Sound of Music

Music is obviously the first creative expression of man. Man must have picked up various sounds from nature – the melodious chirping of birds, distant cries of animals, sound of water gently falling, gush of waterfalls, and rain pattering on earth, rocks and trees. In fact, the sounds in nature are too numerous to be catalogued.

The early melodies in India were based on moods of the day, on different seasonal phases, singing of birds, cries of animals, in short, on varied faces of nature, for man became aware of the different vibrations which each sound created. Thus, seems to have begun the formulations of the ragas, each expressing the sound of the movement, of light, darkness, clouds, rains, etc.

These varied sweet sounds of nature inspired some of our great poets like Valmiki and Kalidasa and others who have commented on their magical outpourings.

The sweet high pitched note like that of a flute produced by the wind filling the hollows of the reeds and bamboo groves.

Like stars shooting down from the heaven, the cymbals fall. High pitched on the tall trees, low pitched on the branches, harsh sounding on the rocks and roaring on the waters, the rain falls with measured notes like that of a veena.

The deep noble notes of thunder are echoed in the drums beaten by the drummers.

The flute is sweet like the hum of bees.

When sage Swati listened to the sound of the torrential rain made on the lotus leaves in a lake, he is said to have got the idea to make a drum.

The Yajur Veda says that if at the final rites, two musicians were to play on veena and sing, fourfold blessings of dharma, artha, kama and moksha would be secured.

From the Mohen-jo-daro and Harappa excavations dating back to 3000 BC, we get an insight into the pre-Vedic period, in which one finds amongst the relics, a fair representation of the important instruments that were in use during that time.

The wide and detailed dissertations on musical instruments in Natya Shastra by Bharatha is proof enough of the importance attached to them. In fact, Bharatha, the author, uses a special term aatodya for instrumental music.

The instruments were classified by Bharatha into four divisions as follows:

1. Tata Vadya (stringed instruments): They are in three varieties:
   1. Bowed-sarangi, violin, etc., where sound is produced by drawing a bow across the strings.
   2. Plectral-veena, sitar, where strings are plucked by fingers or by a plectrum of wire or horn.
      These two varieties are again classified into two:
      1. Those with a plain finger-board like the sarangi, gotuvadyam etc., which are played on open strings.
      2. Those with frets like the veena, sitar, and dilruba.
   3. Instruments which are struck by a small hammer or pair of sticks like in gotuvadyam and swaramandala.
2. 1. Sushura Vadya (wind instruments): The commonest are those where the wind is supplied by the breath of the performer through the lips, like wilt, conch and musical pipes like the horn. In the latter there are two varieties, those without fingerholes, such as bluri and kombu. Then there are those with fingerholes like nagaswaram and flute. In each of these there are variations again. In some, the wind is blown through vibrating reeds, tongues or mouthpieces as in nagaswaram, while in others the wind is blown through an orifice in the wall of the instruments itself as in the flute.
   2. In some instruments wind is supplied through the bellows, a simple mechanical contrivance.
3. Avaanaddha Vadya (skin covered percussion instruments such as drums): The skin may be stretched over an open circular frame of wood or metal such as in kanjira or over a hollow body enclosing air inside as in tabla and nagaea or the skin may be stretched over the two faces of a hollow shell open at two ends as in mridangam – skin stretched over a hollow cylindrical body like gholak or uddukkai.
4. Gana Vadya (Solids): These are instruments made of wood or metal-like sticks (used in Kolattam, a musical dance with sticks), kartal, wooden castanets, metal gongs.It is indeed a matter of pride and satisfaction that this decision has proved so basic and sound that two thousand years later western music has made the same four categories soundwise as follows: chorodophonic (strings); membrophonic (drums); aerophonic (winds); idiophonic (solids). It is of considerable significance that some of these instruments are represented in the Indian pantheon like: Saraswati with the veena, Shiva with the drum, Krishna with the flute and Vishnu with the conch.In the Vedic period several instruments in all categories grew and expanded for they were used as accompaniments to sman chants. Veena as a stringed instrument figures in the Rig Veda. The instruments got further enhanced and enriched in the Puranic period, followed by vivid and eloquent treatises on the subject, which give clear evidence of their higher development with sophisticated techniques. The later samhitas in Sanskrit and the early Sangam classics in Tamil contain numerous references to many instruments. These treatises talk of hosts of stringed instruments with varying number of strings.

