MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

BY
SURAJ T P
• For any music to be created, one needs to have some semblance of
music instruments.
• Natya Shastra by Bharat Muni (composed between 200 BC and 200
AD) clubbed musical instruments into four groups
• There are four major traditional categories of musical instruments
depending upon the type of instruments that are included in it.
• They are:
• Awanad/Avanaddha Vadya (membranophones or percussion
instruments)
• Sushira Vadya (aerophones or wind instruments)
• Ghana Vadya (idiophones or solid instruments)
• Tat Vadya (chordophones or stringed instruments)
Awanad/Avanaddha Vadya
• These are the membranophone instruments as they contain an outer membrane,
which is beaten to take out particular musical sounds.
• These are also known as percussion instruments as one has to strike them to
generate musical sound.
• They generally have one or two faces covered with skin.
• The most ancient amongst this class are the Bhumi Dundubhi or the earth drum.
• Generally, the musical instruments included in this category are Tabla, Drum,
Dhol, Congo, Mridangam, etc.
• While the Tabla is usually the accompaniment of most Hindustani classical vocals.
• The Mridangam is the instrument that accompanies the Carnatic musical
performances.
Bhumi Dundubhi or the earth drum. Tabla
Drum Dhol
Mridangam Congo drums
Sushira Vadya
• These are the aerophones, i.e. this category includes all the wind instruments.
• Most common instruments include Bansuri (flute), Shehnai, Pungi, Ninkirns, etc.
• One of the most common yet difficult to play instrument in this category is the Shehnai, which
is a double reeded wind instrument with a widening tube towards the end.
• It is one of the oldest wind instruments in India.
• The exalted title of the ‘Shehnai King’ has been given to the legendary Ustad Bismillah Khan,
who took the Shehnai to its peak through his soulful play.
• One of the most common instrument that can be found in every household is the flute, which
has been in use since the Vedic period.
• It was initially called Nadi or Tunava.
• It became a revered object when the image of Lord Krishna playing a flute became an icon of
Hindu imagination.
• One of the most famous flutist of India is Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.
• Ex:- Oboe,Bagpipes,Clarinet,Trumpet,Cornet,Dulcian,Saxophone,Bassoon,Trombone.
Pungi Shehnai
Piccolo Harmonica
Ghana Vadya
• It is the genre of the non-drum percussion instruments that do not require any
tuning.
• They are also called the Idiophone instruments.
• The most popular examples of Ghana Vadya are Manjira, Jaltarang, Kanch-tarang,
Ghungroo, Ghatam (earthern ware pot drum), Khartal, etc.
• The Manjira or Jhanj is a small brass cymbal that is generally used in religious
ceremonies.
• Archaeological excavations have dated Manjira to be as old as the Harappan
Civilisation.
• The function of these instruments is to keep rhythm and time with the song that is
being sung.
Manjira Jaltarang
Ghunghroo Khartal
Tata Vadya
• These are the Chordophones or the string instruments that function best when
their sound is modified by hand.
• There are three major types of tata instruments:
• Bowed: The instruments where the sound is drawn from drawing a bow across the
strings. For example, Sarangi, Esraj/Dilruba and Violin.
• Plectral: The instruments where the strings are plucked by the fingers or by a
plectrum of wire or horn. For example, Sitar, Veena, Tanpura,Guitar, etc.
• Instruments that are struck by small hammer or a pair of sticks.
• For example, Gotuvadyam and Swaramandal.
• The Veena, which is one of the most ancient and revered instrument that belongs
to Goddess Saraswati.
Santoor

• It is a 100 strings
instrument and is a
traditional instrument of
Jammu and Kashmir from
ancient times.
• Sufiana kalam music is
accompanied by Santoor
 FOLK MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Membranophones or Awanad/Avanaddha Vadya
Idakka Ghumot:
• It is like Damru and is from Kerala. • It is like a drum and is played during Ganesh
festival in Goa.
Udukai Sambal
• It is a hour-glass shaped instrument like • It is like drum. It is played with sticks in
damru from Tamil Nadu. Konkan region of Maharashtra.
Tamak

