Krsna Kirtana Songs est. 2001                                                                                                                                                      www.kksongs.org

Instruments of North India

 

Welcome to the Hindustani Instruments page! This page will give brief information of the most common instruments used in North Indian classical music. There are some instruments everyone will recognize like the sitar and tabla. However, there are a handful of instruments used in different forms of Hindustani music that is not commonly heard too often. Unlike Carnatic instruments, these instruments have a majority in melody while the percussion and rhythmic instruments serve more as support to the melody and voice.

 

Click on the picture of each instrument if you wish to hear how it sounds like. All of these sound clips are produced using the Indian classical music software Swarshala. It does a decent job replicating these instruments. Since I focus in Hindustani music, you'll find some of these instruments elsewhere in my recordings. Enjoy!

 

Tabla – The most popular North Indian drums which are used to accompany almost all forms of North Indian music. The smaller drum, known as the dayan, is made of wood and has high pitches, while the bigger metallic drum, known as the bayan, has the low pitches. Click HERE to learn how to play this!

 

 

 

Pakhawaj – A wooden barrel drum which is the ancestor of the tabla. The heads are very similar to the tabla, except the bass side has a temporary application of wheat to give it its unique bass sound. The entire drum produces a powerful bass. Today, it is used to accompany surbahar, rudra vina, dhrupad and haveli music.

 

Dholak – This drum is a folk drum used in light and popular music. It is also used in bhajans and qawwalis. It's only possible spot in classical music is a refined substitute to accompany the shehnai.

 

 

 

Khol - This drum is the holiest of drums, as this drum is considered the form of Lord Krsna's flute in the present age. It was used in Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's sankirtana movement. The drum is still used today in kirtans, bhajans, and Bengali songs. Click HERE to learn how to play this!

 

Sitar - Describing Indian music is never complete without mentioning the most famous stringed instrument, the sitar. It is a plucked and fretted lute with four playing strings, two drone strings and thirteen sympathetic strings running beneath the main and drone strings. The sound box is made of gourd. Click HERE to learn how to play this!

Sarod - This is the Indian version of the Afghani rebab. This fretless instrument contains four main strings, four drone strings, and fifteen sympathetic strings running beneath the main strings. The body is made of wood and the soundboard is made of goat skin. This gives the instrument its unique touch.

 

Sarangi - This is a bowed instrument with four main gut strings while there are thirty-seven sympathetic strings. This has no fingerboard nor does it have frets! Fretting a note requires the gut string to slide underneath the fingernail. It'll move up and down to create vocal effects. In fact, it can even replicate the human voice in various dimensions. Nonetheless, it is the most difficult instrument to play! It was once used for accompanying the voice. Now it used as a solo instrument also.

 

 

Esraj - This is a classical bowed instrument used commonly in Bengal. It sounds like a sarangi without being too difficult or painful to play. It's a mix between sarangi and sitar. There are four main strings and twelve sympathetic strings. Click HERE to learn how to play this!

 

 

 

 

Santoor - The Santoor is a Kashmiri instrument. It has one-hundred strings and is a hammered dulcimer. It was commonly used in folk and popular music. Now, it is accepted as a classical musical instrument.

 

Tanpura - The drone in many Indian classical recordings is used by a tanpura. There are only four strings which are constantly plucked and tuned to the tonic and another note, usually the fifth. Click HERE to learn how to play this!

 

Bansuri - This is a simple horizontal and well calibrated bamboo flute. However, the sounds of this simple bamboo flute can do magic and wonders. This is Lord Krsna's instrument as He always plays very sweetly on the flute.

 

 

Shehnai - This instrument can be seen as a four-reeded oboe which is played in all auspicious and grand occasions.

 

 

Harmonium - Originally from Europe, this reed organ is used in most forms of Hindustani music. One hand plays the melody, while the other pumps air via the bellows. Primarily used as an accompanying instrument, it has slowly found its way into a solo instrument.  Click HERE to learn how to play this!

 

Kartal - These are finely tuned brass finger cymbals used to accompany the rhythm. Also known as Manjira.