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Musical
Instruments |
 Veena |
Veena occupies the first
place among the celebrated vadyatrayam [veena ,veenu , and
mridangam].
Veena has a body
made of wood, generally this is jackwood. It has 7 strings. Four
main strings for playing music and 3 side strings for sound in
the drone notes and keeping time. There are 24 frets. The main
bridge is a flat bar made of brass. This bar has a very slight
curve. It is this light curve which gives the veena its
characteristic sound.
The player sits
cross legged on the floor and holds the veena across the lap and
plays the instrument horizontally. The right hand is used to
pluck the strings with picks and the left hand moves over the
fret board laterally and transversely to create the microtones
characteristic of carnatic music.
This instrument is
common in South India.It is the tradition to have veeena in
Bharata natyam recitals. Goddess Sarasvati is associated with
this instrument.
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Violin |
Violin is an another
important musical instrument which has been played solo, as
well as with other instruments in south Indian music and dance
concerts.It is a board stringed instrument.
Violin is not a
traditional musical instrument of India. It is a gift of
Europe to the south Indian music in the later part of 18th
century.The Indian violin is very similar to the Western violin
except for its playing position and its tuning.
The Indian violin is played
in a seated posture which facilitates the player to hold it in
position by proping it between the shoulder and the
ankle.This in turn frees the performers left hand to play the
gamakas or graces freely unhindered.The long bow helps the
performer to produce a continous tone.It has four Octaves.It can
accompany voices of different pitches.
Famous violinists :
L. subramaniam, Lalgudi Jayaraman
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Tambura |
It is a very pleasing
droan instrument.It is used as an accompaniment to classical
concerts.This instrument is known as “tanpura” or “tanpoora in
the north and as “tambura” or “tamboora” in the south.
A tambura can
be held upright and played, resting either on the lap or on
the floor, or horizontally on the lap or on the floor in front
of the player. The tambura strings are plucked one at a time in
a steady and regular rhythm by the player using the middle
finger to pluck the 1st string and the 2nd
,3rd and 4th strings with the index
finger.
There are
different styles of tambura:The Miraj style, the Tanjore style
and the electronic tambura.The Miraj style is the typical North
Indian tanpura[tambura]It is very popular among the
Hindustani musicans .The Tanjore style of tambura is found in
the southThis is the favourite for carnatic musicians.The
“electronic” tamburas have become very popular in the recent
years. mainly because they do not require a human player ,
are less expensive, simpler to tune, require minimal
maintenance, and are easily portable.
Though tambura
does not come to the fore so much it has an important place in
the Indian classical concerts because it connects all the
instruments involved by its sound tapestry in an unobtrusive
way.Thus it contributes to a unified musical experience.
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Mridangam |
The Mridangam is the
classical doublesided drum of South India and is an
indispensable accompaniment for vocal, instrumental and dance
performances.
It is made from
the seasoned wood of either Jack wood or Redwood .It is shaped
like a barrel and both sides are used for drumming. The two
heads are made of layers of skin stretched by leather straps. On
the right side ,a black paste of rock powder and steamed rice
{soru} is applied which when dried appears like a black spot
and produces the sound {nadham}. Before playing the mridangam
on the center of the left side a thick paste made of sooji and
water is applied. This is done to lower the pitch and produce a
bass sound on the left head. This paste is scraped off after
the performance. The pitch of the mridangam varies according
to its size. The larger the mridangam ,the lower the pitch and
vice versa.
The instrument is
played with the 2 hands, wrists and finger tips. In a dance
concert the intricate jatis are played on a mridangam which
the dancer executes. Special effects during abhinaya exposition
are also achieved with the mridangam.
The celestial
musician Nandikeshwara is said to be an adapt in playing the
instrument.
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Flute |
Flute
is a wind instrument .Flute is made of a single length of
bamboo and has six or seven holes. Flute uses no keys, tone
control being a matter of breath control and unique technique
of fingering.
There are two main types: bansuri and
venu.The bansuri has 6 or 7 holes. It was previously
associated only with folk music, but today it is found in
Hindustani classical , Films and numerous other genre.Venu is
more commonly used in the Carnatic system of music. It has 8
holes.
Flute
produces sweet and loud music. It is handy. All the gamakas and
graces of Indian music can be produced in flute. Lord Krishna
was an adapt in flute. |
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Ghungroos |
The sound of
Ghungroos is synonymous with Indian classical dance .Ghungroos
are also known by the name of Ghungru,Salangai, or the ankle
bells .It is tied round the ankles of the dancer.
Ghungroos are made of brass.It has small iron balls inside
because of which every time the dancer moves her legs there
is a pleasant ringing sound which highlights and emphasizes the
rhythms of the dancers feet.
In
past times pupils were not allowed to wear ghungroos until their
Arangetram.On the day of the Arangetram the students venerated
the ghungroos,then it was handed over to the student by the
guru himself with all his blessing..Thus the ankle bells are
held very sacred because they are the symbol of the profession.
Now a
days Ghungroos sewn on to a leather, plastic or a thick cloth
pads that can be buckled around the ankle have become popular
because it is easy to wear and less time consuming. |
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Talam |
This is a pair of cymbals used in the
bharata natyam recitals.It is used by the Nattuvanar or the
guru of the dancer. The cymbals are two small circular pieces of
matellic discs.One is a little bigger and made of iron while the
other one that is used to strike is smaller and made of heavier
bronze.The bronze piece is a bit concave on the inside.
There are two aspects involved in
playing the cymbals: vallinam -strong and mellinam-
gentle.This is considered important while playing for both
nritta and abhinaya.
It gives a delightful sound and
provides the most suitable accompaniment to the lilting gait
of the rhythmic patterns of the dancer.
Brahma was an expert in
playing the talam and always accompanied the dances of Lord
Shiva
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