• It is an important
instrument of Santhal tribe
and is a two headed drum.
• It is beaten with drum
sticks.
• Santhal tribe were found in
Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Dugi
• It is a folk drum from
Ghariya village of Uttar
Pradesh.
 Aerophones
• Pungi or Been: It is used by snake • Algoza: It is a double flute and is a
charmers. popular folk instrument of North West India,
• It is made up of dried bottle gourd and two especially Punjab.
bamboo sticks.
Tangmuri Titti
• It is a folk instrument of Khasi hill people of • It is like a bagpiper, made of goat skin.
Meghalaya. • It is made in South India especially Kerala
and Andhra Pradesh.
Mashak Gogona
• An important folk instrument of Garhwal • It is made up of bamboo, used in Bihu festival
region in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Uttar in Assam.
Pradesh.
 Idiophones
Chimta Gharha
• Evolved from fire tongs, used in Punjab. • These are earthern pots, used in folk music of
• A solid instrument made of iron and metal. Punjab
Andelu
• It is used in Burra-Katha. It is a pair of hollow
metal rings.
• Andra Pradesh.
 Chordophones
Tumbi Ektara or Tun Tuna
• It is played during Bhangra in Punjab. • It is a one-stringed instrument played by
wandering monks.
• Maharastra.
Dotara Chikara
• This folk instrument is found in Assam. • Bowed instrument used in Rajasthan, Uttar
• Two-stringed instrument used by Bauls. Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Dilruba or Esraj Onavillu
• Accompanying instrument used in Punjab and • From Kerala and is made of bamboo.
during Rabindra sangeet in Eastern India.
Sarinda
• Important tribal instrument and is used by
Santhals in Eastern India and also used in
Rajasthan and Assam.
• It is like Sarangi.
List of famous Indian musicians with their instruments
String instruments and Indian musicians who play them
Santoor
• Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma
• Bhajan Sopori
• Satish Vyas
Sarod
• Allauddin Khan
• Ali Akbar Khan
• Amjad Ali Khan
• Buddhadev Dasgupta
• Bahadur Khan
• Sharan Rani
• Zarin S Sharma
Sitar
• Pt Ravi Shankar
• Shahid Parvez Khan
• Budhaditya Mukherjee
• Anushka Shankar
• Hara Shankar Bhattacharya
• Nikhil Banerjee
• Vilayat Khan
• Mustaq Ali Khan
• Amir Khusru is known as the father of
sitar.
Surbahar
• Annapurna Devi
• Sajjad Hussain
• Irshad Khan
• Gulam Muhammed Khan
• Veena
• Zia Mohiuddin Dagar
• Ayyagari Syamasundaram,
• Doraiswamy Iyengar
• Chittibabu
• Emani Sankara Shastri
• Dhanammal
• KR Kumaraswamy
• Sundaram Balachandrer
Rudra Veena
• Asad Ali Khan
Mohan Veena
• Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhat (inventor of
Mohan Veena)
Sarangi
• Shakoor Khan
• Pt Ram Narayan
• Ramesh Mishra
• Sultan Khan
• Ustad Binda Khan
Violin
• MS Gopalakrishnan
• Smt M Rajam
• NR Muralidharan
• M Chandrasekharan
• VG Jog
• Lalgudi Jayaraman
Guitar
• Braj Bhushan Kabra
Mandolin
• U Srinivas
Wind instruments and Indian
musicians who play them
Shehnai
• Ustad Bismillah Khan
• Krishna Ram Chaudhary
• Ali Ahmad Hussain
Nadaswaran
• Sheikh Chinna Moula
• Neeruswamy Pillai
• Rajaratanam Pillai
Flute
• Hari Prasad Chaurasia
• Pannalal Ghosh
• TR Mahalingam
• N Ramani
Percussion instruments (played by
striking) and Indian musicians who
play them
Tabla
• Zakir Hussain
• Allah Rakha
• Sabir Khan
• Pt. Kishan Maharaj
• Pt. Jnan Prakash Ghosh
• Sandeep Das
Pakhawaj
• Totaram Sharma
• Pt Ayodhya Prasad
• Gopal Das
• Babu Ram
• Shanker Pagaldas
Mridangam
• KV Prasad
• SV Rajarao
• Umalayapuram Sivaraman
• Palghat Mani Iyer
• Karaikudi R Mani
• Palghat Raghu
Ghatam
• TH Vinayakram
• EM Subramaniam
Kanjra
• Pudukkotai Dakshinamurthi Pillai
Thank You
by
SURAJ T P