INSTRUMENTS
NORTH INDIAN TABLA
SOUTH INDIAN KANJIRA
SOUTH INDIAN CHATAM
The Tabla is the most common and popular drum used in North Indian
music today. It consists of a pair of drums - the right drum is known as
the tabla and the left drum is called the bayan (though both are known
collectively as Tabla)
The Tabla is made of wood and has a "head" made of stretched
animal skin, traditionally a goat skin. The skin is stretched by leather
straps that run down the side of the drum over cylindrical blocks of wood
which are used to tune the head. Finer tuning is done by striking the rim
of the tabla with a small tuning hammer.
The tabla is usually tuned to the tonic (Sa), Dominant (Pa), or the Sub-Dominant (Ma).
The bayan is isually made of metal, originally ceramic, also with
a stretched goat skin head. Both drums have a black spot in the center made
of manganese or iron dust (called Syahi).
Christopher plays the same tabla he has played on since 1979 with some
minor changes. His tuning straps are made of nylon instead of the traditional
leather, due to the dry southern California climate, which normally dries out leather.
A change recommended by his first tabla teacher Pandit Tarnath Rao, and his tuning
pegs are cut from a Mexican walking cane instead of the traditional dowel.
SOUTH INDIAN KANJIRA
SOUTH INDIAN CHATAM
The Tabla is the most common and popular drum used in North Indian
music today. It consists of a pair of drums - the right drum is known as
the tabla and the left drum is called the bayan (though both are known
collectively as Tabla)
The Tabla is made of wood and has a "head" made of stretched
animal skin, traditionally a goat skin. The skin is stretched by leather
straps that run down the side of the drum over cylindrical blocks of wood
which are used to tune the head. Finer tuning is done by striking the rim
of the tabla with a small tuning hammer.
The tabla is usually tuned to the tonic (Sa), Dominant (Pa), or the Sub-Dominant (Ma).
The bayan is isually made of metal, originally ceramic, also with
a stretched goat skin head. Both drums have a black spot in the center made
of manganese or iron dust (called Syahi).
Christopher plays the same tabla he has played on since 1979 with some
minor changes. His tuning straps are made of nylon instead of the traditional
leather, due to the dry southern California climate, which normally dries out leather.
A change recommended by his first tabla teacher Pandit Tarnath Rao, and his tuning
pegs are cut from a Mexican walking cane instead of the traditional dowel.
PIPA
The pipa (Chinese: 琵琶; Pinyin: pípá, [pʰǐpʰǎ]) is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument belonging to the plucked category of instruments (弹拨乐器/彈撥樂器).
The pipa , a combination of pi and pa, originally referred to two right-hand techniques:pi meant "to play forward" and pa "to play backward". The archetype of the modernpipa, which had a half-pear-shaped soundbox, a crooked neck, 4 or 5 strings and 4 frets, originated in Central Asia and arrived in China in the 4th century AD. The immortal poetry Song of the Pipa by Tang poet Bai Juyi reveals the instrument's great popularity in the Tang and Song period (618-1279). Until then a plectrum was used; after that time, performers only used their fingernails, which still persists today.
The number of frets has gradually been increased, up to 23-25 frets in the modern type, expanding the instrument's range chromatically. Now the strings are steel wires, instead of silk, with or without nylon coiling round. Its range is over three and a half octaves. The tuning is : A-d-e-a The pipa's clear, bright and mellow tone and its variable volume can be seen from the description of Bai Juyi's verses:
The bold strings-they patterned like the dashing rain,
The life strings-they sounded like the lovers' whispers.
Chattering and pattering, pattering and chattering
As pearls, large and small, on a jade patter fall.
Today the playing techniques a re even more sophisticated. The pipa is often used for solos and in ensembles or in the modern Chinese orchestra.
The pipa (Chinese: 琵琶; Pinyin: pípá, [pʰǐpʰǎ]) is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument belonging to the plucked category of instruments (弹拨乐器/彈撥樂器).
The pipa , a combination of pi and pa, originally referred to two right-hand techniques:pi meant "to play forward" and pa "to play backward". The archetype of the modernpipa, which had a half-pear-shaped soundbox, a crooked neck, 4 or 5 strings and 4 frets, originated in Central Asia and arrived in China in the 4th century AD. The immortal poetry Song of the Pipa by Tang poet Bai Juyi reveals the instrument's great popularity in the Tang and Song period (618-1279). Until then a plectrum was used; after that time, performers only used their fingernails, which still persists today.
The number of frets has gradually been increased, up to 23-25 frets in the modern type, expanding the instrument's range chromatically. Now the strings are steel wires, instead of silk, with or without nylon coiling round. Its range is over three and a half octaves. The tuning is : A-d-e-a The pipa's clear, bright and mellow tone and its variable volume can be seen from the description of Bai Juyi's verses:
The bold strings-they patterned like the dashing rain,
The life strings-they sounded like the lovers' whispers.
Chattering and pattering, pattering and chattering
As pearls, large and small, on a jade patter fall.
Today the playing techniques a re even more sophisticated. The pipa is often used for solos and in ensembles or in the modern Chinese orchestra.
RUAN
The ruan (阮, 拼音： ruǎn) is a Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a lute with a fretted neck, a circular body, and four strings.
