Art music of India. This is the music of the raga and the traditional Indian instruments of sitar and tablas. The art music of India is vastly different from that of the western world, employing complicated scales, microtones(those of 1/4th or 1/3 steps), microtonal bending, odd meters,(9/8, 7/8, other odd number eights) and complicated drones or pedaltones. The music is often spiritual, but the traditional ragas(of which there are thousands) serve as signals and symbols for certain times of day, seasons, or any other occasion such as the first morning shower/smoke/insert favorite morning activity here etc. Indian art music has been passed down from guru to student for thousands of years WITHOUT ANY FORM OF WRITTEN NOTATION as we are used to finding in western music. Instead, the music is taught from a spiritual and memorizational(if it asn't a word it should be) standpoint, taking great dedication to master.