What are the main instruments used in Indian music?

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Instruments typically used in Hindustani music include the sitar, sarod, surbahar, esraj, veena, tanpura, bansuri, shehnai, sarangi, violin, santoor, pakhavaj and tabla. Instruments typically used in Carnatic music include veena, venu, gottuvadyam, harmonium, mridangam, kanjira, ghatam, nadaswaram and violin.



Herein, how many types of musical instruments are there in India?

The Indian Musical Instruments are divided broadly into four categories: chordophones (string instruments), aerophones (wind instruments), membranophones (drums) and idiophones (non-drum percussion instruments).

One may also ask, which one is not an Indian musical instrument? Here is your answer: Chengila is not a string musical instrument of India. Chengila, a six inches to nine inches diameter percussion instrument is generally used by the south-west people of India. It uses in temple rituals.

Also asked, what are the East Indian musical instruments?

Tribal fiddle instruments called "Dhodro Banam" used by Santhal people in Eastern India.

  • Chikara.
  • Dilruba.
  • Ektara violin.
  • Esraj.
  • Kamaicha.
  • Kingri (string instrument)
  • Mayuri Vina or Taus.
  • Onavillu.

What are the 5 types of musical instruments?

The five major types of musical instruments are percussion, woodwind, string, brass and keyboard.

39 Related Question Answers Found

How many musical instruments are there?

There are 6 main categories of musical instruments today within the world and almost 300 in each. and there are more than 1500 instruments. The main instrument category using and popular all over the world is percussion instruments.

Who is the famous dholak players in India?

GIRISH VISHWA: Best Dholak Player of India!

What are the oldest musical instruments?

Researchers have identified what they say are the oldest-known musical instruments in the world. The flutes, made from bird bone and mammoth ivory, come from a cave in southern Germany which contains early evidence for the occupation of Europe by modern humans - Homo sapiens.

How many wind instruments are there?


Wind instruments. They are any musical instrument that you play by blowing. There are two main types of wind instruments: woodwind and brass.

What is an Indian guitar called?

sitar. A sitar is a stringed instrument used in classical Indian music. It's like a guitar, but in addition to the six or seven strings that a sitar player plucks, there are more that vibrate beneath the frets, called "sympathetic strings." Despite all these strings, the word sitar means "three-stringed" in Persian.

What is an Indian drum called?

The tabla is a membranophone percussion instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent, consisting of a pair of drums, used in traditional, classical, popular and folk music. The name tabla likely comes from tabl, the Persian and Arabic word for drum.

Which is the coolest instrument to learn?

Top 15 musical instruments you can easily learn & play
  • Keyboard. Keyboards, the electronic piano, are extremely versatile and very low maintenance.
  • Piano. The piano, in particular, has been an unparalleled outlet for those seeking escape, creative expression, and simply fun and joy.
  • Recorder.
  • Classical Guitar.
  • Drum set.
  • Electric Guitar.
  • Violin.
  • Percussion.

How is the ghatam played?


Playing. It is played with the heel of the palms and the fingers, while held in the lap, the mouth facing the stomach of the musician. By changing the distance between the pot and the stomach, the musician can vary the tone of the instrument.

Who invented Veena?

It is mentioned in the Rigveda, Samaveda and other Vedic literature such as the Shatapatha Brahmana and Taittiriya Samhita. In the ancient texts, Narada is credited with inventing the Tampura, and is described as a seven-string instrument with frets.

How is a Swarmandal played?

The swarmandal is a harp like instrument that is most commonly used as an accompaniment to Hindustani vocal music. The swarmandal is used by some gharanas or schools of Hindustani music. It is tuned to the individual raga being sung and strummed by hand. It is played almost exclusively by the lead vocalist.

Is harmonium an Indian instrument?

The harmonium is an instrument that has its origins in the period of British rule in India. It is a modified version of the reed organ, with keys like the piano and bellows to pump air into the instrument.

Is guitar an Indian instrument?

Some Says That it is derived directly from SITAR [An Indian Classical Instrument made By Ameer Khusro ] , Which is derived from Veena [An Indian Classical Instrument, which the most ancient known String Instrument in India ] , But Guitar is not Immediately or Directly Derived From Veena or Sitar.

What is a dilruba made of?


The dilruba has more sympathetic strings and a differently shaped body than the esraj, Esraj has four main strings while Dilruba has 6 both which are bowed. All strings are metal. The soundboard is a stretched piece of goatskin similar to what is found on a sarangi.

What is ragas in Indian music?

A raga or raag (IAST: rāga; also raaga or ragam ; literally "coloring, tingeing, dyeing") is a melodic framework for improvisation akin to a melodic mode in Indian classical music. The rāga is considered a means in Indian musical tradition to evoke certain feelings in an audience.

Is piano an Indian instrument?

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with felt covered hammers. It is sometimes classified as both a percussion and a stringed instrument. According to the Hornbostel-Sachs method of music classification, it is grouped with Chordophones.