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music

Monday, July 26, 2010

Sexophone

The saxophone (also referredto as the sax) is a conicalbored transposing musicalinstrument that is a member ofthe woodwind family.Saxophones are usually madeof brass and played with asinglereed mouthpiece similarto that of the clarinet. Thesaxophone was invented bythe Belgian Adolphe Sax in1841. He wanted to create aninstrument that would both bethe most powerful and vocalof the woodwinds and the most adaptive of the brass, which would fill the then vacantmiddle ground between the two sections. He patented the sax in 1846 in two groups ofseven instruments each. Each series consisted of instruments of various sizes inalternating transposition. The series pitched in B and E, designed for military bands,has proved extremely popular and most saxophones encountered today are from thisseries. A few saxophones remain from the less popular orchestral series pitched in C andF.While proving very popular in its intended niche of military band music, the saxophone ismost commonly associated with popular music, big band music, blues, early rock androll, ska and particularly jazz. There is also a substantial repertoire of concert music inthe classical idiom for the members of the saxophone family. Saxophone players arecalled saxophonists.

History:The saxophone was developed in the 1840s by Adolphe Sax, a Belgianborn instrumentmaker, flautist, and clarinetist working in Paris. While still working at his father'sinstrument shop in Brussels, Sax began developing an instrument which had theprojection of a brass instrument with the agility of a woodwind. Another priority was toinvent an instrument which would overblow at the octave, unlike the clarinet, which risesin pitch by a twelfth when overblown; an instrument which overblew at the octave wouldhave identical fingering for both registers.Prior to his work on the saxophone, Sax made several improvements to the bass clarinetby improving its keywork and acoustics and extending its lower range. Sax was also a

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2010 (11) July (11)

Sexophone

Sarangi

Voilin

Sitar

Tabala

Harmonium

Flute

Keyboard

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maker of the thenpopularophicleide, a large conicalbrass instrument in the bassregister with keys similar to awoodwind instrument. Hisexperience with these twoinstruments allowed him todevelop the skills andtechnologies needed to makethe first saxophones. AdolpheSax created an instrumentwith a single reed mouthpiecelike a clarinet, conical brassbody like an ophicleide, andthe acoustic properties of boththe french horn and theclarinet.Having constructedsaxophones in several sizes

in the early 1840s, Sax applied for, and received, a 15year patent for the instrument onJune 28, 1846.[2] The patent encompassed 14 versions of the fundamental design, splitinto two categories of seven instruments each and ranging from sopranino to contrabass.Although the instruments transposed at either F or C have been considered "orchestral",there is no evidence that Sax intended this. As only 3% of Sax's surviving productionwere pitched in F and C, and as contemporary composers used the E alto and B basssaxophone freely in orchestral music, it is almost certain that Sax experimented to findthe most suitable keys for these instruments, settling upon instruments alternatingbetween E and B rather than those pitched in F and C, for reasons of tone andeconomy (the saxophones were the most expensive wind musical instruments of theirday). The C soprano saxophone was the only instrument to sound at concert pitch. Allthe instruments were given an initial written range from the B below the treble staff to theF three ledger lines above it, giving each saxophone a range of two and a half octaves.Sax's patent expired in 1866;[3] thereafter numerous saxophonists and instrumentmanufacturers implemented their own improvements to the design and keywork. The firstsubstantial modification was by a French manufacturer who extended the bell slightly andadded an extra key to extendthe range downwards by onesemitone to B. It issuspected that Sax himselfmay have attempted thismodification. This extensionwas adopted into almost allmodern designs.Sax's original keywork, whichwas based on the Triebertsystem 3 oboe for the lefthand and the Boehm clarinetfor the right, was verysimplistic and made playingsome legato passages andwide intervals extremelydifficult to finger, so numerousdevelopers added extra keysand alternate fingerings tomake chromatic playing less difficult. While the early saxophone had two separate octavevents to assist in the playing of the upper registers just as modern instruments do,players of Sax's original design had to operate these via two separate octave keysoperated by the left thumb. A substantial advancement in saxophone keywork was thedevelopment of a method by which both tone holes are operated by a single octave keyby the left thumb which is now universal on all modern saxophones. One of the mostradical, however temporary, revisions of saxophone keywork was made in the 1950s byM. Houvenaghel of Paris, who completely redeveloped the mechanics of the system toallow a number of notes (C♯, B, A, G, F and E) to be flattened by a semitone simply bylowering the right middle finger. This enables a chromatic scale to be played over two

octaves simply by playing the diatonic scale combined with alternately.

