Indian Music Instruments

·          DEFINITION AND TERMINOLOGY:

A musical instrument is any device that produces frequencies which help in creating musical expressions- melodic, rhythmic or both. According to Indian music philosophy, the term ‘Sangeet’ includes vocal music, dance as well as ‘instrumental music’. In Indian music, the term for a musical instrument is ‘vadya’, however in ancient Indian texts, the terms ‘atodya’, ‘turya’ and ‘karuvi’ are found to refer to music al instruments.

·         BRIEF HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC INSTRUMENTS:

• Pre-historically speaking, cave paintings show traces of the existence of instruments. Also flute-like instruments made out of bones have been excavated from certain sites.
• Proto-historically, the harappan civilization shows traces of musical instruments. Whistles made of clay along with cymbals and castanets were excavated.  By observing the seals and sculptures one can state the existence of damru like instruments, drums and harps.
• Written records on instruments was first found in the vedic texts, which mention instruments like aghati (type of cymbals), bhoomi dundubhi, dundubhi, vanaspati, adambara, lambara (all types of drums), toonav and nadi (types of flutes), vana, kandha, godha (types of string instruments).
• Ancient scriptures and Sanskrit epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata mention instruments like: noopur, bheri, dundubhi, mridanga, pataha, shankh, venu, vallaki. Even in Tamil texts of sangam literature instruments like yazha (harp), kuzha (flute) and manddalam (drum).
• In the medieval age, the emergence of a new culture with the Islamic invasion saw the birth of instruments like daff, sitar, sarod and shehnai.
• With European colonization in India, western instruments found a place in the world of Indian instruments. One such instrument which is till date popular in the field of Classical music is the violin. It is generally agreed upon that Baluswami Dikshitar of Madras introduced in Carnatic music after having learnt it from the European band master stationed at St. George fort in Madras. Foreign instruments like the clarinet and the harmonium too found their way in the sphere of Indian music culture.

·         CLASSIFICATION OF INSTRUMENTS:

Many scholars tried to classify musical instruments on various bases. Let us discuss certain classifications proposed by Indian sources and foreign sources:

•  According to Chinese sources, the musical instruments can be classified according to the material from which they are made: kin (metal), che (stone), t’u (earth), chu (bamboo).
•  Pt. Sharangdev, an Indian scholar living in the 13^th century classified the instruments according to their utility: shushka (instruments used for solo-performances), geetanuga (instruments used to accompany a song), nrityanuga (instruments used to accompany a dance).
•  Rishi Bharata who is believed to have lived between 2 BCE and 2 CE, gave a unique classification of instruments in his treatise named Natyashastra. He divided the instruments into four categories:

Tantu Vadya	Sushir Vadya aka Vayuja: (vayu= wind; ja= origin/born out of)	Avanadh Vadya aka Charmaja (charma=skin, ja= origin/born out of)	Ghana Vadya aka Lauhaja (Lauha=metal, ja= origin/born out of)
They are the instruments with strings (mostly melodic in nature)	They are wind instruments (mostly melodic in nature)	They are drum-like instruments that have been made by using animal skin on a hollow body	They are the instruments made up of solid substance like metal or clay.

 Do watch my video to know the instruments that come under these categories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgV6X3KenGA&feature=youtu.be 

• In the 19^th century, a Western music scholar by the name Mahillon, used a similar concept to classify music instruments, he called the string instruments as ‘chordophones’, wind instruments as ‘aerophones’, skinned-percussion instruments as ‘membrophones’ and solid-percussion instruments as ‘idiophones’.
•   Some authors have tried to classify the instruments in a slighty different manner. One has classified instruments into tat, vitat and tat-vitat. Another has classified it into charma (leather), tantrika (string) and Ghana. Kohala’ before the 6^th Century CE classified instruments as sushir, charmabaddha (leather-bound) and tantri.
•   In the Sangam literature of Tamil (2^nd to 6^th century CE), 5 categories of instruments are mentioned:

§Tole karuvi (leather  instruments)

§  Narampu karuvi (instruments made of gut)

§  Tulai karuvi (instruments with holes)

§  Kancha karuvi (metal instruments)

§  Mitatra karuvi (human voice).

Reference:
1. Bandopadhyaya, S., Musical Instruments of India. Delhi: Chaukham Oriental Research Studies
2. Deva, B. C., Musical Instruments. New Delhi: National Book Trust, India, July, 1977