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06/12/2008 Wolverhampton
Student Showcase (Sitar, Table, Vocal and Kathak dance recitals)
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indian classical instruments
flute
This wind instrument of ancient India was very common with Lord Krishna and
the religious music of the Buddhists. Even the frescoes of Ajanta and Ellora
depict this flute or Bansuri as an accompaniment to vocal and instrumental
music. Being an instrument of great antiquity, its construction has
remained constant over the years. It is made of a cylindrical bamboo pipe of
uniform bore, containing six holes for movement of fingers and a bigger hole
for blowing air. It is handled in an oblique position and air is blown with
the upper lip into the main hole. Different octaves are produced by covering
the holes with the fingers.
ghatam
The Ghatam, one of the ancient percussion instruments, often heard in Carnatic
Music concerts, is a mud pot carefully kneaded and uniformally fired. The
mouth of the Ghatam is open and is played with two hands, wrists, fingers
and nails. The mouth is pressed against the stomach so that when strokes are
given, the air inside is set in vibration and gives a deep tone. The player
can elicit various volumes and tonal colours by giving the finger strokes at
the neck, centre and bottom of outer surface.
jaltarang
Literally means 'water waves'. It consists of about eighteen porcelain cups
of different sizes, each possessing a distinctive tone. The cups are
arranged in a semi-circle in front of the performer, beginning form the
largest to the smallest- beginning from the left. The bigger cups produce a
deep pitch while the smaller give out a higher one. Usually water is poured
into the cups and the rims struck with two slender sticks held in both
hands. The more water there is, the lower is the pitch. The tuning thus
takes a long time and follows ascending levels of pitch.
mridangam
The Mridangam is perhaps the most highly developed and the most ancient of
all percussion instruments. It is commonly used in the south as an
accompaniment to the vocal and the instrumental performances. It literally
means body of clay. The southern Mridangam is a cylindrical hollowed out
block of wood. Skin covers the opening ends, and is fastened to leather
hoops held taut by interlaced leather braces. A wide variety of tones are
obtained from different parts of the instrument. For instance, the head can
be struck with a full hand or with the fingers, which are clamped or
released. The types of strokes are distinguished by an elaborate percussion
terms. The alternation of sound between two heads of the Mridangam further
enhances the tone.
nagaswaram
It is believed that this representative of the South Indian Music evolved
from the snake charmer's Pungi. Nagaswaram was well known in the 15th and
16th centuries and formed an integral part of the temples. It consists of a
wooden mouthpiece into which the player blows the air. This air under
pressure is released from the lower end of the gourd through two bamboo or
metal pipes. These tubes have a valve each to control air flow through the
pipes and have holes to control the melody. Nagaswaram often attains a wild
beauty and softness and brings out the subtle graces of Carnatic music.
pakhwaj
The northern Pakhwaj is almost similar to the mridangam except for slight
differences in construction and playing techniques. The left side is more or
less the same but the right side is quite different in the distribution of
prepared parts. The main difference in the style of playing is that whereas
the pakhwaj is played with an open left hand, southern musicians use the
left side like the tabla players. The use of Pakhwaj is confined to severely
classical compositions like Dhrupad and Dhamar.
santoor
Santoor, which originated from the Vedic Vana Veena, is characteristic of
the Kashmir Valley and is neither seen nor played anywhere else. The Vana
Veena also had strings and was played with sticks. The modern Santoor is
made of a trapezoid wooden box. There are thirty bridges and a set of four
strings of metal, tuned to the same note, is stretched over each pair of
bridges. It is played with a pair of flat wooden pieces curved at the
striking ends. Today, Santoor is played with all Indian ragas and is very
popular with film musicians.
sarangi
Sarangi is another stringed instrument mainly popular as a folk instrument
and probably made it's first appearance in the late 17th Century. The
ability to play all types of gamakas gave it prominent place in Hindustani
Classical Music. It is made by hollowing out a single block of wood and
covered by parchment and has four strings. Four tuning pegs are fixed to the
hollow head and a bridge is placed on the hide-covered belly in the middle.
The player places the instrument on the lap and plays it with a horse hair
bow in the right hand and fingers and nails of the left hand. The tone of
the Sarangi is very near to the human vocal chord.
sarod
Although the origin of the Sarod is not known, it is supposed to have
descended from the rabab of the Middle East. Some believe that this stringed
instrument might have originated from the Greco- Buddhist area of Gandhar
(modern Afghanistan). The modern Sarod is made of wood with one end being
rounded and covered with parchment. There are six main metallic strings
fastened to pegs at the neck of the instrument. It is played with a plectrum
held in the right hand while the fingers of the left hand are used to play
the notes. It is fretless instrument with sympathetic strings. Sarod has
secured an important place in Hindustani Classical Music for it's deep and
rich tone and a distinctive sound.
shehnai
Considered to be an auspicious instrument, shehnai belongs to the category
of Aerophonic Instruments. It is said to be of Persian origin and is a one
reed instrument with six holes yielding soft and melodious sound. Made of a
smooth dark-grained black wood, the tube is narrower on the top and widens
towards the bottom affixed in a cup. All the tunes of full tone, half tone
and sharp notes can be played on this instrument through breath control. The
notes are continuous and is generally used in classical and light classical
music.
sitar
The sitar is one of the most popular instruments of North Indian classical
music. It has been in continual evolution over the past 200 years. Its
invention is often attributed to Amir Khusraw, a Persian musician, well
versed in both Persian and Indian music, who achieved high acclaim in the
Moghul court of Ala'al-Din Khilji, Sultan of Delhi (1296-1316). This is
probably more legend than fact. It does, however, point to the fact that the
North Indian sitar is the product of more than one culture. In its current
design one can find traces of the veena, one of India's oldest stringed
instruments, alongside influences of middle eastern saz and Afghani setar.
The name "sitar" is muslim and means either three or seven string.
tabla
Tabla, an evolution of the oldest percussion instrument - the damru of
Shiva, is believed to be an innovation of Amir Khusrau. It is said to be
derived from a kind of Arabian drum called Table. It consists of two drums -
Detain (right) or the Tabla being made of black wood and the Bayonne (left)
or the Dug being made of wood, clay or copper. Both are hollowed from inside
and covered with skin fastened to leather straps which are stretched over
the body of the drums by means of leather braces. These straps are pulled to
raise or lower the pitch. The two pieces of Tabla are generally tuned one
octave apart. In the hands of a master, the Tabla is capable of producing
all patterns of rhythms with well established time cycles (talas).
veena
The Southern Veena was brought into use by Raghunatha Naik, a ruler of
Thanjavur, consisting twenty four fixed frets. The body is hollowed out of a
block of wood. The neck is attached to the stem having a weird figure like
the head of a dragon. There are seven strings in all. The Vichitra Veena of
the North and a rare instrument, was introduced by Ustad Abdul Ajij Khan, a
court musician at Indore. It is of comparatively recent origin. It has a
broad stem and six main strings are fastened to wooden pegs fixed to the
other end. It is played by means of a plectrum on the right hand fingers.
violin
Though the Indian Classical music has a number of stringed instruments of
the bowed variety, the introduction of Violin to it, is quite recent. In
fact, it is the only western instrument to be absorbed completely into
Indian music. It is said that, about a century ago, Varahappaya, a Minister
to the Maratha rulers of Thanjavur, explored this instrument to enrich
Indian Classical Music. The strings of the Violin in India are tuned to
different notes than the western style. The light tone of the steel string
and the deep, almost human tone of the fourth string embellishes the
peculiarities of Carnatic music.
See also...
hear a raga for the time of day
create your own concert
how to play
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