Description:The saxophone consists of an approximately conical tube of thin metal, most commonly

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brass and sometimes plated with silver, gold, and nickel, flared at the tip to form a bell.At intervals along the tube are between 20 and 23 tone holes of varying size, includingtwo very small 'speaker' holes to assist the playing of the upper register. These holes arecovered by keys (also known as pad cups), containing soft leather pads, which areclosed to produce an airtight seal; at rest some of the holes stand open and others areclosed. The keys are controlled by buttons pressed by the fingers, while the right thumbsits under a thumb rest to help keep the saxophone balanced. The fingering for thesaxophone is a combination of that of the oboe with the Boehm system, and is verysimilar to the flute or the upper register of the clarinet. Instruments that play to low Ahave a left thumb key for that note.The simplest design of saxophone is a straight conical tube, and the sopranino andsoprano saxophones are usually of this straight design. However, as the lowerpitchedinstruments would be unacceptably long if straight, for ergonomic reasons the largerinstruments usually incorporate a Ubend at or slightly above the thirdlowest tone hole.As this would cause the bell of the instrument to point almost directly upwards, the endof the instrument is either bevelled or tilted slightly forwards. This Ushape has becomean iconic feature of the saxophone family, to the extent that soprano and even sopraninosaxes are sometimes made in the curved style even though this is not strictly necessary.By contrast, tenors and even baritones have occasionally been made in the straightstyleMost commonly, however, the alto and tenor saxophones incorporate a curved'crook' above the highest tone hole but below the top speaker hole, tilting the mouthpiecethrough 90 degrees; the baritone, bass and contrabass extend the length of the boremainly by doublefolding this section.

Materials:Most saxophones, both pastand present, are made frombrass. Despite this, they arecategorized as woodwindinstruments rather than brass,as the sound waves areproduced by an oscillatingreed, not the player's lipsagainst a mouthpiece as in abrass instrument, andbecause different pitches areproduced by opening andclosing keys. Brass is used tomake the body of theinstrument; the pad cups; therods that connect the pads tothe keys; the keysthemselves and the posts thathold the rods and keys in

place. The screw pins that connect the rods to the posts, and the needle springs and leafsprings that cause the keys to return to their rest position after being released, aregenerally made of blued or stainless steel. Since 1920, most saxophones have 'keytouches' (smooth decorative pieces placed where the fingers touch the instrument) madefrom either plastic or mother of pearl.Other materials have been tried with varying degrees of success, such as the 1950sGrafton plastic alto saxophone. A few companies, such as Yanagisawa and BauhausWalstein, have made some saxophone models from phosphor bronze because of itsslightly different tonal qualities. For example, although their designs are identical apartfrom the metal used, the bronze Yanagisawa A992 saxophones are said to sound"darker" than the brass versions. Yanagisawa and other manufacturers, starting with theKing Super 20 around 1950, have made saxophone necks, bells, or entire instrumentsfrom sterling silver. Keilwerth and P. Mauriat have made saxes with a nickel silver bodylike that of a flute[. The effect of material on sound is controversial among sax players,and little solid research has been published.After completing the instrument, manufacturers usually apply a thin coating of clear orcolored acrylic lacquer, or silver plate, over the bare brass. The lacquer or plating servesto protect the brass from oxidation, and maintains its shiny appearance. Several differenttypes and colors of surface finish have been used over the years.It is also possible toplate the instrument with nickel or gold, and a number of goldplated saxophones havebeen produced.Plating saxophones with gold is an expensive process because gold willnot stick directly to brass. As a result, the brass is first coated with silver (which willstick to it) and then goldplated on top.Some argue that the type of lacquer or plating, or absence thereof, may enhance aninstrument's tone quality. The possible effects of different finishes on tone is a hotly

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debated topic, not least because other variables may affect an instrument's tone colorse.g. mouthpiece design and physical characteristics of the player. In any case, whatconstitutes a pleasing tone is a matter of personal preference and tastes vary.

Uses:

