Raga

In Indian music, a concrete melodic
mode of at least five notes. Any musician
playing a raga is limited by the constraints of its established form. The
order of these established notes in the
raga does not follow their musical order
but differs according to whether the
note sequence is ascending or descending. There are over 200 recognized ragas,
but only about thirty are in general use.
Each raga has very particular symbolic
associations—particularly with the time
of day or with the seasons—and is also
believed to convey a particular aesthetic
mood (rasa) to listeners. As in all the
Indian arts, the musician who plays a
raga endeavors to convey a certain
mood to an audience and to awaken
corresponding feelings within them.