1. Every human being gets affiliated to music as music describes the expression of
heart. Music instruments are used to generate music and are moderated by a musician
so as to get desired audio effects. They play an extremely important role in the field of
music and it's always a different experience to play any musical instrument. Most of
these instruments are used in Hindustani classical music that belongs to the North,
while some are used in Carnatic music that belongs to the South India. The Indian
musical instruments are of various types like stringed instruments, percussion
instruments and wind-blown instruments. The music created by the instruments when
played is unconditionally harmonious and musical. It relaxes the mind and the senses to
a large extent. Read below to learn more about the various Indian musical instruments
that are used by famous singers and performers.
Sitar
Sitar is of the most popular music instruments of North India. The Sitar has a long neck
with twenty metal frets and six to seven main cords. Below the frets of Sitar are thirteen
sympathetic strings which are tuned to the notes of the Raga. A gourd, which acts as a
resonator for the strings is at the lower end of the neck of the Sitar. The frets are moved
up and down to adjust the notes. Some famous Sitar players are Ustad Vilayat Khan,
Pt. Ravishankar, Ustad Imrat Khan, Ustad Abdul Halim Zaffar Khan, Ustad Rais Khan
and Pt Debu Chowdhury.

2. Sarod
Sarod has a small wooden body covered with skin and a fingerboard that is covered
with steel. Sarod does not have a fret and has twenty-five strings of which fifteen are
sympathetic strings. A metal gourd acts as a resonator. The strings are plucked with a
triangular plectrum. Some notable exponents of Sarod are Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Ustad
Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Buddhadev Das Gupta, Zarin Daruwalla and Brij Narayan.
Sarangi
Sarangi is one of the most popular and oldest bowed instruments in India. The body of
Sarangi is hollow and made of teak wood adorned with ivory inlays. Sarangi has forty
strings of which thirty seven are sympathetic. The Sarangi is held in a vertical position
and played with a bow. To play the Sarangi one has to press the fingernails of the left
hand against the strings. Famous Sarangi maestros are Rehman Bakhs, Pt Ram
Narayan, Ghulam Sabir and Ustad Sultan Khan.
Flute
Flute is a simple cylindrical tube of uniform bore and associated with Indian music since
time immemorial. Flutes vary in size. Flute is held horizontally and is inclined
downwards when it is played. To produce sound or melody one has to cover the finger
holes with the fingers of the left and right hand. Variations in pitch are produced by
altering the effective length of the air column. Notable flute exponents are Pt Pannalal
Ghosh and Pt Hari Prashad Chaurasia.

3. Shehnai
Shehnai is a traditional musical instrument, associated with auspicious occasions like
marriages and temple processions. Shehnai is a double reed instrument with a tapering
bore which progressively increases towards the lower side. The Shehnai has finger-
holes to produce semi, quarter and micro-tones. Ustad Bismillah Khan is the unrivalled
maestro of the Shehnai.
Tabla
The most popular musical instrument used in North India is the Tabla. The Tabla
consists of a pair of drums- the Tabla and the Bayan. The Tabla is made of wood and
whereas its head is made of stretched animal skin. Finer tuning of Tabla is done by
striking the rim of the Tabla with a small hammer. The Bayan is the bass drum and is
usually made of metal with a stretched skin head. Both drums have a black spot in the
center made of manganese or iron dust.
Pakhawaj
It is believed that the Tabla was derived from Pakhawaj. Pakhawaj usually accompanies
Dhrupad style of singing. Pakhawaj is a barrel-shaped drum with two heads which are
made of layers of skin. The heads of Pakhawaj are expanded by leather straps which
run along the sides of the body over small cylindrical wooden blocks that are used for
tuning.

