Indian musical instruments

1. By –SACHIN BOHRA To - SHABNAM DOGRA

2. Indian classical music is the art music of the Indian subcontinent. The
origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the
oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. The Samaveda was derived from
the Rigveda so that its hymns could be sung as Samagana. These hymns
were sung by Udgatar priests at sacrifices in which the Soma ritual drink,
clarified and mixed with milk and other ingredients, was offered in
libation to various deities. Indian classical music is both elaborate and
expressive. Like Western classical music, it divides the octave into
12 semitones of which the 8 basic notes are, in ascending tonal order, Sa Re
Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa for Hindustani music and Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Ni Sa for
Carnatic music, similar to Western music's Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do.
However, Indian music uses just-intonation tuning, unlike most modern
Western classical music, which uses the equal-temperament tuning system.
Also, unlike modern Western classical music, Indian classical music places
great emphasis on improvisation.
MUSIC

3. 
 A musical instrument is a device constructed or
modified for the purpose of making music. In
principle anything that produces sound can serve as
a musical instrument. The expression, however, is
reserved generally for items that have a specific
musical purpose. The academic study of musical
instruments is called organology.
 Some examples of instruments are - trumpet,
bassoon, trombone, flute, clarinet, oboe, piccolo,
saxophone, violin, viola, violoncello, piano, guitar,
bass, lute, koto, sitar, bagpipe, drum, xylophone,
pipe organ, theremin, synthesizer, Aeolian harp, etc.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

4. 
There are many types of musical instruments which people have used
since ancient times. many musical instruments were developed to
accompany religious singing. depictions of mira, a devotee of lord krishna
in many antique art works and other such depictions show the
significance of musical instruments in worship. the most well-known
Indian musical instruments then and now are the sitar and the tabla
though today the Indian musical instruments market may include many
different instruments.
Revered Hindu religious scriptures of the Vedas speak of the use of
musical instruments in worship. The fact that Indian musical instruments
are mentioned in such ancient religious works is indicative of the fact that
music had an important role in ancient India. The foundation of Indian
music was rooted in three different forms of performance-art. These were
Vocal music or singing, instrumental music and dance.
HISTORY OF MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS

5. Medieval musical instruments are those that were used between the fifth and
seventeenth centuries AD in India. Many religious songs that dealt with the story of
Radha and Krishna were composed during this period. During the Muslim invasion
of Northern India Indian music came to be divided into the Northern Hindustani
music and the southern Carnatic style of music. The instruments used in the medieval
era by musicians from both styles of music included the veena, the sitar, the sarod,
the shehenai, the tabla, the harmonium and the pakhavaj to name just a few.
Indian music has two main aspects. Rag which deals with the area of melody and Tal
which has to do with rhythm. The system of Rag involves the arrangement of seven
notes. Today, many ancient musical instruments are hard to locate and some rare
musical instruments that were once an important part of Indian musical tradition are
no longer used at all. The 'been', a traditional blowpipe as is usually depicted in
pictures of snake-charmers and the 'bhopung', a one-stringed musical instrument are
some examples of these.

6. 
Tabla is the most popular pair of drums in he Indian Sub
continent. The origin of the tabla is assumed to have come
from dividing a pakhawaj into two. While there are other
assumptions that the tabla had a Persian origin from the pair
of drums called the nebla. The Tabla has a special place in
Indian music because every musician regardless of the
dancers, singers, or instrumentalists have a place for Tabla.
Their dance, song, or instrumental pieces will go in vain if
the basics of Tabla are unknown. Tabla originally, was an
accompanying instrument. Ever since late Ustad Allarakha
came to the West in the 1960's, tabla was not only greatly
popularized, but it earned a title as a solo instrument
Tabla

7.  Tabla is a pair of drums which consists of a small right hand
drum called Dayan and a larger metal one called bayan. The
tabla has an interesting construction. The Dayan (right hand
drum) is almost always made of wood which is tuned to the fifth
of the raga. Both heads are made of complex layers of goat skin
with an iron black region known as the syahi.
 The diameter of the ends of Tabla at the membrane may run
from just under five inches to over six inches. The bayan (left
hand drum) may be made of iron, aluminium, copper, steel, or
clay; yet brass with a nickel or chrome plate is common.
Undoubtedly the most striking and important characteristic of
the tabla is the large black spot on each of the playing surfaces
on its ends. These black spots are a mixture of gum, soot, and
iron filings. Their function is to create the bell-like timbre that is
characteristic of the instrument.
Nomenclature and
Construction

9. In India the harmonium or reed-organ, or "the poor man`s pipe-
organ," belongs to the same family of instruments as the mouth-
organs and accordion-type instruments. It has freely moving reeds
(as well as rising reeds) on which a patent was taken out in 1840 by
the French instrument maker, Alexandre Debain. It became an
extremely popular instrument in the United States and Europe in
the second half of the nineteenth century, used mainly for
accompanying the voice in the home and in church, since it had the
tone of a pipe-organ without the bulk or the enormous expense. The
harmonium has a piano-like body which usually is elaborately
carved in the fashion of the day. Harmonium has two foot-pedals
connected to two bellows that provide air supply and keyboard has
a range of five octaves. Below the keyboard there are two siphon
paddles operated by the player`s knees. One initiates sort of swells
mechanism while the other is used for musical emphasis like a
general crescendo.
Harmonium

10. Harmonium usually belongs to the family of free-reed
aerophones. The instrument is a small, tabletop size, organ which
has bellows at the back that is pumped by one hand while the
other hand plays the keyboard. A standard Harmonium always
has a wooden box known as body, handles to move the
instrument, bellows, keys, stops (main and drone), reeds, reed
board, coupler and scale changer. Today in India it is widely
used in all forms of Indian music be it classical, Hindustani,
devotional or film music. A high quality Harmonium with full
sound range and keyboard has 39 keys and thus supplies a tonal
range of 3 octaves, 4 adjustable drones are possible. The Double
reeds make sure that every tone is supplied with two reeds (for
medium and lower octave). Three variations with different
settings can be achieved by blowing the reeds either separately or
together.
Construction

12. The sitar English is a plucked stringed instrument used mainly
in Hindustani music and Indian classical music. The instrument is
believed to have been derived from the veena, an ancient Indian
instrument, which was modified by a Mughal court musician to
conform with the tastes of his Persian patrons and named after a
Persian instrument called the Setar (meaning "three strings"). The
sitar flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries and arrived at its
present form in 18th century India. It derives its distinctive timbre
and resonance from sympathetic strings, bridge design, a long
hollow neck and a gourd resonating chamber . In appearance, the
Sitar is similar to the Tambura, except it has frets. The body of Sitar
is more or less a spherical gourd at the lower end.
Sitar

13. The other type of sitar, the instrumental style, is most often made
of seasoned toon wood, but sometimes made of (Burma) teak. It is
often fitted with a second resonator, a small tumba (pumpkin or
pumpkin-like wood replica) on the neck. This style is usually fully
decorated, with floral or grape carvings and celluloid inlays with
colored (often brown or red) and black floral or arabesque
patterns. It typically has thirteen sympathetic strings. It is said that
the best Burma teak sitars are made from teak that has been
seasoned for generations. Therefore instrument builders look for
old Burma teak that was used in old colonial-style villas as whole
trunk columns for their special sitar constructions. The sources of
very old seasoned wood are a highly guarded trade secret and
sometimes a mystery
Construction