   With the advent of the new musical strains and instruments in the 12th century, the prevailing unitary music system gave way to two new forms of music – Hindusthani and Carnatic, under the impact of Turkish and Persian influences. But this did not undermine the basic foundation of the Indian music, though some new structural developments did result in the instruments. This was when Amir Khusroo introduced some Persian airs with which further sophistication ensued, especially in the Moghul era from 16th century onward.

   A few of the instruments commonly in use are described here.

Veena: It is looked upon as a complete instrument for it is capable of the highest nuances in both melodic as well as harmonic form, and can be played solo and in rhythm simultaneously. It is a mellifluous instrument which creates a soothing effect which induces devotion, and is, therefore, accepted as an aid to meditation. In keeping with these characteristics it is exquisitely designed and beautifully decorated by ornamentation both on the sound box as well as the gourd with ivory or silver designs around the circumference of their bellies and the bars on the finger-board.

Southern Veena:This instrument was brought into use by Raghunatha Naik, a ruler of Tanjavur, consisting of 24 fixed frets. The body is hollowed out of a block of wood. The neck is attached to the stem having a wired figure like the head of a dragon. There are seven strings in all.

Vichitra Veena:This rare instrument from the North was introduced by Ustad Abdul Aziz Khan, a court musician at Indore. It is of comparatively recent origin. It has a broad stem and six main strings are fastened to wooden pegs fixed to the other end. It is played by means of a plectrum on the right hand finger. It is a stringed instrument.

Sarangi: It is like the veena, a complete instrument, as it can produce all the effects and nuances of most of the Indian music. Above all, it is ideal as accompaniment for vocal music, because of its subtle pliability like flowing water. It is short in structure, around two feet, with a compressed sound box made from one block of hollowed-out wood, with the belly covered by a leather punchment in the middle of which is fixed the bridge. It has four strings, three of guts and one of brass which is in the lowest pitch. Running underneath the main strings are the sympathetic ones varying from eleven to fifteen. The sympathetic strings pass through the small holes on the finger-board before reaching the turning pegs. The instrument is played with a short bow. The four turning pegs are fixed at the neck on each side of the hollow head. The small turning pegs fixed in the stem are for the sympathetic strings. The ability to play all types of ganakas gave it prominent place in the Hindustani classical music.

An unusual element in the playing is that the strings are not stopped on the top by the fingertips as is usual in bowed instruments but on their sides by the fingernails on the left hand.

According to the Moghul court records, it was introduced during Akbar’s rule and seems to have won the emperor’s favour. The tone of the sarangi is very near to the human vocal chord. It is one of the most alluring instruments. The bow for playing is held palm upward and the strings are tapped with nails at the sides, not pressed down.

Sitar: It consists of a body two feet long made from jackwood or any resonant wood. Sometimes the bowl is just a gourd cut into its core with a belly of three inches wide thin wood fixed upon it which is pierced with sound holes. An ivory wedge connects the body with the finger-board which is three inches in width and slightly concave, carrying 18 to 20 eliptical metal frets on it. Each is held in position by a brass spring connecting its two ends by passing round the stem, which makes the frets easily movable for any sound adjustments.

The instrument is played with a wire plectrum placed upon the forefinger while the thumb presses the edge of the belly. Music is played mostly on the last string, which is stopped by the forefinger and middle finger of the left hand, and this string passes through a small head that helps inaccurate tuning. The other strings are to give the drone. It is the quick style guts that makes the sitar such a stirring and exciting vehicle for melody.

The name sitar was derived from Persian ‘Sehtar’ meaning ‘three strings’ which the instrument originally had.

Sarod: It has a short but deep bucket-shaped body which is also the resonator. The lower part of the belly is covered by parchment while the upper finger-board has a plate of burnished steel, but no frets. On this is the bridge pass. It has seven principle strings of which five are for music and two sympathetic, and as many as 15 resonant strings. The bridge is thin and rests on the membrane. For playing, a plectrum of wood or ivory is held by the player between the fingers. This has been designed for display of slow and quick guts together, along with alap. Curiously enough, though not large in size, it gives out a heavier volume of sound than assumed.

Although the origin of sarod is not known, it is supposed to have descended from the ‘Rebab’ of the Middle East. Some believe that this stringed instrument might have originated from the Greco-Buddhist area of Gandhar (modern Afghanistan).

