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Home , Anant Lal, Bansuri, Electronic tanpura, Esraj, Free reed aerophone, Khartal

Component-I (A) – Personal details:

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.

Prof. R Thiagarajan Presidency College, Chennai.

Prof. Suneera Kasliwal Vyas University, New Delhi

Prof. Anjali Mittal , New Delhi.

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Component-I (B) – Description of module:

Subject Name Indian Culture

Paper Name Indian Aesthetics and Fine Arts

Module Name/Title Musical Instruments of North

Module Id IC / IAFA / 22

Pre requisites An interest to know about the instruments used in Hindustani

Objectives To trace the origin and evolution of different musical instruments, differentiate the sound of various musical instruments, to draw the structure of enlisted musical instruments, to explain about the application of the musical instruments, to write about the important parts of the musical instruments, to state the name of renowned players of enlisted musical instruments, to briefly introduce the readers about the making of the instruments.

Keywords , tata, avanaddha, ghana, sushir, rudra , , , , , sarangi,,, pakhawaj, ,,harmonium,,, dand,tumba,baj ka taar,khunti.

E-text (Quadrant-I) Introduction A is called “Vadya”, derived from the word “Vad”, which means “to speak”. The word “Vadan” literally means the act of making the musical instrument “speak” or to sound. In this lesson we shall learn about some prominent musical instruments of north . These are mainly used in the concerts. Classification Of Musical Instruments From the ancient texts on music and dance, we get to know that musical instruments can be classified into four main categories namely: Tata Vadya, Avanaddha Vadya, Ghana Vadya and Sushir Vadya. Tata and Avanaddha vadya are considered as main categories whereas Ghana and Sushir are considered the auxiliary or complementary.

Musical Instruments

Tata Avanaddha Ghana Sushir

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Tata Vadya: Tata vadya means stringed instruments. They are also called Chordophones. Example: Sitar, Sarod Avanaddha Vadya: Avanaddha or are the instruments in which sound is produced by a membrane, stretched over an opening. Mostly membranophones are . Sushir Vadya Sushir or wind instruments are those in which sound is produced by the vibration of air. They are also called . Example :. Ghana Vadya Ghana or are solid instruments which do not need tuning. Example :Jhanj, , etc. Now-a-days, according to the western system,musical instruments can be classified into four major types: a) Stringed b) Wind c) Percussion(which include membranophones and idiophones) d) Electronic Besides these there are many types of grouping of instruments based on the material by which they are made, shape, playing technique, playing position and utility purpose. On the other hand musical instruments can also be classified into the following: • Instruments used for solo performances like sitar,sarod. • Instruments used for accompaniment like tanpura,tabla. Description of Musical Instruments The name Rudra Veena first appeared in the Sangeet Makarand of Narad. All can easily be played upon it. The veena is played with two plectrums worn in the index and middle fingers of the right hand, while the side drone strings are flicked with the help of the small finger’s nail.The drone string of left side is flicked with the left hand’s little finger nail. The veena consists of a fingerboard, the length of which is about three and a half feet, and two broad gourds of about fourteen inches in diameter fixed in the stem. Twenty-two wooden are fixed on the fingerboard and

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are made immovable with the help of a specially prepared wax-like liquid. Thin sharp-edged plates of are fixed on top of these frets called sara. However, the number of frets are not fixed and tend to vary according to the artist’s preference. The veena has seven strings in all - four main playing strings and three drone strings , two on the right side and one on the left side. All these strings are tied with three nails called kukubha on one corner of the dand. Four of the main playing strings pass through the main and before being finally tied up into the respective pegs, they pass through an upper bridge called meru. The three drone strings, two on the right and one on the left, are mounted upon two side bridges, one at either side, and are fixed on their respective pegs. The veena adapted itself to the style of singing. It was often played in accompaniment to vocal music. In due course of time, it was able to establish itself as an independent instrument. Today veena is a rare instrument almost on the verge of extinction. Artist like played a major role in popularising this instrument. Presently Bahauddin Dagar is the main exponent of Rudra Veena.

