Indian classical music is monophonic and based around a single melody line. The performance of a composition, based melodically on one particular raga and rhythmically on one taal, begins with the performers coming out in a ritualized order: drone instruments, then the soloist, then accompanists and percussionists. The musicians begin by tuning their instruments; this process often blends imperceptibly into the beginning of the music. The Indian musical instruments used in classical music include veena, mridangam, tabla, kanjira, tambura, flute, sitar, gottuvadyam, violin, and sarangi. Another common instrument is the stringed tambura (sometimes also called tanpura), which is played at a steady tone (a drone) throughout the raag.

Carnatic Music: This music is also known as the Karnataka Sangeeth, from South India. It developed gradually from the ancient musical traditions of South India, upon which ancient Tamil music and Sama Veda had important influences. The Vedas mentions the veena as an accompaniment to vocal recitations during the ancient sacrifices. The chants evolved into two main notes with two accents forming the first concept of the tetrachord (four notes). Three more notes were added to the original tetrachord resulting in the first full scale of seven notes. It was from the 13th century that Carnatic music began to evolve into its current form. Carnatic music much more influenced by theory and has strict rules. It emphasizes the expertise of the voice rather than that of the instruments. Primary themes include Devi worship, Rama worship, descriptions of temples and patriotic songs.

Hindustani Music: This music is originally from North India an it is a tradition that took shape in northern India in the 13th and 14th centuries AD from existing religious, folk, and theatrical performance practices. The practice of singing based on notes was popular even from the Vedic times where the hymns in Sama Veda, was sung and not chanted. Developing a strong and diverse tradition over several centuries, Hindustani music has contemporary traditions established primarily in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was not only influenced by ancient Hindu musical traditions, Vedic philosophy and native Indian sounds but also by the Persian performance practices of the Moghuls. The prime themes of Hindustani music are Rasleela of Krishna and Nature in all its splendour.

In Hindustani music, once the raga is established, the ornamentation around the mode begins to become rhythmical, gradually speeding up. This section is called the jor. After the jor climaxes, everything stops and the audiences applaud. Finally, the percussionist begins to play, interacting with the soloist, eventually reaching the spontaneous and competitive jhala section.

Despite the fact that instrumental music is better known outside India, Hindustani classical music is primarily vocal-centric, insofar as the musical forms were designed primarily for vocal performance, and many instruments were designed and evaluated as to how well they emulate the human voice. The major vocal forms associated with Hindustani classical music are the Khyal, Ghazal, and Thumri. Other styles include the Dhrupad, Dhamar, Tarana, Trivat, Chaiti, Kajari, Tappa, Tapkhyal, Ashtapadi and Bhajan.

1. Dhrupad: Dhrupad is a Hindu sacred style of singing traditionally performed by men, accompanied with a tanpura and pakhawaj. The lyrics are in a medieval form of Hindi the Braj language and typically heroic in theme, or else praising a particular deity. A more ornamented form is called Dhamar. The dhrupad was the main form of song a few centuries ago, but has since given way to the somewhat less austere, form of the Khayal.

2. Khayal: A form of vocal music, Khayal is almost entirely improvised and very emotional in nature. A Khyal consists of around 4-8 lines of lyrics set to a tune. The singer then uses these few lines as the basis for improvisation. It was a very form in the 18th century rule of Mohammed Shah. Some of the present day vocalists of this form include Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Kishori Amonkar, Pandit Jasraj and many others.

3. Tarana: Another vocal form, Tarana are songs that are used to convey a mood of elation and are usually performed towards the end of a concert. They consist of a few lines of rhythmic sounds or bols set to a tune. The singer uses these few lines as a basis for very fast improvisation. It can be compared to the Tillana of Carnatic music.

4. Thumri: Thumri is a semi-classical vocal form said to have begun with the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, 1847-1856. There are three types of thumri: Punjabi, Lucknavi and poorab ang thumri. The lyrics are typically in a proto-Hindi language called Braj bhasha and are usually romantic. The best thumri singer in this generation is Shafqat a pakistani classical vocalist who performed the thumri with best quality in the year 2005 and that was appreciated by Indian music industries as well as many other countries.

5. Bhajan: Bhajan is the most popular form of classical music in northern India. Famous performers include Kabir, Tulsidas and Mirabai. It arose out of the Alvar and Nayanar bhakti movement of the 9th and 10th century. In south India Marathi, Kannada, and Tamil bhajans are very popular. Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Tukaram, of Marathi and Great Devotees like Tyagaraj, Purandardas, Akkamahadevi are the very famous ones.

6. Ghazal: Ghazal is an originally Persian form of poetry. In the Indian sub-continent, Ghazal became the most common form of poetry in the Urdu language and was popularized by classical poets like Mir Taqi Mir, Ghalib, Zauq and Sauda amongst the North Indian literary elite. Vocal music set to this mode of poetry is popular with multiple variations, including folk and pop forms but its greatest exponents sing it in a semi-classical style.