Early life and background:...

, who studied the styles of Abdul Wahid Khan, Aman Ali Khan, Rajab Ali Khan

Rajab Ali Khan

Ustad Rajab Ali Khan was an Indian classical vocalist....

 and Abdul Karim Khan

Abdul Karim Khan

Ustad Abdul Karim Khan , was an Indian classical singer of the Kairana gharana .-Early life and background:...

 and amalgamated the essence of the styles of these four maestros with his own intellectual approach to music, and conceived the Indore gharana of music..

Amir Khan grew up in Indore, but he did not like the factionalism inherent in the gharana

Gharana

In Hindustani music, a gharānā is a system of social organization linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and by adherence to a particular musical style. A gharana also indicates a comprehensive musicological ideology. This ideology sometimes changes substantially from one...

 tradition. In an interview to Akashvani Indore he said

In fact I want only one gharana in classical music, which should be termed as Hindustani Music, and it should have different departments. These are gharanas. If the main thing is kept in this form, then our mutual recriminations with respect to music will be reduced. Many separate styles were formed out of one style of a gharana, as in the case of languages. Many languages came out of one language, similarly styles and gharanas were formed in music. Now a days, I am singing in the name of Indore Gharana.

Performances in the Indore gharana are noted by the vilambit

Vilambit

Vilambit is an introductory slow tempo, or laya, between 10 and 40 beats per minute, used in the performance of a raga in Hindustani classical music. For major ragas, the vilambit portion generally takes up two-thirds or more of the performance, and is followed by a short drut to conclude the...

 tempo in the styele of Abdul Wahid Khan, and the taan

Taan

You may be looking for either:*Taan , a virtuosic technique used in North Indian classical vocal music*Faerûn - A region of the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. It includes the Endless Wastes, the Quoya Desert, Ejen Horo, and the Plain of Horses...

s reminiscent of Rajab Ali Khan. The merukhand structure is similar to that practiced by Ustad Aman Ali Khan of the Bhendibazaar gharana

Bhendibazaar gharana

-History and features:The Bhendibazaar gharana was founded around 1890 by brothers Chhajju Khan, Nazir Khan and Khadim Hussain Khan in the Bhendi bazaar area of Mumbai...

. The khayal gayaki in the Indore gharana retains the slow development and restraint from frills as in the dhrupad

Dhrupad

Dhrupad is a vocal genre in Hindustani classical music, said to be the oldest still in use in that musical tradition. Its name is derived from the words "dhruva" and "pada"...

. Mohan Nadkarni says of Amir Khan's music that whereas Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's music was extroverted and exuberant, Amir Khan's was an introverted, dignified 'darbar' style

Amir Khan's conviction about the importance of poetry in khyal compositions (he used to compose under the pen name, Sur Rang), has also marks the singing of the Indore gharana.

Characteristics of the Indore gharana include:

• slow-tempo raga development
• improvisation mostly in lower and middle octaves
• tendency towards serious and expansive (darbari) ragas
• emphasis on melody
• bol alap
  Alap
  The alap is the opening section of a typical North Indian classical performance. It is a form of melodic improvisation that introduces and develops a raga...
  
   and sargam using merukhand
  Merukhand
  Merukhand is an improvisational style in Hindustani classical music involving permutations of a fixed set of swaras or notes broken up in various ways ....
  
   patterns
• sparing application of murki
  Murki
  Murki is a short taan in Hindustani classical music. It is often delivered in rapidfire tempo, and is employed in thumris and other lighter genres. Other taans used in thumri gyaki include the khatka and the zamzama....
  
   and other embellishments to preserve introspective quality
• use of kan swaras (acciaccatura) in all parts of performance
• rare use of tihai
  Tihai
  The tihai is a polyrhythmic technique used in Indian classical music often used to conclude a piece.The basic format of the tihai is 3 equal repetitions of a rhythmic or melodic pattern, usually interspersed with 2 equal rests, calculated to fall on a significant point in the tala most often the...
  
  
• careful enunciation of text of bandish
  Bandish
  Bandish, Cheez or Gat is a fixed, melodic composition in Hindustani vocal or instrumental music. It is set in a specific raga, performed with rhythmic accompaniment by a tabla or pakhavaj, a steady drone, and melodic accompaniment by a sarangi, violin or harmonium. There are different ways of...
  
   - the bandish performance may or may not include antara
• multiple laya
  Laya
  "Laya" may refer to:People* Laya , a Chinese Indonesian surname* The Layap people of the Himalayas* Laya , Telugu movie actress* Jean-Louis Laya , dramatist...
  
   jatis in a single taan
• mixture of taan types in a single taan
• use of ruba'idar tarana
  Tarana
  Tarana is a type of composition in Hindustani classical vocal music in which certain words and syllables based on Persian and Arabic phenomes are used in a medium-paced or fast rendition...
  
   (considered similar to chhota khyal)
• preference for slower taal
  Taal
  Taal is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for language and was used as an early name for Afrikaans; it may also refer to the South African creole language Tsotsitaal.The word Taal can also refer to:*Tala...
  
  s like the jhoomra tala

After Amir Knan's death in a car accident in Kolkata in 1974, the Indore gharana has become a powerful stream in modern Hindustani music. Direct disciples of Amir Khan had included Pandith Amarnath-ji, Sankar Lal Mishra, Kankana Banerjee, Purvi Mukherjee, and others. However, a number of influential musicians including Sultan Khan have grown up in its folds.

Prominent exponents

• Ustad Amir Khan
  Ustad Amir Khan
  Ustad Amir Khan was a well-known Indian classical vocalist. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Hindustani classical music, and the founder of the Indore Gharana.-Early life and background:...
  
  
• Pandit Amarnath-ji
• Shankar Lal Mishra  (direct disciple of Ustad Amir Khan)
• Sultan Khan (musician)
• Maha Guru Pandit Motilal Sharma (direct disciple of Ustad Amir Khan)
• Beauty Sharma Barua (direct disciple of Maha Guru Pandit Motilal Sharma)
• Tej Bahadur Sahney (disciple of Shankar Lal Mishra)
• Shanti Sharma
• Singh Bandhu
• Kankana banerjee
• surinder singh and tejinder singh (the bandhu brothers)
• Pandit Baldev Raj Verma
• Amarjeet Kaur
• Pandit Aloke Chattopadhyay
• Mahendra Toke
• Ramneek Singh