Sitar

At present the sitar is the most popular of Northern India. Several artists and craftsmen have contributed to the development of modern sitar. It appeared in Indian musical scenario around the medieval period. Initially it was used as an accompanying instrument for the Dhrupad music prevalent in those days. Slowly but steadily the instrument kept changing.The changing process continued for more than two hundred years until each and every technique of the rudra Veena could be well executed upon this instrument.Around 1940-45, in the twentieth century,the sitar got standardized.. The sitar can be divided into two parts: the fingerboard and the resonator. The total length of sitar is about four and a quarter feet. The fingerboard called “dand” is made of tun wood and is hollow from inside. The resonator is made of dried pumpkin. The dand and the resonator are joined very carefully. The half cut pumpkin is covered with a wooden plate called “tabli”, upon which two bridges , one main and one small, rest. There are seven main playing strings and eleven to thirteen sympathetic

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strings.These strings are tied with a nail shaped string holder at one end of the resonator. Main playing strings pass over the main bridge, go to the upper nut and are tied on the big pegs fixed on the other end of the fingerboard. Sympathetic strings pass over the small bridge and go inside the holes drilled on the cover of the “dand” and tied with the small pegs. The sitar has nineteen to twenty frets tied with silk or nylon thread. To strike the strings a metal plectrum called “mizrab” is worn on the right hand index finger. There have been many great sitarists who have popularized this instrument in the twentieth century. Artists like Shankar, , , Uma Shankar Mishra, Abdul Halim Jaffar Khan and many others have carved a special niche for this instrument all over the world. Allied instrument of sitar are and .

Sarod

The sarod is one of the leading instruments of hindustani music today.By joining various links it can be concluded that the instrument sarod is an outcome of the combination of the structural characteristics of the Seniya rabab, Afghani rabab and the sursingar.The body of the sarod is made of a single block of wood, preferably teak, but tun and sagwan are also used. The instrument is divided into three parts: the peg box, the fingerboard and the resonator called pyala which is enclosed with the parched skin. Artists like , , Radhika Mohan Moitra, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, , Zarin Daruwala Sharma etc have earned a name for themselves as sarod players. Allied instrument of sarod is sursingar.

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Santoor

The santoor, an instrument recently adapted in hindustani classical music is among the most outstanding developments of this century. It is trapezoidal in shape and played with two wooden sticks.The santoor is made from mulberry wood(toont). The wood of Kastha is used for making the strikers. The shape of these strikers bear a significance as they resemble a snake. Santoor is a recently developed instrument. It was introduced in hindustani classical music only about forty-five years ago. Thus the instrument is yet to be standardised. The length, width and height of the instrument, number of bridges, number of strings, their order and thickness, i.e. gauge, the sitting posture of the player, the playing techniques, all of these vary from artist to artist. It is the only Indian classical instrument which is struck. Renowned artists like Shiv Kumar Sharma and Sopori have played a major role in elevating the santoor to the status of a classical instrument. Om Prakash Chaurasia, Ulhas Bapat, Tarun Bhattacharya, , ,Shruti Adhikari, Shaukat Ahmed, Abhay Rustam Sopori and many more others affirm the promising future of the instrument in Hindustani classical music. Sarangi

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In folk and tribal music of , various types of bowed instruments are found, sarangi is one such example. It is the only instrument which comes in closest proximity to the human voice and therefore it is always very popular among the singers as an accompanying instrument. But in the latter half of the nineteenth and early twentieth century two western instruments viz: harmonium and violin emerged as alternatives to sarangi. This narrowed down the popularity of sarangi. The body of the instrument can be divided into three parts:- 1. The belly (also called pate in hindi) 2. The fingerboard (called chhati or nali) 3. The peg box or head (called maguj or matha in hindi) The shape of the sarangi is slightly wasted from one side. The sound box is covered by a young goats skin. The main bridge is placed vertically on the parchment supported by a leather belt from beneath. There are three main playing strings made of gut and thirty nine to forty one metal sympathetic strings. The bow of the sarangi is curved and made of any hardwood. Preference is for sheesham wood which is hard but not heavy. The sound is produced by the contact of string and the root of left hand finger nails instead of the finger tips as usually done in almost all the bow instruments. has elevated the status of sarangi to a solo instrument.

