Sarangi

The name Sarangi is said to mean 'sau rang' (100 colours) or 'sa rang'(colours whatever it touches).It is the most important bowed bowed instrument of North Indian music.Like most stringed instruments the sarangi has a wooden sound box.It's fingerboard is without frets and the sarangi is therefore a blind instrument.The ivory bridge through which the strings pass is placed upon leather parchment that is streached across the bottom half of the sound box.The sarangi has three main playing strings made of gut and thirty-six resonating (or sympathetic) metal strings,which are tuned to the notes of the particular Raga being played.This instrument is not played by stopping the strings with the fingers but is played with the fingernails.This allows subtle glides and embellishments, which are so close to the human voice.

Guru Hargobind Shahib promoted the use of the sarangi through Dhadee's(heroic ballad singers).

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Dilruba

The Taus, a failrly large and heavy instrument, was designed and created by the tenth Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh. The Sikhs approached Guru Gobind Singh and suggested that its size and weight can create a problem in mobility for the Saint-Warriors. Upon request the Guru gave the Sikhs permission to scale down the size and design of the taus. The resulting instrument came in the shape of what is now known as the dilruba (a Persian word meaning ‘heart stealer’).

Early instruments were decorated with gildwork and the gaj bore two or three tassles, usually red or green, on one or both ends. These instruments have a subtle, majestic look.

The dilruba is one of the most popular stringed instruments in the North of India and, like the taus, is a clever combination of the sitar and the sarangi. The fingerboard with the frets very much resembles the sitar. The belly of the instrument is covered with skin like a Sarangi and, like the Sarangi and Taus, it is played with a bow (gaj). The main difference from the Taus is the lack of the artistic peacock head and design of the body.

The stem of the dilruba contains eighteen or nineteen elliptical frets which are movable. They are tied to the stem by means of thin pieces of gut so that the frets can be moved according to the scale of the raga being played. The bridge is placed on the skin-covered body, over which all the main and sympathetic strings pass. Of the four main strings, the last is the principal playing string. There are about twenty-two sympathetic strings or tarabs running underneath the frets and fastened to a series of pegs on the side.

The bowing is done with the right hand while the fingers of the left hand are used to play over the strings. The frets on the dilruba are meant only to guide the player in locating the correct position of the notes. The dilruba is held vertically, the lower portion on the lap of the performer or in front of him and the top resting against the left shoulder.

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Pakhawaj

Pakhawaj is essentially a north Indian version of the mridangam and is the most common north Indian representative of the class of barrel shaped drums known as mridang. The Pakhawaj is a long bodied wooden drum with both ends covered in skin and is the most traditional drum of North India. Played horizontally with the fingers and palms of both hands, the right hand surface is tuned to the pitch required and the left hand surface provides the base.

It has a right head which is identical to tabla except somewhat larger. The left head is similar to the tabla bayan except that there is a temporary application of flour and water instead of the black permanent spot. It is laced with rawhide and has tuning blocks placed between the straps and shell.

Pakhawaj compositions are passed down from generation to generation. Like the tabla, they are taught by a series of mnemonic syllables known as bol. There are major differences between the tabla bols and the pakhawaj bols. This is often confusing to musicians who wish to play pakhawaj compositions on the tabla.

The playing position is easy. For the right-handed person, the smaller end is placed on the right hand and the larger side is placed on the left side. the right side is usually raised slightly by placing a small rolled up piece of cloth under it. The whole is place in front of the musician.

It was once common throughout north India, but in the last few generations tabla has usurped its position of importance.

The pictures of original pakhawaj (left), and Sikh Pakhawaj (right) are below.

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Rabaab

The Rabaab is a plucked instrument made of wood. It has a double belly, the first being covered with parchment and the second with wood. There are four strings and a number of sympathetic metal strings run beneath the main strings. There are four or five frets made of gut tied round the fingerboard at semitonic intervals and the instrument is played with a plectrum.

The Rabab has a special significance for the Sikhs since Guru Nanak’s friend and companion Mardana played it when the Guru sung his divine shabads.

The pictures of Sikh Rabab (left) and Afghan Rabab are below.

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Tanpura

Tanpura is a drone instrument with four strings, three of steel and the fourth of brass. This is the basic and the most vital of Indian classical musical instruments.The appearance of the tanpura is very similar to the sitar but it only has four or five strings and is not plucked but stroked.The strings are passed through a wood or ivory bridge on the belly and are attached to tuning pegs at the top of the instrument. The unique sound that this instrument produces is due to small strings made of wool placed between the strings and the bridge.This instrument is tuned usually to the tonic and its fourth or fifth or even the seventh.