Santoor: Santoor which originated from the Vedic vana veena is characteristic of Kashmir valley and neither seen nor played elsewhere. The vana veena also had strings and was played with sticks. The modern santoor is made of a trapezoid wooden boz. There are thirty bridges and a set of four strings of metal, tuned to the same note, which is stretched over each pair of bridges. It is played with a pair of the flat wooden pieces curved at the striking ends. Today, santoor is played with all Indian ragas and is very popular with film musicians.

Tambura: It is the universal and indispensable drone instrument for all music. The body of jackwood or jourd is connected to the stem by a ledge which, where it joins the neck, has four turning pegs fixed on to it, two at right angles to the head, two on the sides. Its four strings are secured to the ledge, and fixed on to the bowl.

Tambura is held upright. The four strings are gently pulled continuously, starting with the first string panchan and ending with the mandaran, using the forefinger of the right hand for this purpose. There are sound tones on its belly.

A simplified version of this is the ektara (one string), a common man’s drone. It is made of a long bamboo stick around four feet in length and less than two inches in diameter. Its one end is passed through a hollow gourd resonator, while the other end is provided with a tuning peg. One end of the string is fastened to a nail fixed on to the projection of the stick beyond the resonator. From here the string passes over a crude wooden bridge placed on the gourd, and then fastened to the peg at the top. The forefinger plucks the strings for playing.

Shehnai: Considered to be an auspicious instrument shehnai belongs to the category of aerophonic instruments. It is said to be of Persian origin and is a one-reed instrument with six holes, yielding soft and melodious sound. Made of a smooth darkgrained black wood, the tube is narrower on the top and widens towards the bottom affixed in a cup. All the tunes of full tone, half tone and sharp notes can be played on the instrument through breath control. The notes are continuous and is generally used in classical and high classical music.

Flute: This wind instrument of ancient India was very common with Lord Krishna and the religious music of the Buddhists. Even the frescoes of Ajanta and Ellora depict the flute or bansuri as an accompaniment to vocal and instrumental music.

Being an instrument of great antiquity, its construction remained constant over the years. It is made of cylindrical bamboo pipe of uniform bore, containing six holes for movement of the fingers and a bigger hole for blowing air. It is handled in an oblique position and air is blown over which the strings with the upper lip into the main hole. Different octaves are produced by covering the holes with the fingers.

Nagaswaram: It is believed that this representative of the South Indian music evolved from the snake charmers’ pungi. Nagaswaram was well-known in the 15th and 16th centuries and formed an integral part of the temples. It consists of a wooden mouthpiece into which the player blows the air. This air under pressure is released from the lower end of the gourd through two bamboo or metal pipes. These tubes have a valve each to control air flow through the pipes, and have holes to control the melody. Nagaswaram often attains a wild beauty and softness, and brings out the subtle graces of Carnatic music.

Violin: Though the Indian classical music has a number of stringed instruments of the bowed variety, the introduction of violin to it, is quite recent. In fact, it is the only western instrument to be absorbed completely into Indian music. It is said that about a century ago, Varahappaya, a minister to the Maratha rulers of Tanjavur , explored this instrument to enrich Indian classical music. The strings of the violin in India are tuned in different notes than the Western style. The light tone of the steel string and the deep, almost human tone of the fourth string embellishes the peculiarities of Carnatic music.

Ghatam: One of the ancient percussion instruments often heard in Carnatic music concerts, it is a mud-pot carefully kneaded and uniformly fired. The mouth of the ghatam is open and it is played with two hands, wrists, fingers and nails. The mouth is pressed against the stomach so that when strokes are given, the air inside is set in vibration and gives a deep tone. The player can elicit various volumes and tonal colours by giving the finger strokes at the neck, centre and bottom of outer surface.

Tabla: An evolution of the oldest percussion instrument – damru of Shiva – it is believed to be an innovation of Amir Khusrau (a courtier of Allauddin Khilji) in the 13th century. It is said to be derived from a kind of Arabian drum called tabla. It consists of two drums – Dayan (right) or the tabla being made of black wood and the Bayan (left) or the duggi being made of wood, clay or copper. Both are hollowed from inside and covered with skin fastened to leather straps which are stretched over the body of the drums by means of leather braces. These straps are pulled to raise or lower the pitch. The two pieces of tabla are generally tuned one octave apart. In the hands of a master, tabla is capable of producing all patterns of rhythms with well-established time cycles (talas).