saxophone first gained popularity in theniche it was designed for: the militaryband. Although the instrument wasstudiously ignored in Germany, Frenchand Belgian military bands took fulladvantage of the instrument that Saxhad designed specifically for them.Most French and Belgian militarybands incorporate at least a quartet ofsaxophones comprising at least the Ebaritone, B tenor, E alto and B soprano. These four instruments have proved themost popular of all of Sax's creations, with the E contrabass and B bass usuallyconsidered impractically large and the E sopranino insufficiently powerful. Britishmilitary bands tend to include at minimum two saxophonists on the alto and tenor.The saxophone has more recently found a niche in both concert band and big bandmusic, which often calls for the E baritone, B tenor and E alto. Also, the B sopranois also occasionally utilised, in which case it will normally be played by the first altosaxophonist. The bass saxophone in B is called for in band music (especially music byPercy Grainger) and big band orchestrations, especially music performed by the StanKenton "Mellophonium Orchestra". In the 1920s the bass saxophone was used often inclassic jazz recordings, since at that time it was easier to record than a tuba or doublebass. It is also used in the original score (and movie) of Leonard Bernstein's West SideStory. The saxophone has been more recently introduced into the symphony orchestra,where it has found increased popularity. In one or other size, the instrument has beenfound a useful accompaniment to genres as wideranging as opera, choral music andchamber pieces. Many musical scores include parts for the saxophone, usually eitherdoubling another woodwind or brass instrument. In this way the sax serves as a middlepoint between woodwinds and brass, helping to blend the two sectionsg

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Sarangi

Description:The sarangi is the most popular bowed instrument of India. Like the sitar, the sarangi'shistory is quite old. This instrument began as a voice accompaniment, but gained areputation as a wonderful solo instrument. The sarangi, when played by a master, iscapable of closely imitating the nuances of the human voice.

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This instrument is made of a block of tun wood, with a goat skin stretched over the body.There are 3 main playing strings and 30 to 40 sypathetic strings.The technique used to play the sarangi is to play the main strings with the tops of thefingernails of the left hand. It is bowed with a heavy bow like the ones used for the esrajand dilruba.

History:The history of evolution of Sarangi is in itself a tale of romantic hues. Legend has it thatonce, long long ago, a hakim (a physician), weary and footsore from his travels, lay downto rest under a tree when his ears were assailed by melodious notes emanating from theforest denseness. A search revealed the driedup hide of a dead monkey stretched overthe branches of a tree. As the gentle winds caressed the hide, melodic sounds waftedforth. Thus, believe the faithful, was born Sarangi. In its other ramifications, the chiefrole in this tame is attributed to a disciple of the great Pythagoras, an Egyptian namedBoo Ali Ibn Sina.Legends apart, however, no authentic account of the development of the sarangi isavailable. By inference, it may be assumed that it evolved, like most of the other knownIndian instruments, from the Dhanuryantram (bow and arrow) used by primitive tribes forhunting, as also to signal the advent of the enemy. Descriptions in Ramayana and the

Mahabharat of thereverberating sounds ofRama's bow, Sharang andArjun's bow, Gandeeva whichare said to have demoralizedthe enemy camp, lend color tothis inference. It is believedthat this particular sound laterinspired the design and shapeof the bowed instrumentsused by primitive tribes. Thecurvature of the bow providedthe idea of constructing thebody of the instrument andconnecting both ends with gutstring. Primitive Man usedintestines of wild animals to

make the strings. There are indications that the horsetail hair was also used tomanufacture the bows.From the point of view of shape and structure, the ancient musical instrument without thefrets known as Ghosvati or Ghoshak Veena, was perhaps the closest to the later daysarangi. In more modern paralance, the Pinaki Veena, a gutstring bowing instrumentdescribed in sarang Deva's Sangeet Ratnakar (13 A.D.) bears close resemblance to thesarangi we know.We find that practically all over India instruments very akin to the sarangi have been invogue. Unlike the more polished and perfectly shaped sarangi poularly used today, theseinstruments known as the ravana hatha in Western India, kingri in Maharashtra andAndhra Pradesh, kunju in Kerela, pen in Manipur, kamayanch in Rajasthan and banamand kenara in Orissa, were made of ordinary wood or coconut shell, devoid of allornamentation.The other variations of the same theme are saran in jammu and Kashmir with two steel

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and two gut strings andnineteen subsidiary strings(Taral) with the resonatorbeing covered with sheep orgoat skin; the Sindhi Sarangi,the Jogia Sarangi, theGujaratan Sarangi and AlabuSarangi.The introduction of sarangiinto the classical tradition hasbeen slow process though itwould seem to haveestablished its credentials asan incomaprableaccompanying instrumenteven in this sphere as early as the days of the great Tansen. As the veena acquired solostatus, the range and pitch of the sarangi, the power and sensitivity of its tonal qualities,and its rare capacity for reproducing the gamak, so indispensable to the singing of thekhayal, dhrupad and thumri of Hindustani Music, made it a natural successor to veena.Unfortunately for sarangi, in the very process of it's induction into the classical traditionhave lain the seeds of neglect and the threat of oblivion in the future. With the patronageof Hindustani classical music passing into the royal courts, and the emergence of Kothasand havelis as an integral part of the Nawabi way of life, the sarangi became identifiedwith the mehfils and tawaifs (dancing girls). An ample illustration of the travails of thesarangi player is the fact that some of the all time greats of Hindustani music like AbdulKarim Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Amir Khan who had begun their artistic careersas sarangi players had to disown their past on their path to fame.In 16th and 17th century, sarangiplaying bards, singing religious songs and heroicballads, began flocking to the Indian cities. They were at best tolerated and could in noway compete with the more established beenkars and rababiyas. A decent living couldperhaps be made by teaching and accompanying the vocalists.

