These North Indian music courses offer instruction in the system of musical modes known as ragas, as well as practice and repertoire for specific instruments such as the sitar, surbahar, esraj, and dilruba.

The sitar is the iconic instrument of North Indian music, known as Hindustani. This long-necked lute has its origins in the fusion of medieval Indian culture and the Muslim civilization brought by the Mughals. This versatile instrument is played in the repertoire known as Khyal, which incorporates both vocal and purely instrumental influences.

The surbahar is a bass version of the sitar. It produces a deep, rich sound. Its repertoire is more oriented toward the ancient Dhrupad style—majestic and slow—often played without percussion, highlighting the meditative aspect of Indian music.

The dilruba and the esraj were created between the 18th and 19th centuries, in the Punjab and Bengal, respectively. Now rare, they are bowed instruments equipped with sympathetic strings. These two regional varieties, which share a common ancestor—the taus, a peacock-shaped instrument—are hybrids between the Indian sarangi and the North Indian sitar.