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Musical
Instruments of India
India
is the inheritor of one of the
most ancient and evolved music
systems in the world. The continuity
of the musical traditions of
India is established through
a study of musical texts and
numerous visual references one
finds of musical instruments
in painting and sculpture from
prehistoric times to the present
day.
The earliest evidence of music
activity is found on the walls
of cave paintings at Bhimbetka
and in several parts of Madhya
Pradesh, which were occupied
by man approximately 10,000
years ago. Much later, in the
excavations of the Harappan
Civilization also, evidence
is available of dance and music
activity.
Musical instruments are the
tangible and material representation
of music which is an auditory
art. A study of these helps
in tracing the evolution of
music and also explains many
aspects of the material culture
of the group of people to which
these instruments belong. For
instance, the hair used for
making the bow, the wood or
clay used for making the drum,
or the hide of animals used
in the instruments, all these
tell us about the flora and
fauna of a particular region.
The Tamil word for instrument-Karuvi
is found in Sangam literature
of the 2nd to 6th century A.D.,
the literal meaning of which
is tool. This is extended
to mean instrument in the context
of music.
Very ancient instruments may
be seen as an extension of the
human body and we find even
today, sticks and clappers.
Dried fruit rattles, the Kaniyani
Danda of Oraons or the dried
berries or shells tied to the
waist are used for producing
rhythm, even today.
The hand was referred to as
the Hasta Veena, where the hands
and fingers are used to show
the notation system of vedic
chanting, coordinating sound
with mudra-hand gesture.
In the Natya Shastra, compiled
by Bharat Muni dated 200 B.C.-200
A.D., musical instruments have
been divided into four main
categories on the basis of how
sound is produced.
(i) The Tata Vadya or Chordophones-
Stringed instruments
(ii) The Sushira Vadya or Aerophones-
Wind instruments
(iii) The Avanaddha Vadya or
Membranophones- Percussion instruments
(iv) The Ghana Vadya or Idiophones-
Solid instruments which do not
require tuning.
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Tata Vadya -
Stringed Instruments
The tata vadya is a category
of instruments in which sound
is produced by the vibration
of a string or chord. These
vibrations are caused by plucking
or by bowing on the string which
has been pulled taut. The length
of the vibrating string or wire,
the degree to which it has been
tightened, determines the pitch
of the note and also to some
extent the duration of the sound.
The tata vadya are divided into
two broad categories-the plucked
and the bowed, and further subdivided
into the fretted and non-fretted
variety.
The oldest evidence of stringed
instruments in our land, however,
are harps in the shape of the
hunters bow. They had a varying
number of parallel strings made
of fibre or gut. There used
to be one string for each note,
plucked either with the fingers
or with the plectrum called
the kona. Veena was the generic
term for stringed instruments referred
to in texts: and we have the
ekatantri, the sata-tantri
veena, etc. The Chitra had
seven strings and the Vipanchi
nine;
the first was played with the
fingers and the second with
a plectrum.
Representation of these can
be found in many sculptures
and murals of olden days, as
for example, in the Bharhut
and Sanchi Stupa, the reliefs
of Amaravati and so on. Mention
of. Yazh are found in old Tamil
texts from the 2nd century A.D.
The playing of such instruments
was an important part of ritual
and ceremonies. As the priests
and performers sang, their wives
played on instruments.
Another class is of the dulcimer
type, where a number of strings
are stretched on a box of wood.
The best known of these was
the sata-tantri veena-the hundred
stringed veena. A close relative
of this is the Santoor, a very
popular instrument still played
in Kashmir and other parts of
India.
A later development of stringed
instruments are the fingerboard
variety, which were most suited
to Raga Sangeet and many of
the prevalent instruments of
the concert platform, whether
fretted or non-fretted, bowed
or plucked fall into this category.
The great advantage of these
instruments is the richness
of tone production and continuity
of sound. In the finger-board
instruments all the required
notes are produced on one chord
(string or wire) by altering
the length of the wire either
by pressing it with a finger
or a piece of metal or wood.
This increase or decrease in
the length of the vibrator wire
is responsible for the changes
in pitches of notes-swaras.
Bowed instruments are usually
used as an accompaniment to
vocal music and are referred
to as Geetanuga. They are
divided into two broad categories-the
upright and the inverted.
In the first category the
fingerboard is held straight
up as in the case of Sarangi
and in the second category,
that is, in the inverted variety,
the board or resonator is
held towards the shoulder
and the fingerboard dandi
is held across the arm of
the player as in the case
of the Ravanhastaveena, the
Banam, the Violin.
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| Kamaicha
The
Kamaicha is a bowed lute
played by the manganiars
of west Rajasthan. The
whole instrument is one
piece of wood, the spherical
bowl extending into a
neck and fingerboard;
the resonator is covered
with leather and the
upper portion with wood.