Playing the Sarangi:The bow is held palm upwards. It is drawn across the main strings, just above the bridge.The fingers of the left hand note the strings. This is done by pressing and sliding thebottom of the fingernail against the side of the string. Players often use talcum powder ontheir palms to facilitate the gliding of the hand up and down the neck. The gliding of yournails along the strings creates the sound characteristic of Hindustani music.

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Voilin

The viola (pronounced /viˈoʊlә/ or /vaɪˈoʊlә/[1]) is a bowed string instrument. It is themiddle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.The casual observer may mistake the viola for the violin because of their similarity insize, closeness in pitch range (the viola is a perfect fifth below the violin), and nearlyidentical playing position. However, the viola's timbre sets it apart: its rich, darktonedsonority is more fullbodied than the violin's. As its mellow voice is frequently used forplaying inner harmonies, the viola does not enjoy the wide solo repertoire or fame of theviolin.

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Form of theviola:The viola is similar in materialand construction to the violinbut is larger in size and morevariable in its proportions. A"fullsize" viola's body isbetween one and four incheslonger than the body of a fullsize violin (i.e., between 15and 18 inches (38 and 46cm)), with an average lengthof about 16 inches (41 cm).Small violas made for childrentypically start at 12 inches (30cm), which is equivalent to ahalfsize violin. Often, afractionalsized violin will be

strung with the strings of a viola (C, G, D and A) for those children who need evensmaller sizes.[2] Unlike the violin, the viola does not have a standard full size. The bodyof a viola would need to measure about 21 inches (53 cm) long to match the acoustics ofa violin, making it impractical to play in the same manner as the violin.[3] For centuries,viola makers have experimented with the size and shape of the viola, often tweaking theproportions or shape of the instrument to make an instrument with a shorter scale lengthand lighter weight, but that still has a large enough sound box to create an unmistakable"viola sound."Experiments with the size of the viola have tended to increase it in the interest ofimproving the instrument's sound. These include Hermann Ritter's "viola alta", aninstrument measuring about 18.9 inches (48 cm) intended for use in Richard Wagner'soperas.[4] The Tertis modelviola, which has wider boutsand deeper ribs to promote abetter viola tone, is anotherslightly "nonstandard" shapethat allows the player to use alarger instrument. Manyexperiments with the acousticsof a viola, particularlyincreasing the size of the body,result in a much deeper tone ofthe instrument, making theinstrument resemble the toneof a cello. Since manycomposers wrote for atraditionalsized viola, changesin the tone of a viola,particularly in orchestral music,can have unintendedconsequences on the balance in ensembles.More recent (and more radically shaped) innovations address the ergonomic problems ofplaying the viola by making it shorter and lighter while finding ways to keep the traditionalsound. These include Otto Erdesz "cutaway" viola (which has one shoulder cut out tomake shifting easier);[the "Oak Leaf" viola (which has two extra bouts); viol shapedviolas like Joseph Curtin's "Evia" model (which also utilizes a moveable neck and amapleveneered carbon fiber back to reduce weight):[6] violas played in the same manneras cellos (see vertical viola); and the eyecatching "Dalíesque" shapes of both BernardSabatier's violas in fractional sizes (which appear to have melted) and of David Rivinus'"Pellegrina" model violas.Other experiments besides those dealing with the "ergonomics vs. sound" problem haveappeared. American composer Harry Partch fitted a viola with a cello neck to allow theuse of his 43tone scale. Luthiers have also created fivestringed violas, which allow agreater playing range. Modern music is played on these instruments, but viol music canbe played as well.

