Music of Pakistan

2. Pakistan’s Music Instruments
• Pakistanis enjoy a variety of music from local
Sufi folk to modern Rock even Rap. Most
famous singers have their own unique style
that captivates their audiences. A variety of
music instruments are used in producing
music in Pakistan. These instruments are also
common in the region especially in India,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

3. ALGHOZA
• This instrument consists of a pair of flutes of nearly the
same length and width. One flute is used for a
continuous drone, while the other is played to produce
a melody. The alghoza has six holes.
• The alghoza originated in Sindh, but its popularity has
spread all over Pakistan. Many of the tunes presented
on this instrument are composed in the raga Bheem
Pilasi, which is sung soon after sunset. Bheem Pilasi
emanates a romantic mood and is an intense
expression of longing and waiting for the beloved.

5. BANSURI
• The bansuri, or flute, is one of the most primitive
instruments of Pakistan. It is played by holding it
horizontally against the lips. It has six holes, which are
closed and opened with the finger-pads in accordance
with the melodic phrases. The thumb below supports
the flute. The typical flute has a slanting mouthpiece
that can easily rest between lips. The notes of the
higher register are produced by accurately controlling
the apertures and by contracting the lips to blow a
narrow stream of air.
• Sain Allah Ditta Qadri is known for his flute playing, and
Salamat Hussain is a meritorious flutist who has won
the President's Pride of Performance medal.

7. CHIMTA
• The chimta is a pair of fire-tongs still used in
Pakistani homes. The chimta used by
performers is approximately one metre long.
It is played by hitting the tongs against each
other and slapping a large iron ring at the
bottom against the tongs. Popular in Punjab
and Sindh, it is used mostly as an
accompaniment to folk and mystic songs.

9. DHOL
• The Dhol or drum, which means "lover" in some
regional languages, is a rhythm instrument enjoying
wide popularity in both town and countryside.
• The Dhol was originally used for communication over
long distances for community announcements and to
summon congregations. Today, the instrument is
played on a variety of occasions, such as folk festivals,
dances, horse and catel shows, rural sports, wrestling
matches, weddings, etc.
• The Dhol is a two-headed, hollowed-out piece of wood
covered with goat skin. It is beaten with wooden sticks
and is certainly an instrument of great antiquity.

11. GHARA
• The Ghara of Punjab (dilu or changer in Sindh, mangay in NWFP,
and noot in Kashmir) is actually a baked clay pitcher normally used for
storing drinking water. Used to produce a fast rhythm, it is one of the most
primitive percussion instruments known.
• The height of a ghara ranges form 30 to 35 centimeters, with a girth of 80
to 90 centimeters. The diameter of the mouth is 8 to 10 centimeters. A
metallic ghara is known as a gagar or matki. The performer sits on floor,
places the instrument in front of his knees or on his lap with its mouth up,
and beats the side wall with the fingers of the right hand while the left
hand strikes the mouth to produce a stronger ground beat.
• Ghara is also used by village people as a float for swimming. The swimmer
holds the hollow pot under the belly, its mouth down, and swims across a
river or stream. A popular folk song of Punjab takes its name from
the ghara. It is associated with the romanctic folk tale of Sohni and
Mahinwal. Sohni used a garha to swim across the river Chenab.

13. HARMONIUM
• The harmonium is a keyboard instrument. Thin metal
tongues vibrate to a steady current of air produced by
pumping the bellows. The harmonium has a three-
octave keyboard.
• This compact organ was introduced in the early 19th
century by European missionaries to sing hymns in
remote villages, where it was impossible to carry a
heavy church organ. Later, it became a part of the
music of the subcontinent. The harmonium in its
present form has completely vanished from the
musical scene in the western countries of its origin. In
Pakistan, the harmonium is very popular as an
accompaniment to solo singing and Qawwali singing.

15. IKTARA
• This ancient instrument consists of one (ik) wire (tar). It
was originally a droning accompaniment to a sung
melody, particularly religious songs. It is played by
plucking the solitary string with a to and fro movement
of the forefinger. The same hand holds the instrument.
• Its bowl is small and covered with skin. The stem is thin
and long. It is played in a vertical position.
The iktara was never meant for solo performance, but
Saeen Marna of Balochistan was first artist to make the
attempt, giving a new life to this tiny one-stringed
instrument.