There are four main strings
and a number of subsidiary
ones passing over a thin
bridge.
The
kamaicha links the sub-continent
to Western Asia and Africa
and is considered by
some scholars to be the
oldest instrument, with
the exception of the
Ravana Hatta or Ravana
Hasta Veena.
The variety of upright bowed instruments are generally seen in the northern
areas of ttie country. In these there are again two varieties, the fretted
and the non-fretted. |
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(a)
Different parts
of a stringed instrument
The resonator- Toomba of most stringed instruments is either made of wood or
from a specially grown gourd.
Over
this Toomba there
is a plate of wood
known as the Tabli.
The resonator is
attached to the fingerboard-the
Danda at the top
end of which are
inserted the pegs-the
Khoontis, for tuning
the instrument.
On
the Tabli there is
a bridge made of
ivory or bone. The
main strings pass
over the bridge,
some instruments
also have a number
of sympathetic strings
below the main strings.
They are called the
Tarab. When these
strings vibrate,
they add resonance
to the sound.
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On
the fingerboard of danda,
in some instruments, metal
frets are attached which
are either permanently fixed
or are movable. Some stringed
instruments are plucked with
the fingers or by using a
small plectrum called the
Kona, while in others, sound
is produced by bowing, (See
diagram A)
(b)
Placement of Swaras
The line drawing shows placement of notes-the swaras-Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni
Sa on a 36" length of wire, the frequency of vibration of each note is also
shown in the picture. (See diagram B). |
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Sushira Vadya
In the Sushira Vadya group,
sound is produced by blowing
air into an hollow column. The
pitch of the note is determined
by controlling the air passage
and the melody is played by
using the fingers to open and
close the in the instrument.
The simplest of these instruments
is the flute. Generally flutes
are made of bamboo or wood and
the Indian musician prefers
these due to the tonal and musical
attributes of these materials.
However, there are references
of flutes made of red sandalwood,
black wood, cane, ivory, bronze,
silver and gold also.
The diameter
of the bamboo flutes is usually
- about 1.9 cms; though, flutes
with wider diameters. are also
commonly, used. The musical
text Sangeet Ratnakar written
in the 13th. century by Sharangdev
refers to 18 kinds of flutes.
These categories are based on
the distance between the blow
hole and the first finger hole
(see diagram).
Excavations of
the Indus civilizations have
shown bird whistles of clay,
and seals which show wind and
percussion instruments. Actual
musical instruments are made
of bamboo, wood, animal hide,
etc. which perish when buried
for any length of time, hence,
flutes made of wood or bamboo
have not survived the ravages
of time and are not found in
excavations of past civilizations.
There is reference
in the Vedas to an instrument-the
Venu which was used as an accompaniment
to chanting and recitation.
There is also mention of a kind
of a flute called the Nadi.
The flute has a variety of names
like Venu, Vamsi, Bansuri, Murali
and so on in the north, and
Pullankuzhal, Pillankarovi and
Kolalu in the south. The wind
instruments are roughly divided
into two categories on the basis
of how sound is produced. They
are:
- the flutes, and
- the reed instruments
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Flutes
Single or double flutes with
only one hollow tube with finger
holes for controlling the pitch
of the note are very common
in many parts of the country.
Long horizontal flutes with
a larger diameter are used
to
play slow passages such as
Alap of the lower registers.
Smaller
and shorter flutes, sometimes
held vertically, are used for
Taans, the faster passages,
and also for producing higher
pitches of sound. The double
flutes are mostly played by
musicians of the tribal and
rural areas and are rarely
found
on the concert platform. They
resemble beak flutes which
have
a narrow aperture at one end.
One finds references to these
types of instruments in the
sculptures of the first century
in the Sanchi Stupa which shows
a musician playing on a double
flute.
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Reed instruments
Reed
instruments
like the
Shehnai,
Nadaswaram,
etc., have
one or two
reeds inserted
in the hollow
beak or tube
of the instrument,
these vibrate
when air
is blown
into them.
In this type
of instrument
the reeds
are bound
together
with a gap
between them
before inserting
into the
body of the
instrument.
The body
of the tube
is conical
in shape
narrow at
the blowing
end and opening
out gradually
with a metallic
bell at the
farther end
to enhance
the volume
of the sound.
A set of
spare reeds,
an ivory
or silver
needle for
adjusting
and cleaning
the reeds
are also
hung from
the mouth
piece of
the instrument.
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The
Shehnai is a reed
instrument in which
there are seven
holes along the
tube which are
used for playing
the melody by opening
and closing them
with the fingers.
