Gurbani Kirtan or Shabad Kirtan is one of the important aspects of Sikhism that refers to the singing of the Sacred Hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib accompanied by music. The Sikhs place huge value on this type of singing and a Sikh is expected to listen to and/or sing Guru-Kirtan as frequently as possible.
Traditionally the music used to accompany Kirtan has been Indian Classical Music, which is based on Ragas and taal (rhythmic beat patterns). Traditionally the Indian musical instruments the Harmonium and Tabla have been used for this type of music. The Sikh scripture contains 31 Ragas and 17talas which form the basis for Kirtan musical compositions.
The Guru has pronounced that Kirtan is the magical formula to keep the human soul afloat in the dark era of Kaljug provided the devotee sings the pure melodies with his or her heart closely focused on the meaning and true spirit of the Gurbani thus: