3.1 Key Concepts

Carnatic music's raga system is organised under the Melakarta scheme (a systematic classification of 72 parent/"janaka" ragas), most influentially formalised by the 17th-century musicologist-composer Venkatamakhin in his work Chaturdandi Prakashika.
Tala system uses a structured framework of 35 basic talas (the "Suladi Sapta Talas"), commonly counted using hand gestures (claps, waves, finger counts) in performance and teaching.
Carnatic music performance is centred heavily around Kritis/Kirtanas (devotional compositions with fixed lyrics, melody, and rhythm, typically in three sections: Pallavi, Anupallavi, Charanam), in contrast to Hindustani music's greater emphasis on raga-based improvisation without fixed lyrics in much of its core repertoire.

3.2 The Carnatic Trinity

The most revered composers in Carnatic music history, all roughly contemporaries active around Thanjavur in the late 18th/early 19th century:

Tyagaraja: The most prolific and widely revered, composed thousands of devotional kritis (mostly in Telugu) dedicated to Lord Rama; his most celebrated works include the "Pancharatna Kritis" (Five Jewel compositions).
Muthuswami Dikshitar: Known for compositions often in Sanskrit, incorporating a distinctive, more measured (vilamba kala) style and some Western/Hindustani musical influences (he composed some pieces referencing Western note names, reflecting his travels/exposure).
Syama Sastri: Known for intricate rhythmic (tala) complexity in his relatively smaller body of compositions, often dedicated to the Goddess (Devi).

Purandara Dasa (16th century, Karnataka): Regarded as the "Father of Carnatic Music" (Karnataka Sangeeta Pitamaha) for systematising the pedagogical structure and foundational exercise compositions still used to teach Carnatic music today.
20th-century greats: M.S. Subbulakshmi (the first musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, 1998; renowned for her rendition of "Venkateswara Suprabhatam" and performance at the United Nations), Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, D.K. Pattammal, Balamuralikrishna.