WIND INSTRUMENT

Algoza -A

double

flute

made

of

bamboo,

the

algoza

works on the same principle as a bagpipe and is a tricky instrument to master. One of the two flutes usually plays a continuous drone while the other plays different notes. The player has to master the art of breathing without letting the sound of the algoza break even for a bit.

Bansuri (Flute)

- Also known as the flute, it hardly

needs any introduction given its global popularity. It is a simple bamboo stick with one hole to blow into and 6, 8 or 9 holes for producing the notes.

Been - Made

popular by snake charmers, it has 2 pipes

made of wood, bamboo or metal and set into a gourd. One produces a drone and the other can produce many notes using the holes. Great stamina is required to play it.

Harmonium -

One of the most popular and widespread

instruments today, the Harmonium is a foreigner to India. Similar to the organ in its functioning, the Harmonium needs no tuning but a lot of practice for its playing.

Shehnai - is

a double reed instrument with a pipe that

has seven holes and a trumpet of brass or copper attached at the end. So popular for creating background music at weddings, that it is almost synonymous with them. Mostly used for playing classical msuci, It is played as a folk instrument in many parts including the hills of Himachal.

STRING INSTRUMENT

Tambur / Chautara-

A variation of the Ancient

Ektara, the Chautara is one of the oldest string instruments. It is made of wood with a base usually of Gourd and has four strings that can be tuned to different pitches. It is played with two fingers and produces an accompanying drone.

Toomba -

A two stringed instrument quite like the

single stringed Ektara. It is primarily a drone instrument though skilled players produce many notes with it. The wires are stretched across a bamboo set into a gourd with a skin covering its side.

Ektara

- There are many kinds of Ektaras though

the name literally means one wire and so that is its main component. It could be stretched across a thin bamboo set into a gourd or a wooden base. It is played in many parts but is especially popular with the Baul fakirs of Bengal.

Khamak -

small

instrument

capable

of

producing a sided small to insert a the tension of changes the

very interesting sound, it is a one drum with the other side left open string. Pulling the string to alter the side stretched with a goat skin sound.

Rawanhattha - Said

to be one of the oldest known

string instruments, it is rare to find it now-a-days. Made of a long piece of bamboo set into a dry coconut, it has one main playing string and many others for a drone. It is played with a bow and is still popular in Rajasthan, especially with the Bhopa community.

PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT Dhol - Synonymous

with Punjabi music, especially nowadays, it is a large two sided drum made of wood. The left side is coated to give it a heavier sound. Tightened cords with metal rings keep the sides taut and wooden sticks are used to play it.

Dholak -

One of the most important percussive

instruments accompanying folk music all over the country. It is made of a cylindrical barrel hollowed out of a block of wood with equal-sized open ends covered with goatskin. It is played on both sides with the fingers sometimes with sticks.

Tabla -an

important

modern

instrument,

it

is

widely used with music and dance in India. The ancient instrument Pakhawaj is said to be the mother of the Tabla and it is said that Amir Khusro, in the 14 th century, divided Pakhawaj into two parts and invented a new instrument called Tabla.

Kansi - A

one sided drum with the other side

left open, it is played with one hand and kept taut with the help of cords and metal rings. This version is played in the hills of Himachal.

Dhad - a

small hour glass shaped drum, the dhad

is very popular in the folk music of Punjab. Cords tighten its two goat skin sides and the player produces different notes by tightening its cords with one hand while tapping the side with the other