Playing the viola:A person who plays the viola is called a violist or simply a viola player. While it is similar

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to the violin, the techniquerequired for playing viola hasmany differences. Thedifference in size accounts forsome of the technicaldifferences, as notes are spreadout farther along the fingerboardoften requiring differentfingerings. The less responsivestrings and heavier bow warranta somewhat different bowingtechnique. The viola requiresthe player to lean moreintensely on the stringscompared to the violin.Compared to violin, the violawill generally have a larger bodyas well as a longer string length,which is why younger violists or

even some old tend to get smaller sized violas for easier playing. The most immediatelynoticeable adjustments a player accustomed to playing violin has to make are to usewiderspaced fingerings. It is common for some players to use a wider and more intensevibrato in the left hand facilitated by employing the fleshier pad of the finger rather thanthe tip, and to hold the bow and right arm farther away from the player's body. The playermust also bring the left elbow farther forward or around, so as to reach the lowest string.This allows the fingers to be firm and create a clearer tone. Unless the violist is giftedwith especially large hands, different fingerings are often used, including frequent use ofhalf position and shifting position, where on the violin staying in one place would suffice.The viola is generally strung with thicker strings than the violin. This, combined with itslarger size and lower pitch range, results in a deeper and mellower tone. However, thethicker strings also mean that the viola "speaks" more slowly than its soprano cousin.Practically speaking, if a violist and violinist are playing together, the violist must beginmoving the bow a fraction of a second sooner than the violinist to produce a sound thatstarts at the same moment as the violinist's sound. The thicker strings also mean thatmore weight must be applied with the bow to make them speak. Bow frogs, top to bottom: violin, viola, celloThe viola bow has a wider band of horsehair than a violin bow, particularly noticeablenear the frog (or "heel" in the UK). Viola bows (70 to 74 g) are heavier than violin bows(58 to 61 g). The profile of the outside corner of a viola bow frog generally is rounded,compared to the rectangular corner usually seen on violin bows.

Tuning:The viola's four strings arenormally tuned in fifths: C3(an octave below middle C) isthe lowest, with G3, D4 andA4 above it. This tuning isexactly one fifth below theviolin, so that they have threestrings in common—G, D, and

A—and is one octave above the cello. Although the violin and viola have three stringstuned the same, the tone quality or sound color is markedly different.Violas are tuned by turning the pegs near the scroll, which the strings are wrappedaround. Tightening the string raises the pitch; loosening the string lowers the pitch. The Astring is normally tuned first, typically to 440 Hz or 442 Hz (see pitch). The other stringsare then tuned to it in intervals of perfect fifths, bowing two strings simultaneously. Mostviolas also have adjusters (also called fine tuners) that are used to make finer changes.These permit the tension of the string to be adjusted by rotating a small knob at theopposite end of the string, at the tailpiece. Such tuning is generally easier to learn thanusing the pegs, and adjusters are usually recommended for younger players and put onsmaller violas, although they are usually used in conjunction with one another. Adjusterswork best, and are most useful, on higher tension metal strings. It is common to use oneon the A string even if the others are not equipped with them. The picture on the rightshows normal stringing of the pegs. Some violists reverse the stringing of the C and G

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pegs, so the thicker C string does not turn so severe an angle over the nut, although thisis uncommon. Small, temporary tuning adjustments can also bemade by stretching a string with the hand. Astring may be tuned down by pulling it above thefingerboard, or tuned up by pressing the part ofthe string in the pegbox. These techniques maybe useful in performance, reducing the ill effectsof an outoftune string until an opportunity totune properly.The tuning CGDA is used for the greatmajority of all viola music. However, othertunings are occasionally employed both inclassical music (where the technique is knownas scordatura) and in some folk styles. Mozart,in his Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola andOrchestra, which is in E flat, wrote the viola partin D major and specified that the viola stringswere to be raised in pitch by a semitone; hisintention was probably to give the viola a brightertone to avoid it being overpowered by the rest of the ensemble. Lionel Tertis, in histranscription of the Elgar cello concerto, wrote the slow movement with the C stringtuned down to B flat, enabling the viola to play one passage an octave lower.Occasionally the C string may also be tuned up to D.

Violists:here are only a few truly well known viola virtuosi, perhaps because little virtuoso violamusic was written before the twentieth century. The most important viola pioneers fromthe twentieth century were Lionel Tertis, William Primrose, Paul Hindemith, ThéophileLaforge, Cecil Aronowitz, Maurice Vieux, Vadim Borisovsky, Lillian Fuchs, FrederickRiddle, Walter Trampler, Ernst Wallfisch, and Emanuel Vardi, the first violist to record the24 Caprices by Paganini on viola. Many noted violinists have publicly performed andrecorded on the viola as well, among them Eugène Ysaÿe, Yehudi Menuhin, DavidOistrakh, Pinchas Zukerman, Maxim Vengerov, Julian Rachlin and Nigel Kennedy.Among the great composers, several preferred the viola to the violin when playing inensembles,[8] the most noted being Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach[9]and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Numerous other composers also chose to play the violain ensembles, including Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, AntonínDvořák, and Benjamin Britten. Among those noted both as violists and as composers areRebecca Clarke and Paul Hindemith. Contemporary composer and violist Kenji Bunchhas written a number of viola solos.The term "violist" is not used universally in English; some players, generally British,prefer "viola player", as the word "violist" is used in the UK to mean "player of the viol".