In tune with the Gods

India is a mosaic of numerous religions and it is little wonder that a vast storehouse of musical instruments from different faiths can be found here. In India, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikkhism, Buddhism and Jainism are the main religions. Parsis (Zoroastrianism) and Jews (Judaism) are smaller communities, but they too have retained their separate, distinct identities. Music is an integral part of almost all religions. Though Islam and Buddhism are said to have banned music, they do use it by the back door. In case of Islam, music is the soul of its sub-cult Sufism. In case of Buddhism, its sub-cult Mahayana took a liberal attitude towards music and music was taught in Buddhist universities. When music is added to religious rituals it helps to focus the mind engrossed in day-to-day routine chores, on to a higher level. Below is a sample representation of the instruments used by different religions in India.

1. The Kartaal is used in devotional singing and dancing by both the Sikhs and Hindus
2. The Damru is a favourite instrument played during the Mahashivaratri puja
3. The Edakka is one of the main instruments in the religious ceremonies of Kerala
4. The Jews blow the Shofar (the ram’s horn) during prayers
5. The Piano is used for creating melodious hymns in Churches
6. A piligrim plays the Ektara during Ashadhi Ekadashi at Pandharpur
7. A Nagveena player at Nagraja temple in Kerala
8. A Been player, Rajasthan
9. The Nagada finds a prominent place in folk and tribal music
10. A village musician of Orissa
11. A Hindu sadhu blowing the Conch
12. The Ghanti is an integral part of a Hindu temple

Kombu or Sringa: The horn is about four to six feet in length and consists of four or five brass tubes fitting into one another and forms into a crescent shape. The ends can be connected by a cord or rod to give it stability. The horns are in several shapes depending on the region or locality where each has been shaped by usage.

The horn with its strident tone has played a special role. It is used as a sign of welcome and indispensable in all ceremonials, processions, calling attention for announcements, particularly in rural areas.

Drums: Down the ages, drums have occupied a key place in human life as the most intimate instrument and, therefore, regarded with sanctity. The Natya Shastra describes an elaborate ritual to propitiate the drum. In it we get not only the wide range of drums but also the names of the deities who preside over each.

The antiquity of our drums is proved by their presence in the Indus Valley. The most ancient and probably the most natural is the bhumidhundubhi, the so called Earth-drum. It was contrived by digging a pit in the ground and covering up the surface with stretched skin, then beaten on.

Mridangam: It is seen amongst the clay objects of the Indus Valley. In fact, the very word mri means earth, so it can be called drum made of clay. Even after wood took over, earth paste continued to be applied to the leather surface until now when powdered manganese came into use and took over. The application of the dark paste is ancient as can be seen in the drums in the Ajanta frescos.

Dholak: It is a simple and universally popular drum found all over India. It is hollowed out of a solid block of wood. Nagara is a very large hemispherical drum. In the olden days it stood at the entrance of a city, a palace or at any important gateway. The battle drum was regarded with great veneration, and valiantly guarded, for the loss of this drum foreboded defeat in battle. Kanjira consists of a circular wooden frame 8-10 inches in diameter and 3-4 inches deep. It figures in almost every concert.

Cymbals and castanets are meant for keeping time in music. Jhalra is a pair of circular discs of brass or bell-metal to serve as cymbals. Talam is a pair of small cymbals, with a very sweet tinkling sound and goes well with soft music. Cipla consists of two pieces of hardwood about six inches in length, flat on one side and rounded on the other, provided with slits into which are inserted metal pieces to give out the sound. Kartal consists of two circular wooden castanets. The instruments are held in either hand and the faces struck against each other.

Jaltarang: It literally means “water waves”. The instrument consists of about eighteen porcelain cups of different sizes, each possessing a distinctive tone. The cups are arranged in a semi-circle in front of the performer, beginning from the largest to the smallest. The bigger cups produce a deep pitch while the smaller have a higher pitch. The level of water in the cups also help to control the pitch.

Pakhawaj: The pakhawaj originated in north India and is similar to mridangam except for slight differences in construction and playing techniques. The pakhawaj is played with an open left hand, whereas southern musicians use the left side similar to the tabla players. The use of this instrument is only confined to classical compositions like dhrupad and dhamar.

The Belabaharr – an exemplary creation

THE invention by Pt. Babulal Gandharv – the belabaharr, is a unique instrument that combines the tonal effect of a sarangi with the convenience of a violin. Bela is the Hindi name for Violin and baharr is the world of infinite possibilities, and so this new creation was named belabaharr. It was invented in April 1980 in Mumbai.Pt. Babulal as a youngster was fascinated with the technique and versatility of the violin, though his father Pt. Kashiram Gandharv wasn’t happy with the western instrument. Pt. Babulal practiced the violin, but he missed the Indianness in sound which the sarangi produced with the sympathetic strings (tarab). He had devoted too much time to the violin to start on the sarangi, so he thought of adding the tarab to the violin.