It was once termed as qin pipa (dating to the Qin dynasty between 221-207 BC) oryueqin (moon-shaped short-necked lute). The name is a shortened form of Ruan Xian, a musician and one of the "Seven Sages of Bamboo Grove" of the 3rd century (the Six Dynasties). Pictorial evidence, excavated from a tomb of his time in Nanjing, depicting Ruan Xian's performance of this instrument, confirms that its construction was roughly the same as that of today.
The ruan is now constructed as a family of alto, tenor and bass, a development intended to increases its range and effectiveness in the modern Chinese orchestra. The alto and the tenor are commonly used. A plectrum is needed in performance. Mellow in tone quality, it is often seen in ensembles or in accompaniments, and as a solo instrument in recent years.
Zhong ruan (alto)
tuning: A-d-a-d1 or G-d-a-e1 range: A-a2
Daruan (tenor)
tuning: D-A-d-a or C-G-d-a range: D-e1
The ruan (阮, 拼音： ruǎn) is a Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a lute with a fretted neck, a circular body, and four strings.
It was once termed as qin pipa (dating to the Qin dynasty between 221-207 BC) oryueqin (moon-shaped short-necked lute). The name is a shortened form of Ruan Xian, a musician and one of the "Seven Sages of Bamboo Grove" of the 3rd century (the Six Dynasties). Pictorial evidence, excavated from a tomb of his time in Nanjing, depicting Ruan Xian's performance of this instrument, confirms that its construction was roughly the same as that of today.
The ruan is now constructed as a family of alto, tenor and bass, a development intended to increases its range and effectiveness in the modern Chinese orchestra. The alto and the tenor are commonly used. A plectrum is needed in performance. Mellow in tone quality, it is often seen in ensembles or in accompaniments, and as a solo instrument in recent years.
Zhong ruan (alto)
tuning: A-d-a-d1 or G-d-a-e1 range: A-a2
Daruan (tenor)
tuning: D-A-d-a or C-G-d-a range: D-e1
SARODE
SITAR
SURBAHAR
The sitar is a fretted, stringed instrument that was developed for use primarily in North Indian classical music. Its neck and wooden parts are usually carved from toon or teak wood. The principal resonating chamber, called a toomba, is made from dried pumpkin, and some sitar designs sport a second toomba, which attaches behind the top of the neck. Typically, modern sitar-s are strung with twenty strings. Seven of these carry the main melody, while thirteen act sympathetically strings, ringing out as the instrumentalist plays. The sitar also features a special bridge, unique to Indian lutes, called the jivari bridge. Unlike many western instrumental bridges, on which the string makes contact at a precise point, the jivari bridge contacts the string on a complex, parabolic curve. This is largely responsible for the characteristic sound and overtone rich texture of a properly maintained sitar.
Instrumental North Indian music is heavily influenced by vocal music. To this end, sitar technique strongly emphasizes a technique called meend, which is the lateral pulling of the string in order to produce vocal style ornaments and effects. Though it is similar to guitar-style string bending, the potential range of sitar meend is much greater, sometimes reaching
a span of a musical fifth or more.
The sitar was probably developed in the early 1700s, and is related to several other Indian instruments that share similar features. The rudra veena was a medieval stick zither that was the predominant instrument for master musicians in the Mughal courts, and its technique had a strong influence on the development of the sitar. Another instrument, the surbahar, is in many ways a bass sitar, though it was originally designed to produce the particular effects of a style known as dhrupad, which is associated with the rudra veena. The sitar is also closely related to the sarode, a fretless, plucked instrument with a goatskin head (like a banjo), which shares virtually the same repertoire. Over the years, improvements have been made in sitar design, enabling it to incorporate a variety of styles within a single performance, including dhrupad and other genres like khayal and thumri.
SITAR
SURBAHAR
The sitar is a fretted, stringed instrument that was developed for use primarily in North Indian classical music. Its neck and wooden parts are usually carved from toon or teak wood. The principal resonating chamber, called a toomba, is made from dried pumpkin, and some sitar designs sport a second toomba, which attaches behind the top of the neck. Typically, modern sitar-s are strung with twenty strings. Seven of these carry the main melody, while thirteen act sympathetically strings, ringing out as the instrumentalist plays. The sitar also features a special bridge, unique to Indian lutes, called the jivari bridge. Unlike many western instrumental bridges, on which the string makes contact at a precise point, the jivari bridge contacts the string on a complex, parabolic curve. This is largely responsible for the characteristic sound and overtone rich texture of a properly maintained sitar.
Instrumental North Indian music is heavily influenced by vocal music. To this end, sitar technique strongly emphasizes a technique called meend, which is the lateral pulling of the string in order to produce vocal style ornaments and effects. Though it is similar to guitar-style string bending, the potential range of sitar meend is much greater, sometimes reaching
a span of a musical fifth or more.
The sitar was probably developed in the early 1700s, and is related to several other Indian instruments that share similar features. The rudra veena was a medieval stick zither that was the predominant instrument for master musicians in the Mughal courts, and its technique had a strong influence on the development of the sitar. Another instrument, the surbahar, is in many ways a bass sitar, though it was originally designed to produce the particular effects of a style known as dhrupad, which is associated with the rudra veena. The sitar is also closely related to the sarode, a fretless, plucked instrument with a goatskin head (like a banjo), which shares virtually the same repertoire. Over the years, improvements have been made in sitar design, enabling it to incorporate a variety of styles within a single performance, including dhrupad and other genres like khayal and thumri.
