Musical Instruments of India
Dukkad
One of the oldest and most widespread percussion instruments are the timpani, with a conical-shaped body, the skin of which is often struck with beaters modeled sometimes in an arched shape and sometimes simply straight, with a pointed or knobbed head.
The dukkad or also khurdak, linked to popular tradition, is in most cases played with the palms or fingers, but sometimes beaters are used.
The materials
The materials used for the construction of these percussions are wood, metal or terracotta. It is made up of two pieces, the jhil, with a low sound usually held on the right and the banya or even duggi, with a higher sound held on the left.
Background
The archetypal ovoid shape in terracotta certainly comes from the processing of the vase, as it can still be found today in percussion instruments such as the dundubhi, also mentioned in the Vedas, the dhaunsa, the nisan or the bheri, subsequently assuming a hemispherical shape with the introduction of metalworking.
The oldest form involved a hole in the ground and the entire skin of a cow pulled with the hair and the tail intact which was used as a knocker. The earth was then replaced by a terracotta body, thus making the instrument transportable and durable.
In the Middle Ages these percussion instruments, which always appeared in pairs, took on the Persian name naqqara or nagara, of which a smaller one with a higher pitch and the other a larger one with a lower pitch, respectively taking on the feminine role and the male role. We can find this type of percussion, mainly linked to the popular tradition in many Eastern and Middle Eastern areas, whose dimensions vary up to reaching cyclopean dimensions.
In India
A very widespread version in northern India is the dukkad often used to accompany the shannai during various community functions and ceremonies, including weddings. Here too there is a dispute about the origin of this pairing, according to some it is native, others of Persian origin. The bheri like the dundubhi are percussion instruments used in the armed forces and traditionally the loss of these instruments meant defeat. Even today we can find these instruments inside temples, often made of brass or bronze and can take on truly remarkable dimensions.
During the reign of Akbar the naqqara were played in the early hours of the morning to signal the arrival of dawn and since the emperor himself was passionate about these percussions, they found widespread diffusion, so much so that in Uttar Pradesh even today there are percussionists in able to play an entire night as a soloist.
The tabla owes much to the report developed on these percussions. Once the shannai assumed a certain importance within the courts, the naqqara was replaced by the dukkad, very similar but played with the fingers unlike the first which required the use of a mallet. Although some shannai players are sometimes accompanied by tabla, traditionally dukkad is preferred.
The main instruments of Indian Classical Music
The Sitar is the icon of Indian Classical music. The structure and tonal quality of this instrument is the result of several years of hard work and dedication of both the musicians and the master luthiers.
Goṭu Vādyama is a modified and developed form of Ektantri Veena, appeared on the scene of the Carnatic music system about hundred fifty years ago, it can be considered the Vichitra Veena of South India.
The name Rudra Vina, often written Rudra Veena, first appears in Nārada's Saṃgīta Makaranda between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and is supposed to be a derivation of the Kinnarī Vīṇā.
The Taus, the Dilruba and the Esraj are North Indian bowed instruments, all three with hybrid characteristics of the Sitar, such as long necks, fingerboard and metal strings, and of the Sāraṅgī such as the crafted soundboard Leather.
The Saraswati Veena, is very different from the Vīṇā of northern India. In fact, the arrangement of the main strings and cikari, the posture and the sound production techniques remain the same.
The Vichitra Vina, often written Vichitra Veena, saw its splendor towards the beginning of the twentieth century but many indications lead us to think that it is a developed and modified version of a very ancient instrument.
The Surabahar, often written Surbahar, was created, according to tradition, by Gholām Mohammad Khān, disciple of Piyār Khān and Omrāo Khān. Much larger than the Sitār, it is used, both in the Dhrupad and in the Khayal.
The Tampura is a fundamental instrument of Indian classical music, present in both the northern and southern systems. The function of this chordophone is to provide a sound in the background, that acts as a drone for improvisation.
In Arabic the term rebab indicates a bowed instrument; in fact the two half-moon inlets that characterize the shape of the Rabab's sound box suggest that it was only later converted into a direct pluck instrument.
The Svaramandala is a chordophone used by singers for accompaniment. Kallinatha in his commentary on Śārṅgadeva's Saṅgīta Ratnākara coincides the matakokilavīṇā of Bharata Muni's time with the Svaramaṇḍala,
The Sanṭoor is a dulcimer that has only recently entered Indian classical music scene. It is considered one of the most important developments of the twentieth century in Indian Classical music.
The transverse flute used in Indian classical music, is capable of reproducing all the delicate movements, ornamentations and nuances of the human voice. This instrument finds references in many sacred texts.
Among the main contributions of Indian instrumental technology, both in terms of production quantity and timbre quality, bifacial convex diaphragms occupy a place of primary importance in Indian Classical Music.
In the folk and tribal music of different regions of India, various types of stringed instruments are found with a very varied tradition. In the Rajasthani tradition there are more than ten types of Sāraṅgī.
This name derives from two sanskrit terms "pakshe vadya", or from the Persian "pakh awaz" which means soft sounding. The pakahwaj became the main percussion in the north, while the mridangam assumed centrality in the south.
The term Sarod, of Persian origin, means "song" or "melody". All hypotheses regarding the origin of the Sarod, are based on many assumptions and inferences. The general opinion is that it is a developed version of the Rabab,
One of the oldest and most widespread percussion instruments are the timpani, with a conical-shaped body, the skin of which is often struck with beaters modeled in an arched shape or simply straight, with a knobbed head.
The terms Shahana, Shahanay or Shennay identify the zurna, a wooden aerophone typical of Persian musical culture. In Iran we can still find various styles of this instrument which vary both in size and in the quality of wood used.
Tabla are the percussion instruments that best represent Indian musical culture. This instrument, used mainly in the Hindustani style, accompanies singing, instrumental music and dance.
The khol is the most used percussion in the north-eastern region of India, often linked to the Vaishnava cult of Bengal and Assam, it is also often called mridang since the body is made of terracotta (mrit means clay).
Probably in the past the pakhavaj and the mridangam presented much fewer differences and are in fact to be associated with a single archetype, but they developed over the centuries within two different styles,
Frame drums are very popular in India and the simplicity of manufacturing these instruments has facilitated their diffusion. They are in fact a thin strip of iron or wood bent into a circular shape with the two ends joined on which a membrane is applied.
The sound production techniques and the structure are identical to the shennay, the differences are mostly related to the dimensions and some small details. The double reed is fixed on a metal support which fits onto the wooden body.
The violin, which in India is also called Behalā, as we know, is one of the first Western instruments to have been introduced, more than a century and a half ago, into Indian music by Baluswamy Dikshitar (1786-1858), a great music scholar caranatica.
The Suraśṛṁgāra, often written Sursingar in many respects similar to the Surabahar, is a reinterpretation of the Rabab created in Benares under the supervision of Zafar Khān.
The moorchang, is a typical example of a universal instrument. In Italy it is a popular instrument called the wind chime or marranzano and although it takes on different forms, it is used all over the world.
The tavil belongs to the folk music tradition of South India, and is often played with a wind ensemble called periya melam. This percussion has a barrel shape with a single-layered stem, obtained from a single cylindrical block of wood.
Frame drums are very popular in India and the simplicity of manufacturing these instruments has facilitated their diffusion. They are in fact a thin strip of iron or wood bent into a circular shape.
The term bhanda vadya is used to indicate all terracotta percussion instruments with a spherical body, practically real vases of various shapes and sizes.
The term "Mohan veena" can denote one of two distinct plucked string instruments utilized in Indian classical music, particularly in Hindustani classical music, which is traditionally associated with the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent.
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