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Sitar

The sitar (Hindi: सतार, Bengali: 敓祲সতার, Urdu: ستار, Persian: سی تار ) is a plucked stringedinstrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has beenubiquitous since the Middle Ages. It derives its resonance from sympathetic strings, along hollow neck and a gourd resonating chamber.Used throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Northern India, Pakistan, andBangladesh, the sitar became known in the western world through the work of PanditRavi Shankar beginning in the late 1950s, particularly after George Harrison of TheBeatles took lessons from Shankar and Shambhu Das and played sitar in songs including

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"Norwegian Wood (This BirdHas Flown)". Shortly after,The Rolling Stones used sitarin "Paint It Black" and a brieffad began for using theinstrument in pop songs.

Etymology andhistory:In his Bharatiya Sangeet

Vadya Dr. Lalmani Misra traces its development from the tritantri veena through thenibaddh and anibaddh tanpuras and later the jantra. Construction of the similar tanpurawas described by Tansen. During the time of Moghul rule Persian lutes were played atcourt and may have provided a basis of the sitar. However, there is no physical evidencefor the sitar until the time of the collapse of the Mughal Empire.The Sitar also said to have been developed in the thirteenth century AD by "Amir Khusro"(Ab'ul Hasan Yamīn alDīn Khusrow Dehlavi, the Muslim saint of Delhi) from a memberof the veena family of Indian musical instruments called the tritantri veena and to havebeen named by him after the Persian setar.The sitar is, like the setar, a member of thelute family while the north Indian veena is a zither, but it shares the veena's resonatinggourds and sympathetic strings. There are doubts about Sitar being invented by AmirKhusro as he does not mention the sitar (no evidence to support he invented Sitar) but hedoes mention the tanbur and, by the mid 18th century, Indian tanburs were referred to assitars.

Tuning:Tuning depends on the sitarist's school or style, tradition and each artist's personalpreference. Generally, the main playing string is tuned to the tonic of a piece which iscalled Sa or vaad and the drone strings both to that tone and to the samvaad or second

note, which is usually theperfect fifth. The sympatheticstrings are tuned to the notesof the raga being played:although there is slightstylistic variance as to theorder of these, typically theyare tuned:I Sa= C,VII Ni= B,

Mechanics

The mechanics of a sitar:The sitar's curved frets are movable, allowing fine tuning, and raised so that sympatheticstrings (tarb, also known as "taarif" or "tarafdaar") can run underneath them. A sitar canhave 21, 22, or 23 strings, among them six or seven played strings which run over thefrets: the Gandhaarpancham sitar (used by Vilayat Khan and his disciples) has sixplayable strings, whereas the Kharajpancham sitar, used in the Maihar gharana ,to whichPt. Ravi Shankar belongs, has seven. Three of these (or four on a Kharajpancham sitar),called the chikaari, simply provide a drone: the rest are used to play the melody, thoughthe first string (baajtaar) is most used.The instrument has two bridges; the large bridge (badaa goraa) for the playing and dronestrings and the small bridge (chota goraa) for the sympathetic strings. Its timbre resultsfrom the way the strings interact with the wide, sloping bridge. As a string reverberatesits length changes slightly as its edge touches the bridge, promoting the creation ofovertones and giving the sound its distinctive tone. The maintenance of this specific tone

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by shaping the bridge is calledjawari. Many musicians relyon instrument makers toadjust this.Materials used in constructioninclude teak wood or tun wood(Cedrela tuna), which is avariation of mahogany, for theneck and faceplate (tabli), andgourds for the kaddu (the mainresonating chamber). Theinstrument's bridges are madeof deer horn, ebony, or veryoccasionally from camel bone.Synthetic material is nowcommon as well. The sitarmay have a secondaryresonator, the tumbaa, nearthe top of its hollow neck.

Playing:A sitar workshop in Islamabad, Pakistan.The instrument is balanced between the player's left foot and right knee. The hands movefreely without having to carry any of the instrument's weight. The player plucks the stringusing a metallic pick or plectrum called a mizraab. The thumb stays anchored on the topof the fretboard just above the main gourd. Generally only the index and middle fingersare used for fingering although a few players occasionally use the third. A specializedtechnique called "meand" involves pulling the main melody string down over the bottomportion of the sitar's curved frets, with which the sitarist can achieve a 7 semitone rangeof microtonal notes (it should be noted, however, that because of the sitar's movable

frets, sometimes a fret may beset to a microtone already, andno bending would be required).