It is known as
a Mangal vadya
and is usually
played on all auspicious
occasions in north
India such as marriages,
temple festivals,
etc. The Shehnai
is considered to
have come to India
from West Asia,
there are other
scholars who believe
that this instrument
travelled to China
from India. It
is now a popular
instrument in concerts,
the sound is very
sweet and suited
for playing Raga
Sangeet. In the
early fifties of
this century, Ustad
Bismillah Khan
is credited for
popularising this
instrument. Today,
Pt. Anant Lal,
Pt. Daya Shankar
are also noted
Shehnai players. |
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Avanaddha Vadya
In the Avanaddha Vadya
category of instruments,
sound is produced by
striking the animal
skin which has been
stretched across an
earthern or metal pot
or a wooden barrel or
frame. The earliest
references to such instruments
have been found in the
Vedas where there is
mention of Bhumi Dundhubhi;
this was a hollow pit
dug in the ground and
covered with the hide
of a buffalo or ox which
was stretched across
the pit. The tail of
the animal was used
for striking the animal
hide and thus sound
was produced.
Drums
have been divided into
different categories
on the basis of their
shapes and structure
as also the position
and placement for playing.
The main categories
are-Oordhwaka, Ankya,
Alingya and the waisted
or the Damaru family
of drums. (see diagrams).
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Oordhwaka
The Oordhwaka drums are placed vertically before the musician and sound is produced
by striking them with sticks or the fingers. Prominent among these are the Tabla
pair and Chenda.
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Tabla
The Tabla pair is a set of two vertical Oordhwaka drums. The right side is
called the Tabla and the left, the Bayan or Dagga. The Tabla has a wooden
body with a covering of animal skin, this is held together with leather
straps. Between the straps and the wooden body, oblong wooden blocks are
placed. These are used for tuning the drums. There is a syahi paste applied
in the centre of the animal skin, the tabla can be tuned accurately by
striking the rims with a hammer. The body of the bayan is made of clay
or metal and is covered with anil'J1al skin which also has syahi paste
applied on it. Some musicians do not tune this drum to an accurate pitch.
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The
tabla pair
is used
as accompaniment
to vocal
and instrumental
Hindustani
music and
with many
dance forms
of northern
India.
The
complicated
talas of
the Hindustani
music
are played with great virtuosity on the tabla. Prominent musicians playing
the tabla
today are-Ustad
Alia Rakha
Khan and
his son
Zakir Hussain,
Shafat
Ahmed
and Samata Prasad to name a few. |
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Ankya
The Ankya drums
are held horizontally
before the
musician
and usually
both sides
are
covered with
animal hide.
Sound is produced
by striking
both sides
with
sticks or fingers.
Today, in this
variety, the
Mridangam,
Pakhawaj,
Khol, etc.
are prominent.
The
musician may
sit on the
floor
and play the
instrument
or
hang it from
the neck while
dancing or
standing.
Seals which
have been excavated
of the Indus
Civilization
show figures
of men playing
the horizontal
drums hung
from
the neck.
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Alingya
The
third
variety
are
the
Alingya
drums.
These
drums
have
the
animal
hide
fixed
to
a
wooden
round
frame
and
are
embraced
or
held
close
to
the
body
with
one
hand
while
the
other
hand
is
used
for
playing
on
the
instrument.
Under
this
category,
the
Duff,
Dufflies,
etc. are
very
popular.
Damaru
types
Another
prominent
group
of
drums
are
the
waisted
or
Damaru
variety.
The
instruments
in
this
category
range
from,
the
small
Huddaka
of
Himachal
Pradesh
to
the
larger
instrument
known
as
Timila
of
the
southern
region.
The
former
is
struck
with
the
hands
while
the
latter
is
hung
from
the shoulders
and
played
with
sticks
and
fingers.
These
are
also
known
as
the
hourglass
variety
of
drums
as
their
shape
resembles
an
hourglass.
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Ghana
Vadya
The
earliest
instruments
invented
by
man
are
said
to
be
the
Ghana
Vadya.
Once
constructed, this variety of instrument do not need special tuning prior to
playing.
In early times these instruments were the extension of the human body such
as
sticks,
clappers,
rods,
etc.
and
were
also
closely
related
to
objects
of
utility
in daily life such as pots and pans, jhanj, falams, etc. They are principally
rhythmic
in function and are best suited as accompaniment to folk and tribal music and
dance. |
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Jhanj
Player, Konarak, Orissa
In the Sun temple of Konarak, Orissa, we see this large sculpture nearly 8
f1. high of a lady playing the Jhanj.
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Under
the aegis of Ministry
of Culture,
Government of India
15-A, Sector - 7, Dwarka, New Delhi - 110075
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Centre for Cultural Resources and Training
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