Tanpura

Tanpura is an instrument used for providing the basic note to the singer and instrument player. This is used in both north and south Indian music. Tanpura is also called as tamboora, or tamoora. Tanpura is very simple in its construction. It can be divided into two parts. One is its fingerboard and other is its sound box. Sound box of a north Indian tanpura is made of dried pumpkin whereas for fingerboard good seasoned tun wood is preferred by the instrument makers. Upon the sound box a wooden sound plate is placed on which a flat bridge made of stag

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or bone rests. Four metal strings tied on one side of the sound box in a string holder pass from this bridge and go straight to the other corner of the fingerboard where they again pass through an upper string holder and finally tied to their respective pegs. Tanpura is plucked with bare fingers. Nowadays electronic based on a computerised chip are also in the market and have become very popular amongst the musicians.

Electronic Tanpura

Tabla

Tabla is the most popular of North India. It consists of a right hand , the dayan, and the left hand drum, the . It is the instrument most commonly used to accompany vocal and instrumental music and dance. Its primary function is to maintain the metric cycle in which the compositions are set.The left or bayan is a small spherical drum made of metal or clay. The core of the “dayan” ie. the right drum is hollowed out from the neem or sheesham wood or even from the mangowood. But preference is given to sheesham wood.

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The drum heads are made of goat skin. Overlapping these around the circumference on both the drums is another skin called “kinar” or “chanti”. This skin parchment is prepared and fixed on the drum head by means of leather braces called “baddhi”, made of buffalo skin. There are sixteen holes to which braces are tied at equal distance, giving the instrument an equal tension at all the points. Beneath each pair of leather bracing a tuning wooden block called “gatta” is placed. These blocks are eight in number. By pressing these blocks upwards or downwards by a hammer, the instrument can be tuned to a desired pitch. The most important part of the parchment of both the drums is the black paste called “syahi” of seven centimeters of diameter. It is placed centrally on “dayan” and eccentrically on “bayan”. Today the tabla has become well known and is extremely popular globally. , , , , , Shaffat Ahmed, Bikram Ghosh and many others are prominent tabla players of the 20th century.

Pakhawaj

Pakhawaj is the only percussion instrument to accompany the dhrupad style of singing. The art of pakhawaj playing was highly nurtured in temples and mathas i.e. Brij Pradesh, Gurav families of and other religious places like etc. in India. The instrument is barrel shaped with an asymmetrical convexity towards the left. It is hollowed out of a single block of wood. The wood used is sheesham, red sandalwood or vijaysar. The total length of the instrument varies between two to two and a half feet, the bulge is of about ninety centimeters circumference. The right face, smaller than left is the tuning face and has a black paste permanently fixed upon it. The two faces are held by braids and connected by leather straps. Between the braces there are eight tuning wooden blocks which are used for tuning the instrument. Left face of the drum does not have a permanent black paste but instead a temporary mixture of wheat or barley flour mixed with water. This is applied at the time of a concert and is carefully scraped off just after the programme is over. Some of the great pakhawajies of recent times are , ,

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Pagaldas, Raja Chhatrapati Singh, Dalchand Sharma, Devki Nandan Goswami, Ramjilal Sharma etc have shown remarkable talent and perseverance in the field.

Bansuri

Bansuri is a very sensitive instrument; almost all the delicate graces,curves, embellishments and shades of classical music can be performed to perfection by this beautiful instrument. Bansuri or flute is a simple bamboo tube of uniform . The length of the flute is normally between two and a half feet to less than three feet, depending on the thickness of the wall and density of the bamboo. The fingers have to be in direct contact with the finger holes to produce all the delicacies and intricacies of the various ragas. By controlling the breath, different sound modulations are achieved. Credit is given to Pannalal Ghosh to bring this instrument in the realm of classical music.In modern times, , Raghnath Seth and have established this instrument on the international scene. Among the younger lot of flute players, Ronu Majumdar, Rajendra Prasanna, Rakesh Chaurasia and many others are well on the path of glory.

