TABLA

Tabla is the most common percussion instrument in Hindustani music, and almost any concert will include a tabla player. The instrument consists of two drums, one played with the right hand, one played with the left. The right hand drum is tuned to the drone, and thus provides an extra reinforcement of the fundamental pitch.



tabla is the most common percussion instrument which is commonly used in the hindustani music



Tabla is played with two hands and finger tips



The most popular tabalist is zakeer hussain



Tabla is the percussion instrument which is used as pakka vaadiyam to the hindustani singers

BACK

MORSING

This tiny instrument is held in the left hand, the 'prongs' against the upper and lower front teeth! Some players hold the instrument between their teeth. It must make firm contact, but do not press too hard or you will give yourself toothache and potentially damage your teeth — lightly but firmly



The tongue, which protrudes from the mouth, is made of spring steel. This is plucked with the Index finger of the right hand (backwards, not forwards) while the tone and timbre are adjusted by changing the shape of the mouth cavity and moving the tongue — kind of speaking silently, effectively.
Further control of the sound can be achieved with the breath, but extensive use of this technique for fast, staccato effect quickly results in hyperventilation; it is better not to pass out on stage! Unusually for a percussion instrument, you can produce a very long duration note on the morsing by sucking air through it, sometimes (depending on the instrument) without even plucking it first.



Like the mridangam, the morsing is tuned to the tonic, which means you have to have one for each sruti. Fine tuning is achieved by placing small amounts of bee's wax on the end of the tongue.

Although a tiny and relatively quiet instrument, the morsing unmistakably adds to the music, reinforcing the sruti and providing a kind of textural as much as rhythmic accompaniment



When it come to the thani it is as necessary to know your lessons as it is for any of the other instruments. Be glad if you grew up speaking Tamil, or one of the worlds faster languages; it is not at all easy for a native English speaker to master konokol and, even when you have made some progress saying it it is so much harder as soon as you put the morsing to your lips!



Time was when life was unhurried and sedate. People had the time and the inclination to savour four-hour concerts. Concerts of Konerirajapuram Vaidyanatha Iyer, Naina Pillai and Chitoor Subramania Pillai were often `full bench' concerts, with konnakkol and morsing artistes sharing the honours with the mridangists. Even in the 78-rpm records, upa pakkavadyams were used. Toraiyur Rajagopala Sharma had, apart from Venu Naicker on the mridangam, Seetharama Iyer playing the morsing and Parthasarathy on the kanjira. In later years, Chembai often had full bench concerts. The duration of concerts these days has shrunk to two-and-a-half hours, keeping in mind the needs of a generation that always seems to be in a hurry. Upa pakkavadyams therefore do not find a place in most concerts. The author caught up with some exponents of these instruments that are not heard as often as they used to be in the past.

BACK

KANJIRA

The Kanjeera is a small round drum covered with goat skin and circled with bells on its wooden body. It is also very much used in classical performances



Fine quality Kanjeera available in various models and sizes. The Kanjeera is a small round drum covered with goat skin and circled with bells on its wooden body. It is also often used in classical performances.



kanjeera is also one of the old percussion instrument used in carnatic music in order to accompany mridangam. Kanjeera is a famous accompaniment to mridangam after ghatam being the first accompaniment



kanjeera is played with single hand and gamakams are also used. The famous number one kanjeera player is harishankar who is no more

kanjeera is easy to learn and also all other percussion instrument is easy when mridanga is learnt which is the king of percussion

BACK

GHATAM

Ghatam is one of the oldest carnatic instrument used in the percussion side. However this is made up of clay and iron ore which makes it a good solid body to play.



Ghatam is an earthern pot where player used all there fingers to produce the sound. However the sound is a metallic sound.



TH Vinayakram plays the Indian clay pot called the Ghatam. During performance he keeps his belly exposed to facilitate the use in creating tones on the mouth of the Ghatam. He plays fast rhythms of knuckle-cracking intensity using different parts of the Ghatam from the mouth to the bottom of pick up different resonant tones due to thickness of the clay. He is featured in the Taal Ensemble and in the Shakti recordings of Zakir Hussain and John McLaughlin.



ghatam is made with special metal ores such that it gives a good sound and it can be used as an instrument.



ghatam is of two type madras ghatam and maana madurai ghatam. The earlier madras ghatam is light and the maana madurai ghatam is a heavy ghatam and tone is beautiful in both the ghatams

A good quality South Indian Ghatam/Clay pot made of special resonant fire treated clay for high quality sound.

BACK

MRIDANGA

Mridangam is a South Indian version of the pakhawaj. It bears a strong superficial resemblance to pakhawaj but there are major differences in construction and technique. The tone of the instrument is quite different. This is due to differences in construction.

Temporary Application of
Flour to Left Side



The construction of the mridangam is interesting. It has heavy annular membrane around the right side, and a number of pieces of straw which are placed radially between the annular membrane and the main membrane. The right side has a permanent application, known as soru or karanai. The left side uses a mixture of flour and water to provide a proper tone. This application must be removed after each performance. The lacing and heads are all placed upon a barrel shaped wooden shell. The wood is usually of jackwood.




The instrument is usually tuned with a small wooden block and a heavy stone. The block is placed against the rawhide weaving and struck with the stone. The manner of striking may either raise or lower the pitch. It is generally tuned to the tonic of the piece being performed.



The sitting and playing technique is shown below. One sits cross legged with the left foot below and the right foot over and slightly extended. The mridangam rests upon the right foot and ankle. Since the instrument is very heavy it is also cushioned by some rolled up cloth placed at the right foot. The right hand plays the smaller head, while the left hand plays the head with the temporary application of flour.




Sitting and playing Position


The mridangam is an indispensable component of the south Indian classical performance. In these performances, the artist plays very intricate patterns to accompany south Indian vocalists, vina, violin, or gottuvadyam players. It is a very demanding art and requires many years to master.

BACK