Indian Slide Guitar
Advanced Level
Advanced Indian slide guitar develops full raga presentation, composition and supervised teaching across 36 path topics, ending in a judged concert with tabla.
con Débasis Chakroborty
- 12–30 months
- 3 modules
- 36 temas
What you'll master
Skills you will carry forward
- Develop full raga presentations with composed passages and melodic runs at faster speeds.
- Play fast jhala and keep both hands controlled as the pace rises.
- Place named ornaments within raga phrases while keeping their pitch clear.
- Construct tihais by counting the phrase and gaps to land on the first beat.
- Compose and notate a gat, then teach a Foundation topic under supervision.
- Plan and perform a judged thirty-minute programme with tabla to an audience.
Sobre este curso
12–30 months
Advanced Indian slide guitar develops a full presentation of a Hindustani raga, a melodic framework. You enter after Intermediate or a placement session that confirms the same skills. You need control of pitch and rhythm before extending the music into a concert programme.
Module 3A studies ragas at depth, with gats, compositions within a rhythmic cycle, and faster taans, melodic runs. You compare how players pace a raga and rehearse a full presentation. Rhythmic work develops phrases at different speeds within the cycle.
Module 3B adds named ornaments and tihais, phrases repeated three times to land on the first beat. You develop drut jhala, the fast alternation of melody and drone strings, and study morning and evening raga forms. Rehearsal with tabla prepares you to sustain a longer set.
In module 3C you compose and notate a gat and teach a Foundation topic under supervision. You plan the order and timings of a thirty-minute programme, then perform it with tabla to an audience for judging. Completion leads to KalaSudha's Sanchari Advanced Diploma.
Your path contains 36 topics across modules 3A, 3B and 3C. Each module has 14 available topics: eight core topics and six electives. Your teacher fills four open slots from electives, their own topics or both. This KalaSudha-prepared programme keeps a common core without a single lineage, while teacher-set choices carry style. Learn live online one-to-one or in a group; each topic closes after teacher review.
Your learning journey
The three Advanced modules
Develop a full raga presentation and refine ornament and rhythm. The final module brings composition and supervised teaching together with planning, rehearsal and a judged concert performance.
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Module 3A: raga development at depth
Study your first two ragas at depth and develop a gat with faster melodic runs. Compare how different players pace a full raga presentation. Practise rhythmic divisions in the suggested Teentaal cycle, then rehearse a complete rendering while keeping both hands controlled.
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Module 3B: ornament and rhythmic control
Study morning and evening raga forms, then develop a morning raga chosen with your teacher. Place named ornaments in phrases and practise tihais, repeated phrases that land on the first beat. Build fast jhala and rehearse a longer set with tabla.
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Module 3C: preparing the concert
Refine your concert raga and practise pitch control through ornament. Compose and notate a gat, then teach a Foundation topic under supervision. Plan the programme and rehearse with tabla before presenting a judged thirty-minute concert to an audience.
Your learning journey
Curriculum
Sanchari 3A · Rendering a Raga at Depth
14 temas disponibles; 12 en tu itinerario. 4–10 monthsTake two ragas to full depth with gats and fast taans, play alankars at drut laya and phrase across Teentaal's divisions.
Temas troncales Todo alumno cursa estos 8
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Tema 01
How to Render a Raga: Lines Compared
The order of a full rendering (alaap, jod, jhala, gat) and how two slide lines pace it differently.
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Tema 02
Advance Learning in the First Raga
Take the first raga (suggested: Yaman) to full depth: rare phrases, the upper register, the vistar order.
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Tema 03
Composition and Taan Patterns in the First Raga
A gat in the first raga with six taans at fast laya.
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Tema 04
Alankar at Speed
The alankar set at drut laya, both hands clean.
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Tema 05
The Intricacies of Teentaal: Divisions and Laykari
Teentaal's vibhags as places to start and end phrases, and phrases in tigun and chaugun.
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Tema 06
Advance Learning in the Second Raga
The second raga (suggested: Bhupali) at full depth.
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Tema 07
Guided Rendering Rehearsal
A full fifteen-minute rendering of one raga to your teacher, stopped and corrected.
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Tema 08
Module 3A Review: Rendering and Hand Under Load
Present a rendering, and check that posture and bar contact hold at speed.
Optativas Tu profesor completa 4 plazas libres con estas optativas, temas propios o ambos.
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Optativa
Composition and Taan Patterns in the Second Raga
A gat in the second raga with six taans.
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Optativa
Advance Learning in a Third Raga
A third raga (suggested: Durga) at full depth.
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Optativa
Double Strings Together
Two main strings sounded together under the bar, both in tune.
