Ethnic music is very popular today. Melodies with national color are intertwined with modern ones, giving the compositions a special sound and a new depth. Therefore, Indian musical instruments today often sound not only at events dedicated to the ancient state, but also at concerts of famous artists. Their features and history will be discussed below.
Music of india
The musical art of Indian civilization is rooted in the deep past. The classical trend originates in the Samaveda or the Veda of Chants, one of the oldest Vedic treatises. Folk music of India has its own characteristics depending on the place of origin. Its many traditions and branches are very popular today.
Classical and folk music of the state during the Muslim conquest absorbed some of the traditions of the Arab world. Later, during the period of colonization, she was influenced by European cultural characteristics.
Popularization in the world
Indian musical instruments in particular and the music of the ancient state as a whole have become known in the world thanks to their use by popular artists. One of the first to contact them in Europe was the participants of the famous Liverpool Four. George Harrison used the Indian sitar in the composition Norwegian Wood (This bird has flown). The British John McLaughlin did a lot to popularize the music of the ancient state . His jazz fusion is often decorated with Indian motifs.
Numerous social movements of the last century brought fame to the country's musical culture: hippies, new age and so on. And of course, cinema played a significant role in this matter.
Two directions
Classical Indian music is divided into two branches:
Each of the directions was characterized by its own tools. The following Hindustani traditions were usually played on sitar, sarod, tanpur, bansuri, tabla, shenai and sarangi. South Indian musicians used wine, a longitudinal flute or vein, Gottuvadvam, Mridanga, Kanjiru, Ghatam and violin. Let us dwell on some of these tools.
Indian tabla drum
Tabla is often called one of the symbols of Indian music. This is a small twin drum used to emphasize the basic rhythmic composition in the Hindustani tradition. The history of the tabla is unknown. Probably, the features of playing this instrument and the details of its construction have developed on the basis of a combination of Indian, Persian and other traditions.
Tabla consists of two drums, differing in size and structural features. Most of them are called tabla, or daiya, or daiyan, or dahin. It is always located on the right and has some features:
height, as a rule, reaches 30-36 cm;
the shape is similar to a barrel with an upper cut with a diameter of about 15 cm;
a hollow body is formed from a hollowed-out wooden blank.
The left drum is called "dagga", or "bayan", and inferior in height to the right, but surpasses it in width. Its design is distinguished by the following features:
height about 5 cm lower than that of dahin;
in shape resembles a cup;
made of copper, brass or clay;
the body is also hollow.
The membrane of both parts of the panel is made of leather and coated with a special composition that affects the timbre. Such a coating creates an expressive sound pattern characteristic of the instrument, makes it flexible in high-altitude, dynamic and technical terms.
Multifaceted sitar
Perhaps the most famous Indian string musical instrument is a sitar, or sitar. It belongs to the lute group and is able to create a unique sound palette inaccessible to many similar instruments.
The sitar has seven main strings and from 11 to 13 additional or resonant ones. During the performance, the musician uses the main strings, the rest respond to their sound. As a result, the melody becomes deeper and more versatile. One sitar in this respect can be compared with an entire orchestra. To play this stringed plucked instrument , a special pick is used - a misrab. In shape, it resembles a long claw and is attached to the index finger of the right hand.
The main feature of the sitar is a resonator made from pear-shaped pumpkins. Often the instrument is equipped with an additional resonator, which is attached to the upper part of the neck.
Esraj, a twenty-string musical instrument, is close in structure to the sitar. To play it use a bow. With a sitar, the arrangement of strings makes him alike. Estrad arose much later - about 200 years ago. The approximate time of the appearance of the sitar is the 13th century.
Flute of Krishna
Many Indian musical instruments are rooted in antiquity. Their images are found in illustrations in sacred texts. Among such instruments is the Bansuri flute. One of its varieties is revered as an instrument beloved by the god Vishnu.
Bansuri is made from a bamboo stem. 6-7 holes are made in the instrument for extracting sounds, as well as 1-2 holes at the end of the flute for its adjustment. There are longitudinal and transverse varieties of the tool. The first is more often used in folk music. In the classical, a transverse flute is used .
The length of the bansuri varies from 12 to 40 inches. The most commonly used 20-inch flute. The longer the bansuri, the lower the sounds that can be extracted from it. As a rule, playing the flute is accompanied by accompaniment, for which tampur (a stringed instrument similar to a sitar but lacking frets) and a tabla are used more often than others.
Kanjira
In the South Indian tradition, kanjira is used among other percussion instruments. It is a tambourine with a jackfruit base. Kanjira has small dimensions: diameter - 17-19 cm, depth - 5-10 cm. A membrane made of lizard skin is stretched on one side of the wooden base, the other is open. On the side, two metal plates are built into the kanjira frame.
This young percussion instrument appeared in the 30s of the last century and is most often used in folk music.
Sacred drum
Together with kanjira, you can often hear mridanga. This is a drum-like percussion instrument . In the religious system of Bengali Vaishnavism is considered sacred.
Mridanga body is made of clay, wood or plastic. The last option is the latest modification, according to experts, it is not able to reveal all the possibilities of such a drum. The mridanga membrane is made from cow or buffalo skin. According to tradition, animals must die a natural death. Mridanga membrane is coated with a special composition, including clay, rice flour and powder of a certain type of stone.
The tool is used today for ritual purposes. The design of mridanga is of sacred importance.
Serpent Caster Tool
Another interesting musical instrument in India is the pungs. A distant relative of the clarinet is used on the streets of the country to conjure snakes. Pungi has an unusual design. The mouthpiece is connected to the air chamber, on the opposite side of which are two tubes. The latter are made of cane or wood. Dried pumpkin is often used for the mouthpiece and air chamber.
To extract the melody from the punga, a special technique of continuous breathing is used. A musician draws air through his nose and almost immediately pushes it out with his tongue and cheeks through his mouth.
The Indian musical instruments described above do not exhaust the variety that has developed over the centuries on the territory of the ancient state. Today, many of them can be heard on the records of popular American and European artists. Ethnic music these days is intertwined with a variety of genres and trends, giving them a special touch. In India, traditional instruments have not lost their relevance. They are still used both during the holidays and in the process of religious services. Learning to play such instruments can be completed in many cities of our country, however, the best teachers who transmit not only technology, but also philosophical content, still live in India.