17. JAL TARANG
• The jal tarang, a peculiar instrument, consists of
11 to 14 china bowls of varying thickness and
height. Each bowl is tuned by pouring in a certain
quantity of water. The cups are arranged in a
semicircular position. Usually, the biggest bowl is
tuned to the dominant or sub-dominant tone of
the scale. The player sits in the middle of the
semicircle and strikes the rims of the water-filled
bowls with two small sticks to produce a melody.
The jal tarang was first mentioned by Aahu Bal
Pandit in Sangeet Parijat (17th century).

19. RUBAB
• The Rubab is a plucked string lute with frets on the upper end of
the fingerboard. Its hollow body is made of wood, and the sound
chamber is covered with goat skin. The melody is played upon
strings made of gut, beneath which are a number of resonating
metallic strings called tarab.
• This instrument is very popular throughout northwest Pakistan. Folk
ballads, romantic songs and popular mystic poetry are sung to the
accompaniment of the rubab. The music most frequently presented
on this instrument is a Pashto folk form called lobha. The most
famous instrumentalist of the Frontier, Taj Muhammad, is an
acknowledged expert on the rubab.
• A more evolved form of this instrument is in use in Azad Kashmir.
The Kashmiri rubab is more complex, having a larger number of
strings and resonators. It is beautifully decorated by artisans with
ivory or mother-of-pearl motifs.

21. SARANGI
• The sarangi is a classical bow instrument made of wood, 65 to 70
centimeters in height, with about three dozen strings of gut, steel and
brass. It is played with a horsehair bow held in the right hand. The richness
and variety of sound produced by this instrument has given it its name,
which means "the one with a hundred colours." Besides being used as an
accompaniment, the instrument has an independent identity and can be
played solo, accompanied by the tabla.
• The sarangi was chosen to present a famous classical raga, Mian Ki Malhar.
This raga, created by the chief court musician of the Moghal Emperor
Akbar, Mian Tan Sen, in the 16th century AD, is traditionally sung in the
rainy season.
• In Pakistan, Ustad Bandu Khan was a consummate exponent of both the
theory and practice of sarangi playing. Other performers of note include
two brothers, Ustad Hamid Hussain and Ustad Zahid Hussain, who learned
the art from their father, Ustad Abid Hussain, and their maternal
grandfather, Ustad Haider Bukhsh. Their style of playing is famous for its
purity of notes and delicate rendering of melody.

23. SARINDA
• Sarinda is the name given to a stringed instrument with a
hollow wooden body made from one piece of wood. The
lower part is covered with a thin wooden strip which
extends into a finger board, upon which seven to nine
strings are tensioned.
• Sarinda comes from the Persian word surayinda, meaning
"producer of tunes." The sarinda is usually accompanied by
the rubab and tabla. The most famous tune presented on
this instrument is a lilting melody from NWFP called hyberi,
because of its origin in the Khyber Pass.
• The finest recorded performer on the sarinda was the late
Munir Sarhadi, who was taught by his father, Ustad Pazir.
Since his death, there has been no one to equal his skill and
creativity.

25. SHAHNAI
• The shahnai is a double-reed wind instrument
consisting of a hollow tube between 35 to 47
centimeters in length, widened toward the
lower end, to which a plate of bell metal is
fitted. The shahnai is an instrument for
occasions of joy and festivity. A shahnai player
typically belongs to a professional group of
musicians and performers traditionally called
mirasi.

27. SITAR
• Playing this complex instrument demands great skill and ability. It
consists of a hollow wooden fingerboard almost four feet long and
three to four inches wide, called dand. This is attached to a half-
round ball called tunba (gourd). The face of the gourd is a polished
wooden plate called tabli, decorated with ivory work. Along the
fingerboard, two ivory bridges are placed one after another. The
face of the bridge is slanting to keep the instrument's six strings
from touching the moveable brass or steel frets.
• The sitar was invented by Hazrat Amir Khusro (1253-1325 AD). It is
said that he derived the idea from the veena. The instrument is
played by using the right hand to pluck the strings with
the mizrab, a sort of triangular plectum made of hard steel. The left
hand moves up and down the frets to produce the melody. Many
Pakistani musicians have became internationally known for their
artisty on the sitar, among them Ustad Rashid Ali Khan Beenkar and
Ustad Sharif Khan of Poonch.

29. TABLA
• The tabla is a set of twin drums. While occasionally
played solo, it is an indispensible accompaniment for
all types of music in Pakistan.
• The drum played by the right hand is the main drum,
called the the dayan, while the one played by the left
hand is known as thebayan or dugga/duggi. Both
drums are covered with goat skin. In the centre is a
black circle, the siyahi, about 5 centimeters in
diameter, which is made by pasting iron slag powder
on the skin surface. Its purpose is to tune the drum to
the correct pitch.