I would like to share some of the Indian musical instruments in this blog which I believe can provide some basic understanding on some of them.Now days people tend to use them as decorative items in their home rather than use them in action.
Ganjira
The Ganjira is a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. It is used primarily in concerts of Carnatic music (South Indian classical music) as a supporting instrument for the mridangam. The Ganjira have been used since 1880's, and was added to classical concerts during the 1930s.
Similar to the Western tambourine, it consists of a circular frame made of the wood of the jackfruit tree, between 7 and 9 inches in width and 2 to 4 inches in depth. It is covered on one side with a drumhead made of monitor lizard skin (specifically the Bengal monitor, (Varanus bengalensis), now an endangered species in India ,while the other side is left open. The frame has a single slit which contain three to four small metal discs—often old coins—that jingle when the ganjira is played.
The Ganjira is a relatively difficult Indian drum to play, especially in South Indian Carnatic music, for reasons including the complexity of the percussion patterns used in Indian music. It is normally played with the palm and fingers of the right hand, while the left hand supports the drum. The fingertips of the left hand can be used to bend the pitch by applying pressure near the outer rim. It is not tuned to any particular pitch, unlike the mridangam or the ghatam.
Normally, without tuning, it has a very high pitched sound. To get a good bass sound, the performer reduces the tension of the drumhead by sprinkling water on the inside of the instrument. This process may have to be repeated during a concert to maintain a good sound. However, if the instrument is too moist, it will have a dead tone, requiring 5–10 minutes to dry. Tone is also affected by external temperature and moisture conditions. Performers typically carry a couple of kanjiras so that they can keep at least one in perfectly tuned condition at any given time.
The veena is an Indian plucked string instrument. It is named after the Hindu goddess Saraswati, who is usually depicted holding or playing the instrument. Also known as raghunatha veena is used mostly in Carnatic Indian classical music. There are several variations of the veena, which in its South Indian form is a member of the lute family. One who plays the veena is referred to as a vainika.
It is one of the three other major types of veena popular today. The others include vichitra veena and rudra veena. Out of these the rudra and vichitra veenas are used in Hindustani music, while the Saraswati veena is used in the Carnatic music of South India. Some people play traditional music, others play contemporary music.
The veena has a recorded history that dates back to the Vedic period (approximately 1500 BCE) In ancient times, the tone vibrating from the hunter's bow string when he shot an arrow was known as the Vil Yazh. The Jya ghosha (musical sound of the bow string) is referred to in the ancient Atharvaveda. Eventually, the archer's bow paved the way for the musical bow. Twisted bark, strands of grass and grass root, vegetable fibre and animal gut were used to create the first strings. Over the veena's evolution and modifications, more particular names were used to help distinguish the instruments that followed. The word veena in India was a term originally used to generally denote "stringed instrument", and included many variations that would be either plucked, bowed or struck for sound.
The veena instruments developed much like a tree, branching out into instruments as diverse as the exotic harp-like Akasa (a veena that was tied up in the tops of trees for the strings to vibrate from the currents of wind) and the Audumbari veena (played as an accompaniment by the wives of Vedic priests as they chanted during ceremonial Yajnas). Veenas ranged from one string to one hundred, and were composed of many different materials like eagle bone, bamboo, wood and coconut shells. The yazh was an ancient harp-like instrument that was also considered a veena. But with the developments of the fretted veena instruments, the yazh quickly faded away, as the fretted veena allowed for easy performance of ragas and the myriad subtle nuances and pitch oscillations in the gamakas prevalent in the Indian musical system.
As is seen in many Hindu temple sculptures and paintings, the early veenas were played vertically. It was not until the great Indian Carnatic music composer and Saraswati veena player Muthuswami Dikshitar that it began to be popularized as played horizontally.
"The current form of the Saraswati veena with 24 fixed frets evolved in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, during the reign of Raghunath Nayak and it is for this reason sometimes called the Tanjore veena, or the Raghunatha veena.
The mridangam is a percussion instrument from India of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble.The mridangam is also played in Carnatic concerts in countries outside of India, including Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. During a percussion ensemble, the mridangam is often accompanied by the ghatam, kanjira, and the morsing.
In ancient Hindu sculpture, painting, and mythology, the mridangam is often depicted as the instrument of choice for a number of deities including Ganesha (the remover of obstacles) and Nandi, who is the vehicle and companion of Lord Shiva. Nandi is said to have played the mridangam during Shiva's arcane Tandava dance, causing a divine rhythm to resound across the heavens. The miruthangam is thus also known as "Deva Vaadyam," or "Instrument of the Gods."
The word "mridangam" is derived from the two Sanskrit words mŗda (clay or earth) and anga (body). Early mridangams were indeed made of hardened clay. Over the years, the mridangam evolved to be made of different kinds of wood due to its increased durability, and today, its body is constructed from wood of the jackfruit tree. It is widely believed that the tabla, the mridangam's North Indian musical counterpart, was first constructed by splitting a mridangam in half. With the development of the mridangam came the evolution of the tala (rhythmic) system. The system of talas (or taalams) in South Indian Carnatic music may be the most complex percussive rhythm system of any form of classical music.
The ghatam is a percussion instrument used in the Carnatic music of South India. Its analogue in Rajasthan is known as the madga and pani mataqa "water jug".
The ghaṭam is an earthenware pot; the artist uses the fingers, thumbs, palms, and heels of the hands to strike its outer surface. An airy low-pitch bass sound, called gumki, is created by hitting the mouth of the pot with an open hand. The artist sometimes presses the mouth of the pot against their bare belly, which deepens the tone of the bass stroke, and is another way to produce the "gumki" sound.
Different tones can be produced by hitting different areas of the pot with different parts of the hands. The ghatam usually accompanies a mridangam.
