musical instruments

Khartal is an ancient instrument used predominantly in devotional songs in India. It falls under the class of idiophones or self-sounding instruments which combine properties of vibrator and resonator. It has two similar shaped wooden pieces that are about eight to twelve inches long and two to three inches wide. Small metal jingles are mounted to the wooden frames that produce rhythmic sound when struck together.

Tanpura or Tambura, a long-necked drone lute is a chordophone from the lute family of instruments. A tanpura comes in different sizes, the bigger one are known as "males" and smaller ones as "females". There are three main styles of designing a Tanpura: Miraj Style, Tanjore Style and Tamburi. It is played with fingers by plunking the strings in successive manner.

Ghungroos are small brass bells. They are musical accessories used by dancers of all classical dances in India. A number of bells are attatched to a string or tied to cotton cord, velvet pad or leather strap to form a ghungroo. When tied to the feet Ghungroos emphasize the rhythmic aspects of the dance and allow complex footwork to be heard by the audience.

Sitar is one of the most popular classical instruments which comes under the category of a chordophone. The modern sitar has seven strings and sixteen to twenty ? two frets that are adjusted to alter the pitch. A normal Sitar usually has Kunti, Drone Strings, Tumba, Tar, Dandi, Parda, Gulu, Tuning beads, Kaddu. It is played with a wire plectrum, known as mizrab, that is usually worn on the index finger of the right hand.

The modern sarod is made of wood with one end being rounded and covered with parchment. Its overall shape is like a pendulum- pointed and thin on top, at the peg box, and full and round at the bottom, the resonator. A sarod has three parts; peg box, fingerboard and resonator. This fretless instrument played with a triangular plectrum cut out of coconut shell and laminated with shellac.

Dholak also known as dholki is a barrel shaped hand drum that is widely used in folk and popular music in India. A double-headed drum (hollow inside) with the bass head on one side and the treble head on the other. The larger side provides the bass and the smaller side the tenor. Traditional Dholak comes with simple thread lacing that is tuned with the help of metal rings around the head while the Modern dholak with metal turnbuckles that are easily adjusted for desired tone.

Harmonium belongs to the family of free-reed aerophones. A small, tabletop size organ with bellows at the back that is pumped by one hand while the other hand plays the keyboard, it hold significance in music world. A standard Harmonium has a wooden box known as body, handles to move the instrument, bellows, keys, stops , reeds, reed board, coupler and scale changer. It is widely used in all forms of Indian music be it the classical, Hindustani, devotional or film music. It is known to be of persian origin.

Tabla is basically a set of two drums known as Dayan (right Tabla) and the Bayan (left) or the Dugga. Dayan or tabla is a cylindrical, wooden drum made of black wood and played with the right hand and Bayan or duggi- the left hand drum is made of metal, wood, or ceramic has slightly conical and bowl shape. A black spot on both the drums occupies the centre of the head. Known as siyahi, this black raised area is usually made of rice, glue, graphite, and iron fillings. The siyahi is essential to the sound of the tabla. The sound is generated by beating the membrane of drums with hands.

Harps are played by strumming or plucking the strings.Concert grand harps have 47 strings and a range of 6 octaves. There are various types of harps:Pedal Harp - or the classical harp, has 7 pedals at the base.Lever Harp - or the folk harp, are non-pedal harps.

The musician, or double-bassist, may either play it while seated or standing. When standing, the bass is supported by the left leg while the left hand moves up and down the fingerboard. When seated, the bass is supported by the musician's right thigh and pelvis and by the use of an endpin on the floor. The double-bass is played by using a bow across the strings (especially in symphonic music), striking or plucking (especially in jazz) the strings.