4. Harmonium
The harmonium is a traditional and popular musical instrument of India. The harmonium
has a keyboard of over two and one-half octaves and works on a system of bellows.
The keyboard is played with the right hand while the left hand is used to operate the
bellows. Harmonium is more popular in North India than in the South.
Jaltarangam
Jaltarangam consists of a set of eighteen porcelain cups of varying sizes. The cups are
arranged in a semi-circle before the performer, in decreasing order of size. The largest
cup is to the left of the performer whereas the smallest to his right. Water is poured into
the cups and the pitch is changed by adjusting the amount of water in the cup. The cups
are struck with two thin bamboo sticks.
Mridangam
The mridangam is one of the most popular classical instruments of South India.
Mridangam accompanies vocal, instrumental and dance performances. The present day
mridangam is made of a single block of wood. It is a barrel-shaped double-headed
drum, the right head being smaller than the left. The two heads are made of layers of
skin. The mridangam is played with hands, palms and fingers.
Ghatam
The Ghatam is one oldest percussion instruments of South India. The Ghatam is a mud
pan with a narrow mouth. From its mouth, it slopes outwards to form a ridge. Ghatam is
made mainly of clay baked with brass or copper filings with a small amount of iron
filings. The Ghatam produces fast rhythmic patterns. Ghatam is generally a secondary
percussion instrument accompanying mridangam.

5. Rudra Vina
The Vina is one of the oldest instruments in India, and references to it goes back to the
Vedic period. Many Indian string instruments trace their origins to the Vina. The Vina
survives today in various forms, with the Rudra Vina one of the more popular ones. The
Rudra Vina has a stem which is about three feet long. It has two hemispherical gourds
which act as resonance chambers, and these are located about two feet apart. The
portion with the strings is about two and a half feet long and about two and a half inches
wide. There are twenty four main playing strings and several sympathetic strings. The
wide range of strings allows the performer to play music in any of the three octaves. The
Rudra Vina is held differently by different performers, but usually one gourd is placed on
the left shoulder and the other on the right knee.
Bansuri
The Bansuri is a type of flute , and it is one of the oldest Indian instruments. The
Bansuri was a traditional instrument of cowherds and shepherds and entered the
classical music scene fairly late. It was in the twentieth century that it gained recognition
through the efforts of artists like Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia. The Bansuri is a
cylindrical tube with holes at a uniform distance. The instrument is closed from one end.
The construction of the Bansuri is a tricky affair for it has to be made from a flawless
and absolutely straight bamboo stem. Finding such a piece of bamboo is difficult, but
there are no substitute materials which can perfectly recreate the sound of a bamboo
Bansuri. The Bansuri has six holes. The performers are able to generate the required
notes by opening and closing the relevant holes with their fingers. A lot also depends on
the performers' ability to vary the flow of air into the instrument, for this decides the
octave of the notes. The performer combines different blowing and fingering techniques
to create a vast array of different sounds.
The open end of the drum is covered with a membrane made from goatskin. The
dayan's base is also bigger then its top surface. The bayan is hemispherical bowl
shaped drum that is made from polished copper, brass, bronze or clay. The open end of

6. the bayan is covered with a membrane made from goatskin. Both the dayan and bayan
are about twenty five centimeters high. The head of the dayan is about fourteen
centimeters in diameter and the head of the bayan is twenty two centimeters in
diameter. In the dayan there is a circular black paste in the center while in the bayan it
is off center. This paste is called shyahi and it is applied to control the vibrations of the
membrane. The tabla has soft rhythmic sound and has gained tremendous popularity
over the last few years. The sheer scope for improvisation and creativity has led to the
instrument gaining recognition as a solo instrument.
Nagaswaram
Nagaswaram, also known as Nadaswaram, is considered to be one of the most ancient
and unique musical instruments of Tamil Nadu. It is extremely appropriate to call this
instrument a rare combination of music and divinity, because of its consideration as a
very auspicious instrument and is found at temples and at weddings.
Chenda
Cylindrical in shape, Chenda is an extremely popular instrument in Kerala and some
parts of Karnataka as well. It is a percussion instrument and is also called Chende in
Karnataka. It usually accompanies Hindu religious art forms of Kerala. Chenda is used
as accompaniment for Kathakali and Koodiyattam dances and rituals in Kerala.
Violin
The history of violin does not originate in India as it emerged in its current form in Italy
during the 16th century. It was imported from the West and was used with south Indian
classical music for the first time during the 18th century.