Although the ghatam is the same shape as an ordinary Indian domestic clay pot, it is made specifically to be played as an instrument. The tone of the pot must be good and the walls should be of even thickness all around to produce an even tone. In fact, there are two types of ghatams: Madras and Manamadurai. The Madras ghatam is a light pot which requires less force to play, thus is suited for extended fast patterns. The Manamadurai ghatam is a heavy, thick pot with tiny shards of brass mixed into the clay. This type of ghatam is harder to play but produces a sharp metallic ringing sound which is favored by some players.
A morsing is a wind percussion instrument, mainly used in the Carnatic music of South India and Sindh (Pakistan). It can be categorized under lamellophones, which is in the category of plucked idiophones. It consists of a metal ring in the shape of a horseshoe with two parallel forks which form the frame, and a metal tongue in the middle, between the forks, fixed to the ring at one end and free to vibrate at the other. The metal tongue is bent at the free end in a plane perpendicular to the circular ring so that it can be struck and is made to vibrate. This bent part is called the trigger.
Its origin in India is not very clear though many myths and stories prevail. In India it is found mainly in South India, Rajasthan and also in some parts of Assam. In South India, it features in Carnatic concerts and percussion ensembles. In Rajasthan it is called morchang and is used as percussion instrument in folk music.
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument (of the membranophone family) used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres. The term 'tabla is derived from an Arabic word, tabl, which simply means "drum."
Playing technique involves extensive use of the fingers and palms in various configurations to create a wide variety of different sounds, reflected in the mnemonic syllables (bol). The heel of the hand is used to apply pressure or in a sliding motion on the larger drum so that the pitch is changed during the sound's decay.
It was invented in India but still the history of this instrument is uncertain, and has been the subject of sometimes heated debate. Rebecca Stewart suggested it was most likely a hybrid resulting from the experiments with existing drums such as pakhawaj, dholak and naqqara. The origins of tabla repertoire and technique may be found in all three and in physical structure there are also elements of all three: the smaller pakhawaj head for the dayan, the naqqara kettledrum for the bayan, and the flexible use of the bass of the dholak.
A common legendary account credits the 13th century Indian poet Amir Khusrau as the inventor of the tabla.He split the single South Indian mrudangam drum into two or the North Indian pakhawaj in two. ('toda, tab bhi bola - tabla': 'When broke, it still spoke' - a fairly well known Hindi pun) None of his writings on music mention the drum, but this apparent tradition of late invention, combined with the absence of the instrument in South Indian music, and that the tabla closely resembles a Mrudangam cut into two,the closed-ended, paired design that relates it to the Western clay-drums and tympani, altogether supports the view that the tabla is a comparatively recent development in northern Indian music. Other accounts place the invention of this instrument in the 18th century, and the first verifiable player of this drum was Ustad Suddhar Khan of Delhi.
The Dholak is a North Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese double-headed hand-drum Madal. The name dholki may also refer to a slightly different instrument that uses high-pitch tabla style syahi masala on its treble skin. This instrument is also known as Naal or Dholki. (Hindi/Urdu: pipe or tube). It is basically also a dholak that is often a bit narrower in diameter. Its treble skin is stitched with thread on an iron ring, similar to East Asian Janggu or Shime-daiko drums. This puts the skin into high tension before it is strung. The (Naal) skins are then fitted with a tabla style high-pitch syahi. The bass (Naal) skin often has the same made up as in ordinary dholak (i.e. being fitted on to a a bamboo ring, but sometimes they may have a Kinar and pleated Gajra as seen in tabla to withstand the extra tension while "sarsoon tel masala" is used from the inside (Dholak masala). Naal requires tabla-style fingering (Bol). Both styles may have traditional cotton robe lacing or a screw system turnbuckle tensioning or even both combined: in the first case steel rings are used for tuning or pegs a twisted inside the laces. Though the dholak is mainly a folk instrument, lacking the exact tuning necessity and playing techniques Bol of the tabla or the pakhawaj, it is widely used in qawwali, kirtan and Bhangra and various styles of North Indian folk and (also South Indian) film music. It was formerly used in classical dances.
The Manjira is a traditional percussion instrument of Bhàrata India. In its simplest form it is a pair of small hand cymbals. It is also known as jalra.Manjira has a significant importance in Gujarati Folk Music. Initially Manjira were played in Aarti of God & Goddess. In Gujarat, Manjira possess a significant importance & played in Bhajan, Santvani & Dayro.
Though Manjira is a Small Metal Instrument, but it produces a sweet tinkling sound when struck together while doing Jugalbandhi with other Instruments. However, Manjira Playing is not an easy task, it requires a lot of Riyaaz (Practice) & deep knowledge of Sur & Taal. Unfortunately, unlike other Musical Instruments such as Tabla, Mrudang, Shehnai this instrument did not get much recognition & appraisal from listener.
They often accompany folk or devotional music. It is used in various religious ceremonies of India, especially bhajans.Manjira are usually made of bronze, brass, copper zinc or Bell metal and connected with a copper cord which passes through holes in their center. They produce a rhythmic tinkling sound when struck together. The sound's pitch varies according to their size, weight and the material of their construction. A player can also adjust the timbre by varying the point of contact while playing.
The manjira can also consist of a wooden frame with two long, straight handles that connect to each other with two short wooden handles; the open space between the long handles has a wooden separator that separates two rows of three brass cymbal. There are also small cymbals fixed into wood blocks forming another type of instrument also known as khartal.
The manjira is an ancient instrument. Pictures of it have been found in temples dating back to the earliest times.
Kartals (blocks). It consist of a pair of wooden blocks with jingles or crotales (kartals mean crotales). One pair is used in one hand of the musician. These pieces can be clapped together at high speeds to make fast complex beats.
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