Musical Instruments of India
Ghatam
With the term Bhanda Vadya it is used to indicate all terracotta percussion with spherical body, practically real vases of various shapes and sizes. Among these Ghatam, Gummati, Burra, Ilghumat, Ghumera, Tumbaknari, Ghera, Pubuji Ke Mate, Kudamuza and Mihavu are still in vogue in the popular music of the various regions of the Indian subcontinent.
In Bharat's Natya Shastra it is called Dardur and is described as a tool present in the orchestral groups called Kutup, together with Mridang and Panav, designed to accompany theatrical and choreutic performances.
The dardur is described as a terracotta vase with a spherical shape, whose opening is covered with iuta and with the use of both hands, through the use of palms and fingers, which beat the whole paintable surface, are produced Different timbre. Already in the thirteenth century this percussion begins to lose importance, also losing its identity, acquiring the name Ghatam.
In the eighteenth century two types of this percussion were identified, differentiated by the presence or absence of the Iuta on the mouth. The latter version is the one that will resume notal in the northern regions for popular music and which acquires the concert percussion status for carnatic music, often supported by the Mridang and Khanjeera and assimilating all the mnemonica applicable to these percussion.
By resting or removing the mouth from the stomach, a wide range of sound modulations can be produced and the blows are directed on the entire structure, precisely by the mouth, to the neck, on the center and on the bottom, using the palms, fingers, wrists and nails of both hands.
Manufacture
To date, the clay dough is also enriched with traces of copper, silver, gold and aluminum, thus increasing the sweetness and resonance of the tonal quality of the instrument. Ghatam professional players indicate in particular two places of excellent manufacture, one in the city of Panruti and the other in the city of Manamadurai.
By applying soap and wet clay in the proximity of the neck you can lower the tone of the ghatam of half tone or even a whole tone, while in winter to obtain a better sound quality it is used to warm it before the performance.
The first to introduce this tool as an accompaniment percussion in the second half of the nineteenth century was probably Vidwan Chidambara Iyer of the city of Polagam.
Another performer who has given this instrument a prestigious role within Carnatic Music is certainly Narayan Iyer of the city of Umayalpuram, accompanying artists of the caliber of Maha Vaidyanath Iyer, Sarabha Shaastri, Patnam Subremaniam Iyer, followed by equally talented Ghatam players like Krishna Iyer (Palni) and Sundaram Iyer (Umayalpuram).
But the one who exported the fame of this tool abroad, through the fusion music, is Vikku Vinayakram, which offers this tool also in solo concerts.
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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