MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

     


    Musical instruments, according to ancient works, have been divided into four types.Thatha, Avanaddha, Sushira and Ghana which are Chordophones, Membranophones,Aerophones and Idiophones respectively.Following is a brief description of some musical instruments. 

    Thambura is a drone instrument.As this provides the basic pitch for the musician,it is played constantly in a concert.The Thambura has four strings.When a Thambura is tuned with precision and accuracy the resultant nada or musical sound is in itself so very pleasing.It can be held either vertically or horizontally  while being played. 

    Mridangam an ancient percussion instrument is an indispensable accompaniment to vocal,  instrumental and dance concerts.Itis cylindrical in shape,bulging at the centre and has unequal circular faces at both ends.These are covered with animal skin.Jackwood or redwood is used for making the mridangam. 

    Veena is a string instrument  and the National instrument. Although ancient in its origin, veena in the process of evolution was subject to many changes. It took its  present shape in the 17th century. The veena has a bowl shaped body   often carved from a single piece of wood and a long neck curved downward at the end with a gourd attached to the underside. It has  seven strings in all,four main and the rest to maintain the drone and rhythm. The 24 fixed frets of the veena facilitate the production of semi, quarter and micro tones accurately. Hence the veena is best suited to demonstrate the intricacies and nuances of Indian music.Veena is made of jackwood or blackwood. 
     


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