NORTH INDIAN AND SOUTH INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSICAL CULTURE
NORTH INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSICAL CULTURE
In North India, the music is from the Hindustani tradition. The main melody instrument is the sitar, a long-necked, wooden, plucked string instrument with frets. The modern sitar has seven main strings that are tuned differently, depending on the melody that is being played. The sitar is the most famous Indian string instrument; many rock musicians, including the Beatles, have studied it. It is similar in sound to the electric guitar. The sarod is another plucked string instrument of Northern India. It has a wider neck than a sitar. The modern sarod has a metal-plate fingerboard and it is plucked with a large plectrum made of wood, horn, or coconut shell. Players slide their fingers on the strings, stopping the sound by pressing down on the string with the fingernails or fingertips. This fretless instrument is held across the lap. Often the sarod and sitar play duets, but they can also be solo melodic instruments.
People learn to play these instruments by studying with a guru (teacher). Students learn through imitation, not by reading notes. They learn sets of melodic patterns with an underlying scale, called ragas. Each raga has its own tuning, time of day, emotional meaning, and season of the year. Ragas become the basis for long melodies improvised by the performers.
The sarod and sitar are accompanied by a long-necked lute called the tamboura. It is similar to a sitar, but has four to six strings. It plays a drone accompaniment with just two pitches tuned to do and so of the melody, and it has a shimmering sound.Another instrument from North India is the sarangi. It is a bowed string instrument with four heavy main strings made of gut and up to 36 sympathetic strings. This fretless instrument comes from the folk traditions of India.
These instruments are accompanied by tabla drums. One drum is made of wood, and the other is made of copper or clay. They are set on cloth rings to hold them in place. The drumheads are made of goatskin that is attached by leather thongs. The head of each of these two drums has three distinct parts, which produce three different sounds.
Drummers spend 10 to 12 years learning to chant the different rhythmic patterns that signal which drum and which part of the head they will strike when they play. Once the chants are mastered, a drummer is allowed to play them on the drums.Key North Indian wind instruments include the shahnai, a loud double-reed instrument that is usually played outside during ceremonies. Other wind instruments include a bamboo flute and a small pipe organ.SOUTH INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSICAL CULTURE
Music from South India is from the Karnatac tradition. The instruments are similar to those of North India but are called by different names. The most well-known South Indian plucked string instrument is the seven-string vina. It is carved out of a single piece of jackwood or blackwood and inlaid with deer horn or ivory.
The drum of South India is called the mridangam. It is a barrel-shaped wooden drum with two heads, one at each end. The player lays it flat on the floor between the knees and ankles and plays both ends of the drum, which have special playing areas. The drum makes at least fifteen different sounds, and the right-hand end can also be tuned to different pitches.South Indian wind instruments include the bamboo flute, a double-reed instrument called the nagasvaram, the clarinet, and a small pipe organ.