Eternal India Encyclopedia

MUSIC

Eternal India

encyclopedia

There are many

tabla

schools which have

different styles of playing. The players of the

Delhi gharana

use the rim of the tabla more

than the centre, the first and middle finger

more than other combinations. The

Ajrada

gharana

so called, after the town where the

originator of the style lived, uses combina-

tions with heavier left-handed strokes and

revels in odd rhythms. The other major branch

is the

'poorab'

or eastern one which comprises

styles known as the

Lucknow baj, Banarasi

baj

and

Farrukhabadi baj.

All these origi-

nated from the

Delhi gharana.

The

Punjabi

gharana

has a separate origin and develop-

ment.

There is difference in the way in which the

drums of the tabla are played. The right drum

(tabla) is struck with the ends and the middle '

phalanges of the fingers as well as with the flat

palm. The left hand drum (bayan) is struck

with the balls of the fingers, the flat palm and

the base of the palm. These strokes which all

have definite names are combined or empha-

sised in a variety of ways giving rise to a num-

ber of styles such as the Delhi gharana, the

Ajrado gharana, the Faruqqabad gharana, the

Lucknow-Varanasi gharana etc.

Eminent Tabla players

: Ahmed Jan

Thirakwa, Jahangir Khan, Kanthe Maharaj,

Masti Khan, Karamatulla Khan, Samta Prasad

Maharaj, Alla Rakha (L), Kishan Maharaj (L),

Zakir Hussain (L), Shaikh Dawood

Dholak

: This rarity with a metallic tone is

similar to mridanga and enlivens dance music.

It is not common at classical concerts.

Kanjira

(Khanjari): One of the oldest types

of drums. Its use is restricted only to folk

music and devotional songs of rural areas.

It is a round wooden frame 6-10 inches

in diameter and about 2 and 2 V

inches broad.

One side is covered with hide and the other

side is left open.

The frame is provided with two, three or

four slits and a few small pieces of round

metal sheets are inserted in a cross bar inside

the slit.

These round metal sheets produce a jin-

gling sound when it is played with all the four

fingers. This simple instrument of a single

stretched membrane used all over the world, is

one of the chief percussion instruments.

Eminent Kanjira player

: Hari Shankar (L).

IDIOPHONES

The idiophones or anything solid - like

sticks and stones, pots and pans - might have

been the oldest musical instruments used by

mankind. But since they are not capable of

producing definite pitches that are required

for creating a melody, they do not find a place

in classical music with two exceptions —

ghatam

and

jalatarang.

They are also known as ’ghana' or

'lauhaja'. The instruments of this group are

usually played with a striker or something like

a hammer, either mechanically or otherwise.

The instruments of this group are Svaraman-

dala, Santura, Kanuna, Jalataranga, Nala-

taranga, Kastha-taranga, Karatala piano and

Cymbals etc.

Ghatam

The ghatam

is an earthen pot

which has found a place in classical concerts

in South India.

Bangalore K. Venkataram

The pot made of special clay and care-

fully baked is held with its mouth resting on

the stomach of the player who sits on the floor

with his shirt open. The body of the ghatam

rests on his lap. It is tapped on the surface with

the fingers. It can produce a wide variety of

sounds. By manipulating his abdomen the

player can draw subtle tones out of the ghatam.

Eminent Ghatam player

: T.H. Vinayakaram (L)

Jalatharanga

: Oldest type of instrument of

the species of percussion. The literal meaning

of the word is "waves of water". In the

medieval age metal cups of brass, copper, a

mixture of these two, besides silver and even

of gold were used. In modern days cups of

porcelain are used.

Only 16 to 20 cups are used in the per-

formance to cover a range of two octaves. It

produces a very sweet and charming sound.

The cups are placed in a semi-circular way just

in front of the player. The biggest cup is placed

on the left hand and the smallest one on the

right side of the performer.

In between, all the other cups are placed

according to their sizes. These cups are to be

filled up with water to produce different notes

of the octave.

Kastha-Taranga

Literal

meaning

"waves from the wood". The Burmese gong. It

is a graduated series of hard but flat pieces of

bamboo or teak wood between 16 to 22 in

number similar to the number of cups in a jala-

taranga.

These flat pieces of wood or bamboo are

arranged parallel to each other. The biggest

piece is placed at the extreme left and the

smallest one is kept at the other end. Length of

pieces varies from 15 inches to 6 inches only.

Each piece represents a different note either

flat or sharp. They are mounted on a half round

wooden frame and played by striking on them

with two wooden strikers or hammer made of

wood, held in both the hands of the perform-

ers.

In Kashmir the

noot

is, like the ghatam, an

earthen pot which is popular in folk music. It

is placed with the mouth up. The singer who

uses the noot for rhythm beats it on the mouth

and sides.