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alap

noun
\ a-ˈläp How to pronounce alap (audio) \
variants: or less commonly alapa \ a-​ˈlä-​pə How to pronounce alapa (audio) \ or alapana \ a-​ˈlä-​pə-​nə How to pronounce alapana (audio) \

Definition of alap

music
: an improvised, unaccompanied prelude to an Indian raga normally lacking rhythmic pulse and meter that is either played or sung as vocalise The practice of beginning musical pieces with a seemingly free-form introduction that becomes a metered ensemble performance is common to India in the alap of a raga in classical Hindustani music …— Leonard Brown, John Coltrane and Black America’s Quest for Freedom, 2010

First Known Use of alap

1834, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for alap

borrowed from Hindi ālāp “speaking, modulation of the voice in singing, prelude to a piece of music,” borrowed from Sanskrit ālāpaḥ “speech, conversation,” noun derivative of ālapati “(he/she) speaks to, addresses,” from ā- “toward” + lapati “he/she chatters, talks” (probably of onomatopoeic origin)

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