Tappa musicianship had its major influence in the courtesan tradition of Varanasi. Tappa is a form of Indian semi-classical vocal music. Tappa is a light classical style which is declining in popularity. It is basically a classical style of music from the Punjab. This specialized in the semi-classical genres such as the thumri, dadra, caiti and kajan, along with the allied folk-based genres of the region.

The other significant repository of Tappa musicianship is the Gwalior Khayala Gharana. From the second quarter of the twentieth century this Gharana was on a decline. In order to re-invent itself, it however shifted towards the aggressive, rhythm-oriented, vocalism of the Agra Gharana. One of the results of the Gwalior-Agra Gharana confluence was the gradual disappearance of the Tappa from Gwalior repertoire. The Khayal Gharanas, that gained dominance in the post-Independence era, chiefly Kirana and Jaipur-Atrauli, ignored the tappa. It favoured much the thuman or bhajanas.

Presently Tappa can claim the presence of Girija Devi born on1929 and Shobha Gurtu born on 1925. They are the specialists of the semi-classical genres who have excelled at Tappa rendition. Amongst established khayala vocalists, the significant tappa exponents are Laxman Krishnarao Pandit who was born on 1932 and Malini Rajurkar who was born on 1941.
Some of the great exponents of tappa in this century are Pt. Bholanath Bhatt, Siddheshwari Devi and Girija Devi. The doyens of Gwalior gharana, Pt. Krishna Rao Shankar Pandit and Saratchandra Arolkar were known to sing it in a slow and unhurried pace. In the post-Independence era, it was Pt. Kumar Gandharva who played a substantial role in popularizing this form. Today, Malini Rajurkar is the only singer of repute who has made tappa an essential item in her concert repertoire and also renders it memorably.

Another singer Manjiri Asnare Kelkar born on 1971 is also a successful khayala vocalist who is credited with reviving a constituency for the Tappa. Her introduction into this genre is quite interesting. Manjiri belongs to a thoroughbred Maharashtrian family, and had her initial training in the Gwalior tradition. During her early days she became a fan of Malini Rajurkar, especially because of her tappa renderings. She obtained all available tappa recordings of Malini and started performing them with great success. However later she became a disciple of Madhusudan Kanetkar, the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana stalwart, who studied the Tappa specially to be able to help her organize and polish her renditions. Thus Manjiri`s success with the Tappa confirms several promising features of the genre.