Raga as the Key Concept of Musical Thinking in Indian Classical Music

The musical art of India is one of the few cultural trends that has been preserved from ancient  times  to  the  present  day.  Thanks  to  scientific  research  in  the  field  of  history  and culture,  it  became  possible  to  recreate  the  picture  of  the  formation  of  Indian  music,  which developed  in  close  interaction  of  different  cultures  and  nationalities,  incorporating  the  best traditions  of  many  peoples.  Love  of  music,  its  understanding  and  development  at  all  levels and  in  various  spheres  of  life  have  always  played  an  extremely  important  role  in  Indian culture. Indian music, one of the most highly developed and refined music systems that ever existed in the world.  It should be emphasized that being also the largest melodic system, it retains this basic quality to this day. The system of micro-intervals developed by her, melodic models and rhythmic drawings represent the most valuable contribution to the world musical culture. One of the key concepts of Indian classical music is raga. European language means of stew can be roughly related to the terms "scale" or "tonality". Its structure also consists of seven notes, but it is completely different from the western one. This phenomenon does not occur in any other form of world music. In essence, the art of melodic improvisation, carried out in fixed limits of the mode and given rhythmic patterns, where in the process of execution the  main  theme  undergoes  intensive  intonational  development.  However,  this  is  not  just  a musical theme, but also a profoundly philosophical-poetic combination. While Western music found its way in search and experimentation, India already had a perfect system that allowed it to perform music, both in temperament and non temperament tuning system. Keywords: Indian classical music, raga, rasa, tala, śruti