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There
are four types of instruments or vadya, used
in Indian music: Tantu, stringed;
Susir, wind; Avanada, percussion;
and
Ghana, gongs, bells and cymbals.
TANTU
VADYA (Stringed Instruments)
Sarod:
The sarod was developed from the rabab of Afghanistan, Smaller than a sitar,
it has two resonating chambers. The larger of these is made of teak and covered
with goatskin and the smaller at the other end of the unfretted, tapering
fingerboard is, like the fingerboard itself, made of
metal.
Of its twenty-five metal strings, fifteen are sympathetic and lie underneath
the ten playing strings. These are plucked with a coconut shell and four of
them carry the melody, two or three accentuate the rhythm and the rest are tuned
to the dominant note of the chosen Raga. These side strings also act as the
drone. To listen to a sample of what a sarod sounds
like, click on Ken Zuckerman’s photo to hear him play the instrument.
Sitar:
The instrument's name is derived from the Persian ‘seh-tar’, three-stringed.
It belongs to the lute family and is made from a seasoned gourd, which acts
as a resonating chamber, and teakwood. There are six or seven main strings
(four of which are played and two or three used as drone and rhythm strings)
and from eleven to nineteen sympathetic strings, the two sets being
carried on separate
bridges. Twenty frets made of brass and tied to the long hollow neck with
string can easily be moved in order to conform to the scale of a particular
raga. The main strings, which are tuned, are plucked with a mizrab, plectrum,
worn on the index finger of the right hand. The sympathetic strings are also
tuned and usually vibrate to the sound of the main strings, They are, however,
plucked on occasion by the little finger of the right hand inserted between
the main strings. Sitars are of varying sizes and some have an extra gourd
at the end of the neck. To listen to a sample of
what a sitar sounds like,click on Gaurav Maxumdar’s photo to hear him play
the instrument.