Soon he encountered the problem of the violin body which was made of ply and was too weak to handle the intense pressure of so many strings. So he decided to work on proper wood and fashioned a violin base and added the extra strings. He used 200-year old teak wood, rosewood, ivory, deer horn and goat skin to make this new instrument. The final instrument has five main strings and 23 tarab strings; of this, 15 are constructed like the sarod or sarangi, but the remaining eight strings are constructed in a scientific manner under the finger board, which has the five main strings on which the bow is used. Under the bridge there is a special leather belt strip which keeps the balance and bears the heavy tension of all the strings. Except the metal part like the strings, each part was made by Pt. Babulal without the assistance of any artisan or carpenter!

The belabaharr was ready in about six months.
The belabaharr is not commercially available as a musical instrument, although it is approved by All India Radio and Doordarshan. It has had commercial outings in popular Bollywood hits like 1942 A Love Story, Gadar, Damini, LOC Kargil, Refugee and so on. The belabaharr has been a substitute to most varieties of bow instruments like the dilruba, tar-shehnai, ravanhatta, violin, sarangi etc. It is a versatile instrument which has also been used in classical, folk, devotional music and contemporary or world music.

Today, it is Pt. Babulal Gandharv’s son, Naviin Gandharv who is carrying on the tradition of this unique instrument. Naviin, who is proficient at both the belabaharr and the tabla, has evolved his own distinct style developed from his mentors – legendary tabla maestro Ustad Allarakha and his father, Pt. Babulal Gandharv. Born on 20 December 1977 in the heart of Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, Naviin did his initial tabla training with his grandfather Pt. Mansingh. Later, he was initiated in the Punjab gharana by Ustad Allarakha. Naviin Gandharv has performed solo with both the belabaharr and the tabla.

Ravanhattha: This is an instrument from the violin family and is played by a bow. Its resonator belly consists of coconut shell which has a perpendicular long bamboo with pegs fixed on it. The belly of the instrument has membrane stretched over it like the sarangi – but unlike sarangi the membrane is not pasted, instead it is tied as on a tabla or dhole.

Ravanhattha’s main string is tuned to ‘Shahja’. The string is made of a long bunch of horse-tail hair. The bow also consists of the same hair, and consequently, the tonal quality of this instrument sharply differs from metal or gut stringed instruments as the main playing string.

Ravanhattha is mainly played by a ballad-singing community of Rajasthan. The community is known as ‘Bhopas of the Bheels’. This instrument can be classed as a ballad instrument. The ballad itself is known as Pabooji-ki-Padh i.e. the ballad of Pabooji. The Ravanhattha players or the ballad singers utilise an illustrated cloth depicting different incidents from Pabooji’s life. It will be interesting to note that this community also utilises two big pitchers stretched with membrane as Laya- adya or percussion rhythm instrument. It is played by two individuals at a time.

Another instrument popular with the Garasia tribe of Sirohi (Rajasthan) is known as chikara which looks very much like Ravanhattha, though, actually it differs from Ravanhattha. The difference lies in setting of and in method of playing on the main strings. Chikara’s main string is pressed on the body of the bamboo whereas Ravanhattha’s main playing string remains aloof from the main body as an angular position.

Jantar belongs to the harp family of musical instruments. The strings of the instrument are struck by fingers and notes are manipulated on frets.

Jantar has a look of an old veena. It has two jourds joined with a long bamboo. Fourteen frets are pasted on the body of the instrument with four pegs for the strings.

The peculiarity of jantar is established by two main features –one of them is the vertical shape of the meru and ghori (bridge) at the fag end of the instrument, and the other, the way strings are struck. No other instrument in India of this type has been referred to in recent years.

Kamayacha resembles and may also fulfill the purpose of a sarangi but in its shape, size and strong organisation, it differs from the sarangi. Like other instruments kamayacha is also played by a community known as Manganiyars of Jaisalmer.

Satara is an aerophonic double flute instrument. It consists of two flutes and both of them are blown simultaneously. One of the flute is utilised only to serve as drone and other is played to produce the melody. There is another instrument known as algoja also with two strings. But algoja differs from satara.

There are several centres in India where musical instruments are made. It must, however, be pointed out that each centre specialises only in certain instruments, as it would be physically impossible for one place to attempt more than just a few.