This document provides information about various traditional Indian musical instruments through descriptions of their construction, use, and notable players. It discusses the sitar, tabla, mridangam, sarangi, bansuri, shehnai, sarod, dholak, ghatam, nadaswaram, shanka, pakhawaj, ravanahatha, and alghoza. For each instrument, it conveys key details about the instrument's physical properties and role in Indian classical or folk music.

1. ANIKET DIGWAL
ROLL NO. 5
CLASS- 9TH RUBY

2. PPT ON INDIAN MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

3. SITAR.
The Sitar is probably the most famous traditional Indian stringed instrument in the West.
This is thanks to famous sitar players like Ravi Shankar and Anoushka Shankar as well as
bands like The Doors, the Rolling Stones, and The Beatles, who all used it in some of their
music in the 1950s and 1960s.
The body of the instrument is calabash shaped, and indeed calabash gourds are used in its
construction. It can have between eighteen and twenty-one strings, six or seven of which run
over the curved frets on the neck.
The remainder of the strings run beneath the frets and resonate sympathetically with the
fretted strings.
There are tuning pegs on the head for the fretted strings and along the sides of the neck for
the sympathetic strings.
The strings are plucked with a metal plectrum called a mizraab.

4. TABLA.
The Tabla is the most popular musical instrument in North India and consists of a pair
of wooden hand drums with goatskin heads stretched taut.
It can be played alone or together with other instruments, and the one drum, the
Bayan, is slightly bigger than the other producing a deeper bass sound.
The smaller one, called the Dahina, is used to create treble notesThe heads are
tightened using thongs, hoops, and wooden dowels along the sides of the drums.
Both are characterized by a black spot in the center of the drum head made of starch
combined with iron or manganese dust called tuning paste or Shyahi, which results in
the harmonic overtones responsible for the tabla’s unique sound.

5. MRIDANGAM.
The Mridangam is a double-sided drum that provides the rhythm in Carnatic music and is also
played in drum ensembles.
The drumheads are made of goatskin and are tightened with leather thongs on the sides of the
instrument.
The one end of the mridangam is narrower than the other, allowing the musician to play both
bass and treble sounds. It is usually played while resting above the right ankle and supported
with the bent left leg, but posture is critical.
If the hips are not level with each other and the posture is asymmetrical, playing the mridangam
can lead to alterations in balance and gait over long periods.
There are different schools of mridangam players who use different playing styles.
Virtuosos of the instrument are C. S Murugabhupathy, Palani Subramaniam Pillai, and Palghat
Mani Iyer.

6. SARANGI.
The Sarangi is an unusual stringed instrument resembling a violin with a very short
neck and is played with a bow.
It is popular in Punjabi, Boro, and Rajasthani folk music, and its sound is said to
resemble the human voice.
It is around two feet long and has three resonance chambers made of a single piece of
red cedar wood with three or four main gut strings and between eleven and thirty-
seven sympathetic metal strings. The player uses the fingernails of the left hand to
create specific pitches.
The musician holds it vertically in front of him while seated on the floor.
There are no frets, and it is challenging to play, which has led to a decline in its
popularity.

7. BANSURI.
The Bansuri is a type of flute made of bamboo and is a transverse alto flute used
in Hindustani classical music.
There are six or seven finger holes, and it is between twelve and thirty inches long
with the longer the instrument, the deeper the notes.
It is mentioned as an important musical instrument in the Natya Shastra, a
Sanskrit text on Indian classical music dating between 200 BCE and 200 CE.
The Bansuri is held slanting slightly downwards and horizontally while the fingers
of the right-hand cover the outer holes and the left-hand fingers cover the others.

8. SHEHNAI.
The Shehnai is a type of double-reed instrument similar to the oboe that is commonly played in
Iran, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
It is usually made of wood with a metal flare or bell at the end and is used in processions,
marriages, temples, and concerts.
The shehnai was traditionally played in an ensemble of nine instruments in the royal court and
resembles the instrument used by snake charmers, called the pungi.
Its name means flute of kings or king of flutes, and it has eight or nine finger holes. Notable
players of the instrument include Bismillah Khan, Lokesh Anand, Anant Lal and Mahukar Dhumal.
Playing it requires enormous breath control, which makes it difficult to play well.
It is usually played together with various percussion instruments and is strongly associated with
weddings.

9. SAROD.
The Sarod is used in Hindustani music and is a popular, fretless, stringed
instrument with a weighty, deep, thoughtful sound that is a prominent feature in
Indian music.
The strings are pressed hard against the fingerboard by the left hand using either
the fingernails or a combination of fingertip and nail.
There are several different fingering techniques depending on the preferences of
the player.
A plectrum made of ebony, cocobolo wood, cow bone, horn, or polished coconut
shell is used to pluck the strings. The instrument resembles a lute and can have
between seventeen and twenty-five strings.