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Tabala

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The tabla (or tabl, tabla)(Hindi: तबला, Marathi: तबला,Kannada: ತಬಲ, Telugu: తబల,Tamil: தேபலா, Bengali:তবলা, Nepali: तबला, Urdu: طبلہ,Arabic: طبل، طبلة) is a popularIndian percussion instrumentused in Hindustani classicalmusic and in popular anddevotional music of the Indiansubcontinent. The instrumentconsists of a pair of handdrums of contrasting sizesand timbres. The term tabla isderived from an Arabic word,

tabl, which simply means "drum." Playing technique involves extensive use of the fingers and palms in variousconfigurations to create a wide variety of different sounds, reflected in the mnemonicsyllables (bol). The heel of the hand is used to apply pressure or in a sliding motion onthe larger drum so that the pitch is changed during the sound decay.

History:The history of this instrument is uncertain, and has been the subject of sometimesheated debate. Rebecca Stewart suggested it was most likely a hybrid resulting from theexperiments with existing drums such as pakhawaj, dholak and naqqara. The origins oftabla repertoire and technique may be found in all three and in physical structure there arealso elements of all three: the smaller pakhawaj head for the dayan, the naqqarakettledrum for the bayan, and the flexible use of the bass of the dholak.

Sitar player Shahid Parvez Khan at a concert accompanied by the great Tabla wizard ofthe Benaras Gharana Pandit Samta PrasadA common legendary account[3] credits the 13th century Indian poet Amir Khusrau as theinventor by splitting the single South Indian mrudangam drum into two or the North Indianpakhawaj in two. ('toda, tab bhi bola tabla': 'When broke, it still spoke' a fairly wellknown Hindi pun) None of his writings on music mention the drum, but this apparenttradition of late invention, combined with the absence of the instrument in South Indianmusic, and that the tabla closely resembles a Mrudangam cut into two,the closedended,paired design that relates it to the Western claydrums and tympani, altogether supportsthe view that the tabla is a comparatively recent development in northern Indian music.Other accounts place the invention of this instrument in the 18th century, and the firstverifiable player of this drum was Ustad Suddhar Khan of Delhi.The Muktesvara temple (6th7th century) and Bhuranesvara (and three other cavetemples) of Badari in Bombay (6th century) contain depictions of the puskara drum.Musicians often placed thepuskara's smaller verticaldrum (called 'alinga'), on theirlap and played more than onedrum at a time. Similarregional instruments includethe Punjabi dukkar, theKashmiri dukra, the duggi ineastern Uttar Pradesh, andthe mridangam. Themridangam (Southernequivalent of the Northernpakhavaj) is the principal drumin Carnatic music. The dhol(dholak) of easternAfghanistan is related in termsof both construction andplaying style. The maindistinction of the tabla is the

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pairing of two different types of singleheaded drums, whereas the dukkar, dukra, andduggi are pairs of the same type and the mridangam and dhol are doubleheaded, barrelshaped drums.

Nomenclature and construction:The smaller drum, played with the dominant hand, is sometimes called dayan (lit. "right";a.k.a. dāhina, siddha, chattū) but is correctly called the "tabla." It is made from a conicalpiece of mostly teak and rosewood hollowed out to approximately half of its total depth.The drum is tuned to a specific note, usually either the tonic, dominant or subdominantof the soloist's key and thus complements the melody. The tuning range is limitedalthough different dāyāñs are produced in different sizes, each with a different range.Cylindrical wood blocks, known as ghatta, are inserted between the strap and the shellallowing tension to be adjusted by their vertical positioning. Fine tuning is achieved whilestriking vertically on the braided portion of the head using a small hammer.The larger drum, played with the other hand, is called bāyāñ (lit. "left"; a.k.a. dagga,duggī, dhāmā). The bāyāñ has a much deeper bass tone, much like its distant cousin,the kettle drum. The bāyāñ may be made of any of a number of materials. Brass is themost common, copper is more expensive, but generally held to be the best, whilealuminum and steel are often found in inexpensive models. One sometimes finds thatwood is used, especially in old bāyāñs from the Punjab. Clay is also used, although notfavored for durability; these are generally found in the NorthEast region of Bengal.Both drum shells are covered with a head (or puri) constructed from goat or cow skin. Anouter ring of skin (keenar) is overlaid on the main skin and serves to suppress some of

the natural overtones. These two skins are bound together witha complex woven braid that gives the assembly enoughstrength to be tensioned on the shell. The head is affixed to thedrum shell with a single cow or camel hide strap laced betweenthe braid of the head assembly and another ring (made from thesame strap material) placed on the bottom of the drum.The head of each drum has an inner called the Syahi (lit. "ink";a.k.a. shāī or gāb). This is constructed using multiple layers ofa paste made from starch (rice or wheat) mixed with a black

powder of various origins. The precise construction and shaping of this area isresponsible for modification of the drum's natural overtones, resulting in the clarity ofpitch and variety of tonal possibilities unique to this instrument. The skill required for theproper construction of this area is highly refined and is the main differentiating factor inthe quality of a particular instrument.

