---
url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-int/faq/instruments-artforms/what-is-the-difference-between-hindustani-and-carnatic-music'
title: 'What is the difference between Hindustani and Carnatic music?'
author:
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  url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-int/user/fce96177fd193d3a'
date: '2026-10-27T19:15:42+00:00'
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summary: 'Hindustani and Carnatic music are the classical traditions of north and south India, both built on raga and tala, each with its own forms and instruments.'
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 FAQ · Instruments & artforms

# What is the difference between Hindustani and Carnatic music?

 Updated 27 October 2026

 

[Hindustani](/en-int/vocal/hindustani-classical) and [Carnatic](/en-int/vocal/carnatic-classical) music are the classical traditions of north and south India. Both build on **raga**, the melodic framework, and **tala**, the rhythmic cycle, but each has its own forms and instruments.

In a Hindustani performance, musicians improvise on the raga around a composition (**bandish**) and often speed up as they go. A Carnatic concert centres on the **kriti**, a composed song, with improvisation around it, and its pulse stays steady.

The north groups ragas under 10 parent scales, called thaats; the south uses 72, called melakartas. Typical instruments are the sitar and tabla in the north and the veena and mridangam in the south.



 

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- [     Indian classical music glossary KalaSudha's Indian classical music glossary gives plain definitions for newcomers, such as what a raga is and how Hindustani and Carnatic music differ.     ](/en-int/indian-classical-music-glossary)
 
  

 

 

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