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Optativa
Style: Maihar Drills at Drut Laya
The Allauddin Khan palta set at drut laya.
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Optativa
Style: Da-Ra Coordination While Sliding
Right-hand strokes kept even while the bar moves, as the Kabra instrument asks.
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Optativa
Style: Mohan veena taans
Play taan shapes on the Mohan veena, with its harmonic strings sounding underneath.
Sanchari 3B · Ornament, Jhala and Time of Day
14 temas disponibles; 12 en tu itinerario. 4–10 monthsCompare morning and evening ragas, develop a morning raga, drill gamak, murki and krintan, place tihais and build drut jhala.
Temas troncales Todo alumno cursa estos 8
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Tema 01
Morning and Evening Forms
How morning and evening ragas differ in swara, movement and mood.
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Tema 02
Advance Learning in a Morning Raga
A morning raga (suggested: Ahir Bhairav) at full depth.
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Tema 03
Composition and Taan Patterns in the Morning Raga
A gat in the morning raga with six taans.
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Tema 04
Ornament Drills: Gamak, Murki and Krintan
Gamak, murki and krintan as named drills, then placed on request in a phrase.
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Tema 05
Laykari and Tihai Placement
A tihai is a phrase played three times to land on sam. Place tihais at the end of phrases.
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Tema 06
Drut Jhala
Jhala at fast laya, building to a close.
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Tema 07
Performance Simulation with Tabla
A twenty-minute set with a tabla player, run as if to an audience.
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Tema 08
Module 3B Review
Present a morning-raga rendering with ornaments, tihais and jhala.
Optativas Tu profesor completa 4 plazas libres con estas optativas, temas propios o ambos.
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Optativa
Advance Learning in an Evening Raga
An evening raga (suggested: Bihag) at full depth.
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Optativa
Ektaal: a Vilambit Gat Frame
Count Ektaal at slow laya and fit a gat line into it.
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Optativa
Listening: One Raga, Three Renditions
Three renditions of one raga by different instrumentalists, compared for structure and pacing.
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Optativa
Style: Ravi Shankar, Barun Kumar Pal and the Sitar Line
Pandit Ravi Shankar on sitar and Pandit Barun Kumar Pal on Hansa veena in one raga.
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Optativa
Style: vocal-led taans
Build taans from sung phrases in vocal music.
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Optativa
Style: Gamak Taans of the Sarod Line
Taans with gamak on every swara, from the Maihar sarod repertoire.
Sanchari 3C · The Concert
14 temas disponibles; 12 en tu itinerario. 4–10 monthsRefine a concert raga, build tihais by counting, compose a gat, teach a Foundation topic and give a judged thirty-minute concert.
Temas troncales Todo alumno cursa estos 8
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Tema 01
Review of Advanced Repertoire and Weak Links
Find the weakest raga or technique from 3A and 3B and work on it.
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Tema 02
Advance Learning in a Concert Raga
The raga you will present (suggested: Charukeshi), taken to full depth with its gat and taans.
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Tema 03
Andolan and Pitch Under Ornament
A slow swing on a swara (andolan), with the pitch kept true under every ornament.
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Tema 04
Tihai Arithmetic
Build tihais by counting: the phrase, the gaps and the landing, across three cycles.
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Tema 05
Composing a Gat
Compose a gat in a raga you play, notate it, and play it.
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Tema 06
Teaching a Foundation Topic Under Supervision
Teach one Foundation topic to a learner with your teacher watching.
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Tema 07
Concert Rehearsal: Programme and Running Order
Set the thirty-minute programme, the order and the timings, and run it with tabla.
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Tema 08
The Concert: Judged Stage Performance
A thirty-minute programme with tabla to an audience, judged.
Optativas Tu profesor completa 4 plazas libres con estas optativas, temas propios o ambos.
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Optativa
Vistar: Extended Elaboration
Twenty minutes of vistar that keeps building without repeating itself.
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Optativa
Advance Learning in a Seasonal Raga
A monsoon raga (suggested: Megh) at full depth.
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Optativa
Jhaptaal: a Gat in Ten Beats
Count Jhaptaal and play a gat in it.
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Optativa
Style: A Dhun to Close the Set
A light-classical dhun of the kind the Kabra line closes a programme with.
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Optativa
Style: light-classical slide with accompaniment
Play a light-classical piece on the Mohan veena with an accompanist.
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Optativa
Style: A Sarod-Line Gat with Taans
A gat from the Maihar sarod repertoire, played with taans on the slide.
Advanced pathway
How this level progresses
3 structured modules, taken in order.
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Level 3A
Sanchari 3A · Rendering a Raga at Depth
Take two ragas to full depth with gats and fast taans, play alankars at drut laya and phrase across Teentaal's divisions.