10. DHOLAK.
The Dholak is a folk percussion instrument in the form of a hand drum playable
on both ends.
It is similar to the mridangam in that the two heads are of different sizes, the
smaller one covered with goatskin for treble notes and the larger one covered
with buffalo skin for bass notes.
The body is usually made of mango wood, and it is played using a combination of
hands and sticks or with only hands or sticks.
It can be played while held on the musician’s lap, pressed down with one knee
while sitting on the floor, or standing.
It is used in folk music in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and northern India. The Dholak is
also used for dances, marriages, processions, boat races and plays a crucial role in
Punjabi culture.

11. GHATAM.
The Ghatam is an ancient percussion instrument consisting of a narrow-mouthed
clay pot with no skin over it.
Its pitch depends on its size, and it produces a distinctive metallic sound.
The clay it is made of contains brass or iron filings, and it comes in several
different sizes.
Other metals that can be mixed in with the clay are silver, gold, copper, or
aluminum, giving it a sweet tone.
It has been played in international concerts, percussion ensembles, and fusion
concerts, and famous player Vikku Vinayakram has made it a prominent
instrument.

12. NADASWARAM.
The Nadaswaram is a south Indian double-reed instrument that makes a powerful sound.
It is the larger brother of the shehnai and is usually played outdoors because it is so loud!
Traditionally played during temple feasts, it has been popularized in the West by the jazz
saxophonist Charlie Mariano. t has seven fingerholes at the top and five holes at the bottom, and
a range of two and a half octaves.
It is usually played in pairs accompanied by two drums known as thavil and is a key instrument in
Hindu wedding music.
The nadaswaram is eighty-seven centimeters long with a hardwood body and a metal or wooden
flaring bell.
Vinny Golia and William Parker have used it in their recordings, while notable Indian artists
include Namagiripettai Krishnan and Sheik Chinna Moulana.

13. SHANKA.
The Shankha is a sea snail (conch) shell with a hole made for the player’s
embouchure and is played in Hindu religious rituals.
It is often carved on the outside with religious symbols and Hindu deities.
Legend has it that it was the trumpet of Lord Krsna, Arjuna, and Bhima, famous for
his Herculean tasks.
It is regarded as an emblem of the Hindu god Vishnu and makes a sharp, loud
shrill sound when blown.
The shankha was used as a trumpet of war to summon allies, but these days it is
mainly blown in homes and temples when presenting offerings of light to Hindu
deities.
It is also important in Buddhist rituals and religious practices and is regarded as
one of the five classical musical instruments called the pancha-vadyas.

14. PAKHAWAJ.
The Pakhawaj is a significant instrument in north Indian classical music and was used as the only accompaniment in
dhrupad style singing.
It is a drum played with the open hand rather than the fingers and is used in delicate, emotive music such as thumri,
khayal, and sitar.
The drum is described as barley shaped and is hollowed out of a single block of wood which may be red sandalwood,
sheesham, or khair. It has two different-sized drum heads held by braids and tightened with sixteen leather straps
called ghat.
The pakhawaj is two to two and a half feet long, with goatskin stretched over the smaller end and buffalo skin over
the larger one.
It is played while sitting cross-legged with the instrument horizontal on the ground or in the lap.

15. RAVANAHATHA.
It is widely believed that the Ravanahatha, an ancient stringed instrument played with a
bow, was a precursor of the violin.
The instrument is linked to the Hela civilization dating back to 2500 BCE and is made
of a hollowed-out length of bamboo with half a coconut shell on one end.
Goatskin is stretched over the coconut shell, and its strings can be made of hair, gut, or
steel . The ravanahatha has seen something of a revival in modern times thanks to the
Sri-Lankan violinist and composer Dinesh Subasinghe.
It has also been used by the European folk band Heiling.
It is named after the Hindu king Ravana who is said to have used it during his
devotions to the god Shiva.

16. ALGHOZA.
The Alghoza is a woodwind instrument traditionally used by Punjabi, Saraiki, Baloch,
and Sindhi folk musicians and consists of a pair of flutes.
One flute is used for melody, while the other is used for droning.
They can be held together by the hands or tied together, and the longer one is
considered to be the male while the shorter is the female. It is ancient, with its roots
going back to 7500 BC Mesopotamia, and is generally regarded as a dying instrument
because only members of the older generation still play it.
This is because playing it is not easy as one has to breathe through the nose while
expelling air through the mouth to make the sounds.
Only the best players can play it for half an hour continuously.

17. UDUKKAKI.
The Udukkai is a small hourglass-shaped, two-headed drum commonly played in the south of India.
It is also known as the Udukku and was traditionally made of fired clay, but these days it is usually
made from a single hollowed-out block of Jackfruit wood.
The ends are covered with cured and dried goatskin, but only one side is played. The other side has two
metal wire snares to improve the resonance.
It is commonly played in folk music and temple rituals.
The player holds it horizontally using the fingers and the inner palm of the right hand to strike it while
the left-hand grips the cloth strap that is wound around the drum’s body.
Strings are woven on the side of the drum from one end to the other and are used to tighten the drum
head by pulling on the cloth strap.

18. There is a great variety of Indian musical instruments used in religious rituals,
dances, celebrations, festivals, folk music, and Indian classical music.
Some have not changed much since ancient times, while others have undergone
modifications over the years.
There are often no standard tunings or playing styles, making them very much an
expression of the player’s individuality.