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.