Gharānā — tabla tradition:The term gharānā is used to specify a lineage of teaching and repertoire in Indianclassical music. Most performers and scholars recognize two styles of tabla gharana:Dilli Baj and Purbi Baj. Dilli (or Delhi) baj comes from the style that developed in Delhi,and Purbi (meaning eastern) baj developed in the area east of Delhi. Delhi Baj is alsoknown as Chati baj (Chati is a part of Tabla from where special tone can be produced).Musicians then recognize six gharānās – schools or traditions – of tabla. These traditionsappeared or evolved in presumably[citation needed] the following order:Delhi gharānāLucknow gharānāAjrara gharānā, later followed byFarukhabad gharānāBenares gharānāPunjab gharānā Other tabla performers have identified further derivations of theabove traditions, but these are subjective claims not universallyrecognized.[citation needed] Some traditions indeed have sublineages and substyles that meet the criteria to warrant aseparate gharānā name, but such sociomusical identities havenot taken hold in the public discourse of Hindustani art music,such as the Qasur lineage of tabla players of the Punjab region.Each gharānā is traditionally set apart from the others by unique aspects of thecompositional and playing styles of its exponents. For instance, some gharānās havedifferent tabla positioning and bol techniques. In the days of court patronage thepreservation of these distinctions was important in order to maintain the prestige of the

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sponsoring court. Gharānā secrets were closely guarded and often only passed alongfamily lines. Being born into or marrying into a lineage holding family was often the onlyway to gain access to this knowledge.Today many of these gharānā distinctions have been blurred as information has beenmore freely shared and newer generations of players have learned and combined aspectsfrom multiple gharānās to form their own styles. There is much debate as to whether theconcept of gharānā even still applies to modern players. Some think the era of gharānāhas effectively come to an end as the unique aspects of each gharānā have been mostlylost through the mixing of styles and the socioeconomic difficulties of maintaininglineage purity through rigorous training.Nonetheless the greatness of each gharānā can still be observed through study of itstraditional material and, when accessible, recordings of its great players. The currentgeneration of traditionally trained masters still hold vast amounts of traditionalcompositional knowledge and expertise.This body of compositional knowledge and the intricate theoretical basis which informs itis still actively being transmitted from teacher to student all over the world. In addition tothe instrument itself, the term tabla is often used in reference to this knowledge and theprocess of its transmission.

Tabla terminology:Ustad a master of the tabla technique and gharana, or school. Hindus are referred to asPandit.Gharana any of the six schools (Punjab, Delhi, Benares, Ajrara, Lucknow, Farukhabad)of tabla.Syahi the black spots on the tabla, also called gab. Composed of a dried paste derivedfrom iron filings and applied in several separate layers to the head of the drum.Sometimes called the shyani.Keenar the outer ring of skin on the head of each of the two tabla drums. In Hindi,known as the chat.Sur The area between the gaab and the keenar. In Hindi, known as the maidan.bol both mnemonic syllables and a series of notes produced when stroked. E.g. Na, tin,Dha, Dhin, Ge, Ke, etc.Theka a standard series of bols that form the rhythmic basis of tabla accompaniment fora given tala.Rela a sort of rapid drumroll.Chutta the cushions used when placing the tabla.Baj, Baaj, or Baaz a style of playing, different from the gharānā. Two main stylesdeveloped, Purbi Baj and Dilli Baj. Dilli, or Delhi, baj is the *style of bols and playing thatoriginated in the city of Delhi. Purbi (meaning "eastern") developed in the area east ofdelhi. Both have different ways to play bols.Bāyāñ or Duggi The metal drum providing the bass notes in tabla.Dayan or Tabla The wooden drum providing the treble notes in tabla.Lay (or Laya) tempo.tala meter. Example: Dadra Tala, Ada Chautal, Teental, and the most common,keherwa.Vibhag Section of a tabla taal where bols can be placed.Tali A vibhag signified by a clap.Khali A vibhag signified by waving of the hands.Ghatta Wooden dowels used to control the tension.

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