Musical Instruments of India
Sarod
The term Sarod, of Persian origin, means "song" or "melody". All hypotheses regarding the origin of the Sarod, as happens when one investigates the genesis of the Sitar, are based on many assumptions and inferences. Suffice it to consider the fact that, even if the general opinion is that it is a developed version of the Rabab, unfortunately we are faced with the fact that the origins of this instrument are also extremely confused and unclear, which makes it impossible to scientifically outline a chronology of the structural development of the instrument.
In general we must admit that the instrument is the result of the combination of the structural characteristics of the Seniya Rabāb, the Afghani Rabāb and the Suraśṛṁgāra. The invention of the Sarod is claimed by the members of two Afghan Gharānā of sarodiya descendants of the Gharānā of Niyamatullah Khān and the Gharānā of Gulam Ali Khān*
Niyamtullah Khān, student of Basat Khān, musician of the court of Wajid Ali Shah in Matia Burj, moved to Nepal and the descendants claim that they were the ones who made some of the main modifications to the instrument, such as the introduction of steel strings and the creation of the handle covered with a metal plate, characteristic of the Sarod. His two sons, Karamattullah Khān and Asadullah Khān (known as Kaukubh Khān), later settled in Calcutta.
Allyn Miner** is quite analytical in describing the two structural schemes of Sarod shown in the book "Israr-i-Karamat urf Naghmat-i-Niyamat e Risala Sitār" of 1908, one belonging to Niyamtullah Khān and the other to Karamatullah Khān, underlining that Karamatullah Khān's Sarod was larger than his father's and that it already had similar characteristics to those of the modern Sarod, which later found a standard of construction in the nineteenth century.
Allauddin Khān, student of Ahmed Ali Khān and Wazir Khān, legendary musician, multi-instrumentalist, teacher and father of an incredible number of successful artists of the twentieth century, introduced some very significant modifications that made the Sarod the stringed instrument we know today .
Allauddin Khān, who possessed incredible mastery in several instrumental techniques and a varied repertoire of vocal styles ranging from Dhrupad to Khayāl to Thumri and Tappā, further modified the Sarod together with his brother Ayet Ali Khān***. The two made the sound box more circular and larger, added six sympathetic strings to the pre-existing nine, thus bringing the total number of tarafh**** to fifteen; they also added another string for the Cikārī and four strings for the staff (as if it were a built-in Tampurā), for which they added an extra bridge at the upper end of the neck, positioned under the upper bridge called Meru. A metal resonator was introduced, fixing it under the headstock of the neck and the tailpiece was redesigned, widening it and making it thinner than the previous one. This new model had a better and more varied timbral quality, as well as a longer sustain and a higher volume, making it suitable for all the techniques necessary for a complete elaboration of the Rāga, so that many artists of Northern India adopted it, replacing it with previous models.
The improved Sarod was later made internationally famous by Ali Akbar Khān, son of Allaudin Khān, and was taken as a reference model by Hemen Sen, the famous master violin maker of Calcutta.
The body of the Sarod is made of a single block of wood, often teak or rosewood. The headstock, slightly curved and modeled on a solid cylindrical/conical section, is approximately 30 centimeters long and houses the keys for tuning the main strings positioned on both sides. In the Ali Akbar Khān model, a metal resonator is also fixed under the headstock. The handle made from a wooden surface covered with a sheet of metal is about forty-five centimeters long, it gradually becomes wider towards the sound box which has a very thin goatskin as its soundboard on which the main bridge of the instrument is placed, similar to that of the violin. The body is hollow and the keys for the resonance strings are positioned on the left side of the instrument. The sound box is rounded in shape and has a diameter of approximately twenty-three centimeters.
The instruments used by Buddhadev Das Gupta, the main disciple of Radhika Mohan Maitra and Amjad Ali Khān, the son and disciple of Hafiz Ali Khān, are inspired by the older structure of the Sarod, without a metal resonator and with fewer strings (and therefore fewer keys), with a slightly smaller sound box and a slightly more oval shape. Amjad Ali Khān's Sarod features six main strings plus two Cikārī, with a shorter body and thirteen sympathetic strings.
The strings of Sarod are plucked with the help of a plectrum called jawa, made from coconut, with a triangular shape very similar to that used for the guitar, while the left hand fingering technique varies depending on the schools: Allauddin Khān and his descendants use the nails and fingertips on the strings, while most other Sarod players use only their nails.
Among the names of the most important Sarod players of the past we find:
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Mohammad Amir Khan (1873–1934)
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Allauddin Khan (1862–1972)
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Hafiz Ali Khan (1888–1972)
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Ali Akbar Khan (1922–2009)
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Bahadur Khan (1931-1989)
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Buddhadev Das Gupta (1933-2018)
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Kalyan Mukherjea (1943–2010)
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Sakhawat Hussain (1877–1955)
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Sharan Rani Backliwal (1929–2008)
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Radhika Mohan Maitra (1917–1981)
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Vasant Rai (1942-1985)
The most significant representatives of Sarod in recent years are:
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Amjad Ali Khan
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Brij Narayan
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Aashish Khan
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Rajeev Taranath
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Biswajit Roy Chowdhury
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Partho Sarathy Chowdhury
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Vikash Maharaj
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Anindya Banerjee
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Tejendra Majumdar
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Anirban Dasgupta
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Amaan Ali Khan
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Ayaan Ali Khan
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Wajahat Khan
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Arnab Chakrabarty
*Dr. Suneera Kasliwal, Classical Musical Instruments, Rupa, New Delhi, 2001.
**Allyn Miner, Sitar and Sarod in the 18th & 19th Centuries, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi, 1997.
***Ayet Ali Khān is also credited with the invention of two musical instruments: the Manohara and the Mandrand, of which however we have not found photos, videos or audio recordings.
****This term indicates the sympathetic strings which, usually placed on the harmonic plane, thanks to a physical principle, vibrate without being touched, but precisely stimulated by sympathy.
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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