- Duración
- 4–10 months
- Temas
- 12 topics
- Activities
- 42 activities
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Level 3B
Sanchari 3B · Ornament, Jhala and Time of Day
Compare morning and evening ragas, develop a morning raga, drill gamak, murki and krintan, place tihais and build drut jhala.
- Duración
- 4–10 months
- Temas
- 12 topics
- Activities
- 42 activities
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Level 3C
Sanchari 3C · The Concert
Refine a concert raga, build tihais by counting, compose a gat, teach a Foundation topic and give a judged thirty-minute concert.
- Duración
- 4–10 months
- Temas
- 12 topics
- Activities
- 42 activities
Inside Advanced
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Raga development at depth
Build a full raga presentation and compare how players shape its pace. Your teacher reviews the phrasing and the control of both hands under faster playing.
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Composition and supervised teaching
Write and play your own gat, then teach a Foundation topic with your teacher watching. Both are core outcomes that every Advanced learner works towards.
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Concert work with tabla
Plan the programme and its timings, then rehearse with tabla. The final judged performance brings the level's musical work into a thirty-minute set for an audience.
¿Prefiere clases individuales?
Las clases 1:1 con Débasis Chakroborty llegarán pronto. Registre su interés y le avisaremos antes que a nadie cuando se fijen las fechas y las tarifas.
Before you begin
- Complete Intermediate or demonstrate its exit skills in a placement session.
- Be able to present a gat with melodic elaboration and slow runs within a steady cycle.
- Control meend and gamak in tune and recognise three studied ragas by ear.
Don't meet all prerequisites? Talk to us — we'll help you find the right starting point.
What you'll achieve
Advanced leads to KalaSudha's Sanchari Advanced Diploma. You compose a gat, teach a Foundation topic under supervision and perform a judged thirty-minute programme with tabla.
Certifications
Sanchari Advanced Diploma
KalaSudha's Advanced award. It certifies all 18 skills at Advanced standard in a named discipline, after theory papers and a judged stage performance.
Skill Badges You'll Earn
Articulation & Technique
AdvancedUpaj: Improvisation & Elaboration
AdvancedRaga Grammar & Recognition
AdvancedRepertoire & Forms
AdvancedTala & Laya Competence
AdvancedManch: Performance & Stagecraft
AdvancedTheory, History & Shastra
AdvancedShravan: Listening & Ear Training
AdvancedRiyaz: Practice Discipline & Self-Regulation
AdvancedSangat: Ensemble & Accompaniment
AdvancedSound Initiation & Control
AdvancedGharana & Style Studies
AdvancedSwara Knowledge & Practical Application
AdvancedPitch Awareness & Accuracy
AdvancedHandling & Physical Alignment
AdvancedSrijan: Composition & Creation
AdvancedNotation & Musical Literacy
AdvancedPedagogy & Transmission
AdvancedAll certificates and badges are issued upon successful completion of the course requirements.
Preguntas frecuentes
What should I already be able to play before Advanced Indian slide guitar?
Advanced Indian slide guitar starts after Intermediate or a placement session showing the same skills. Control meend glides and gamak oscillations in tune, and play jod with a steady pulse.
You should also be able to play a gat, a composition within a cycle, with melodic elaboration and slow runs. Your teacher checks recognition of three ragas by ear and rhythmic work with tabla before placing you.
How are students of online Indian classical music courses assessed?
On KalaSudha's online Indian classical music courses, teachers assess students topic by topic. Each topic credits named skills, and the teacher closes it only after reviewing the student's work. Foundation assessment uses practical work and spoken questions. Intermediate adds written theory, and Advanced adds theory papers and a judged stage performance. A module certificate follows each module, and KalaSudha issues an award at the end of each level.
What does a KalaSudha certificate show?
A KalaSudha certificate shows the discipline and the skills the learner attained. A certificate earned on a KalaSudha course also records the learning hours. It names the teacher and tradition the learner studied under, as a record of where they learned. KalaSudha issues every award itself. The taught levels lead to the Sthayi Certificate at Foundation, the Antara Diploma at Intermediate and the Sanchari Advanced Diploma at Advanced.
What must I demonstrate to complete Advanced Indian slide guitar?
Advanced Indian slide guitar completion includes a judged thirty-minute programme with tabla to an audience. You also compose, notate and play a gat, a composition within a rhythmic cycle, and teach a Foundation topic under supervision.
Your teacher reviews full raga presentation, ornaments and rhythmic control across your topic path. Each topic closes after review.
Have more questions? Contact our support team and we'll be happy to help!
Siguientes pasos
¿Listo para empezar Advanced?
Únete a Débasis Chakroborty en Advanced Level.