A gharana is a system of social organisation linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and by adherence to a particular musical style.
The word gharana comes from the Urdu/Hindi word ‘ghar’, which means ‘family’ or ‘house’. It typically refers to the place where the musical ideology originated.
A gharana also indicates a comprehensive musicological ideology and differentiates one school from another.
It directly affects the thinking, teaching, performance and appreciation of music.
Some of the gharanas well known for singing Hindustani classical music are: Agra, Gwalior, Indore, Jaipur, Kirana, and Patiala.