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\ a-ˈläp 
\
\variants:
or less commonly alapa \ a-ˈlä-pə \ or alapana \ a-ˈlä-pə-nə \
\ or alapana \ a-ˈlä-pə-nə \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
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Time Traveler for alap
The first known use of alap was in 1834
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