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Tabla

Tabla is the most popular percussion instrument of Hindustani music. It consists of a pair of drums, of which one is the treble (dayan) and the other the bass (bayan). Together they produce a fine texture of sound. The dhrupad and the dhammar alone use the pakhawaj. All other forms of Hindustani classical music use the tabla. The basic tonic note is tuned on the right drum and the left is tuned to an octave below. This kind of double drum combination is believed to have been devised by Hazrat Amir Khusro.

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Santoor

The Santoor is a North Indian instrument originating from Kashmir. It is a hollow trapezoid box over which strings of varying length are stretched. The wide side faces the performer and the strings run parallel to the longer side. It has more than a hundred strings and produces a powerful resonating sound. Tapping the strings with small wooden hammers held in both the hands produces its sound.

Origin

Santoor is a Persian word , and it means a hundred strains. It is the oldest known string instrument of India. In Sanskrit it is called the shata tantri veena or "a hundred-stringed lute". The word 'veena' was used to describe all stringed instruments where the sound is created by maneuvering the taut string of a bow. Presumably, the itinerant musicians and gypsies carried this instrument in their wanderings across the continents of Asia and Europe, giving rise to a variety of instruments that are similar in nature. In the music encyclopedias the santoor is found under the category of hammered dulcimer. Popular by the similar name Santour in Iran, Iraq and Turkey, it is a 72 stringed instrument. In China, it is the Yang-Qin with 45 strings, and the German version Hackbrett has 135 strings. The Santoori in Greece, the Kentele in Finland and the Cimbalon or Zymbalon of Hungary and Romania are similar instruments.

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Saranda

Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606), fifth Sikh Guru, was a master musician and musicologist. He had a great passion for folk music, and looking at his contribution to the musical heritage of India, we see a huge line up which is influenced by folk traditions.

The Saranda took birth from his passion for music. However, there are varying statements and opinions by scholars as to who actually created the Saranda. Some say it was the idea of Guru Angad Dev Ji and was developed by Guru Ramdas Sahib, the fourth Guru. Examining the facts concerning that time period, and the musical interests related to that period, it makes more sense to believe that Guru Arjan Dev ji invented, or developed, the Saranda. He is said to have designed the Saranda (a large bowl-shaped string instrument, played with bow), which he himself played and used as the ideal accompaniment for the male voice.

The Saranda produces a hauntingly beautiful deep tone quality which sings in alternation and in support of the human voice.

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Sarode

The Sarode, named SAROD-DHAYAK-VINA in Sanskrit, was invented by Bharat Muni. In the early 16th Century it was known as the SAROOD, which means "melody," in the Persian language. Gulam Ali Khan, court musician of King Wazid Ali Shah, made the first changes to the sarode.

Padma Vibhusan Acharya Baba Allauddin Khan (Ustad Ali Akbar Khan's father) and Ustad Ayet Ali Khan (his uncle) modified and perfected the present shape of the sarode, which is over one hundred years old. Through his performances and teachings, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan continues to spread the knowledge of the sarode throughout the world.

The sarode is hand carved from a single block of seasoned toon or teak wood. The fingerboard is a smooth, fretless, steel plate. The belly is covered with a goat skin, and it is here that one of the main deerhorn bridges rests, while the other is on the neck before the main strings.

The present sarode has 25 metal strings of different gauges with 4 main strings carrying the melody. Tuned to the principal notes of the raga are 4 jawari strings, while 2 chikari strings are tuned to the tonic and used for drone and rhythm. The remaining 15 strings known as the taraf provide sympathetic resonance and are tuned to the scale of the raga. The right hand holds a plectrum, or java (made from a coconut shell), while the left hand uses the finger tips. The nails and tips of the fingers produce the slide or sustained glissando sound.

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Sitar

The name of the instrument is derived from the Persian expression ‘seh-tar’ meaning 3 strings, which is the number of strings the instrument originally had. It is the most common stringed instrument of India and has been in use for about 700 years. It is fashioned from a seasoned gourd and teakwood and has twenty mental frets with six or seven playing strings and nineteen sympathetic strings (tarab) below. It is played with a plectrum (mizrab) worn on the finger. The invention of the Sitar is credited to the great musician and statesman, Amir Khusrau and its origin goes back to the ancient Veena.

The sitar developed during the collapse of the Moghul empire (circa 1700). It reflected the culture of the times in that it showed both Indian and Persian characteristics.

The sitar is of a complex construction. There are a number of options in tuning and stringing the sitar. Even the same instrument will be tuned differently from piece to piece, according to the requirements of the rag.

The technique of the sitar is very involved. It is certainly advisable to have a teacher.

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Taus

This instrument is made in the shape of a peacock and the word 'taus' is in fact a Persian word meaning peacock. It has 28-30 strings.The taus is very similar to the dilruba in construction and in playing technique. However, the taus has a bigger sound box and therefore produces a much more resonant and mellow sound.

Guru Gobin Singh(the tenth Sikh master) played this instrument and welcomed any rabab or taus player into his court.

© 2001 Sikh Musical Heritage