Shehnai

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Shehnai is a . It has been in use in Indian sub continents since long. On the occasion of a wedding or any other social ceremony, shehnai playing is customary. Shehnai is accompanied by a drone instrument which is called sur shehnai and a percussion instrument called naqqara. The whole ensemble is called “naubat” or “roshan chawki”.Shehnai is a double instrument. It can be divided into three parts: 1. The reeds. 2. The tube, the main body of the instrument is made of wood, most preferred wood is Burmese teak. This portion also acts as the resonator. 3. The metallic or pyala at the other end of the tube. Shehnai has seven finger holes. The reed is made of a kind of cane or grass called patti or pattur. This pair of reed which acts as a valve, is fixed to a metal staple inserted into the tube. While playing the instrument, the player keeps the reed wet from his/her saliva. Apart from the techniques of breath, different movement of tongue, lips and fingers can also control the sound production of shehnai. is credited for making the shehnai a famous classical instrument. The grandsons of Anant Lal, Sanjeev Shankar and Ashwani Shankar are successfully carrying the traditions forward. Western Instruments In the recent time, many western instruments have been adopted in Hindustani Classical music. Some of them are: , , Harmonium, Violin and Guitar.

Harmonium

Most widely known and commonly used free-reed in India is “Harmonium”. It comes under the category of wind instrument.Harmonium is a on which twelve semitones of the tempered scale are fixed in all the three octaves. The box is approximately two feet by one foot and about nine to ten inches high, the back of it opens to act as the bellows. On the top, is a keyboard. It consists of a set of free reeds and their length determine their pitch activated by a

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wind supply from hand operated bellows. The reed is responsible for the tone and pitch whereas the air bellows produce and control the volume. The reeds, one for each note are fixed at one end and are kept free at the other. When bellows are compressed, the air passes under the reed, vibrating it, thus producing the desired pitch. However, the whole process is controlled by a keyboard that makes it a very simple and hassle free instrument. The greatest names connected with the instrument are Bhaiyya Ganpat Rao, Ghulam Rasool, Shankar Rao Kapileshwari, Kane Ibrahim, Mahmood Dholpuri, Seema Sidolkar, Sudheer Nayak and many more are making their mark in this field.

Violin

The origin of the violin is hard to trace. In comparison to south, the violin came to north India fairly late. In hindustani classical music there are two distinctive playing styles in vogue: 1) Gatkari Style : When the violin is played in tantra kari or gat style like the sitar and sarod which are plucked instruments. 2) Gayaki Style : The playing style which follows vocal music. Allaudin Khan, V.G. played a major role in upbringing this instrument. Mrs.N.Rajam has played a major role in incorporation of Gayaki Ang in violin playing.Her daughter Sangeeta Shankar and her disciple Kala Ramanathan have also earned a name.

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Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument with a flat back and characteristic waist outline. Today the guitar enjoys tremendous popularity in many parts of the world. The non is a light portable instrument that lends itself well to many forms of music. The Spanish guitar has changed little since the sixteenth century, but popular are now produced in variety of styles. The different styles of acoustic guitars include the classical, flamenco and steel stringed. The credit for adopting and introducing guitar to north Indian classical music goes to Brij Bhushan Kabra and later it was made popular by the well known musician and composer . Exponents who have gained recognition in the field of guitar playing are Debasish Bhattacharya, Shri Sharma, Salil Bhatt etc. Electronic Instruments Electronic instruments evolved in the twentieth century. The power of microcomputers on a chip (IC - integrated circuit) have paved the way for a phenomenal progress in the field of musical instruments in recent times.The advantage of these electronic gadgets are that they are small, easily transported, operated on batteries and AC mains, range of pitch exceeds one octave, capable of withstanding occasional knocks, free from the effect of temperature and humidity. Some examples of electronic gadgets are: Saarang (), Talamala(electronic tabla) etc.

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