Pipe organ

Common instrument for catholics, but unpopular for groups of musicians.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called wind) through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass. Most organs have multiple ranks of pipes of differing timbre, pitch and loudness that the player can employ singly or in combination through the use of controls called stops.

A pipe organ may have one or several keyboards (called manuals) played by the hands, and a pedalboard played by the feet, each of which has its own group of stops. The organ's continuous supply of wind allows it to sustain notes for as long as the corresponding keys are depressed, unlike the piano and harpsichord, the sounds of which begin to decay the longer the keys are held. The smallest portable pipe organs may have only one or two dozen pipes and one manual; the largest may have over 20,000 pipes and seven manuals.

The origins of the pipe organ can be traced back to the hydraulis in Ancient Greece in the 3rd century BC, in which the wind supply was created with water pressure. By the sixth or 7th century AD, bellows were used to supply organs with wind. Beginning in the 12th century, the organ began to evolve into a complex instrument capable of producing different timbres. By the 17th century, most of the sounds available on the modern classical organ had been developed. From that time, the pipe organ was the most complex man-made device, a distinction it retained until it was displaced by the telephone exchange in the late 19th century.

Pipe organs are installed in churches, synagogues, concert halls, and other public buildings and are used for the performance of classical music, sacred music, and secular music. In the early 20th century, pipe organs were installed in theatres to accompany films during the silent movie era, in municipal auditoria, where orchestral transcriptions were popular, and in the homes of the wealthy, equipped with player mechanisms. The beginning of the 21st century has seen a resurgence in installations in concert halls. The organ boasts a substantial repertoire, which spans over 400 years.

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Hurdy gurdy (wheel fiddle)

Hurdy gurdy is one of my favorites instruments. I wanted to describe it later, but i have only 26 minutes till next day and i promised to add 1 instrument every day.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The hurdy gurdy or hurdy-gurdy (also known as a wheel fiddle) is a stringed musical instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to a violin. Melodies are played on a keyboard that presses tangents (small wedges, usually made of wood) against one or more of the strings to change their pitch. Like most other acoustic string instruments, it has a sound board to make the vibration of the strings audible.

Most hurdy gurdies have multiple "drone strings," which provide a constant pitch accompaniment to the melody, resulting in a sound similar to that of bagpipes. For this reason, the hurdy gurdy is often used interchangeably with or along with bagpipes, particularly in French and contemporary Hungarian folk music.

Many folk music festivals in Europe feature music groups with hurdy gurdy player. Such as Omnia and Faun.
The hurdy gurdy is generally thought to have originated from fiddles in either Western Europe or the Middle East (e.g. rebab) some time prior to the eleventh century A.D. The first recorded reference to fiddles in Europe was in the 9th century by the Persian geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih (d. 911) describing the lira (lūrā) as a typical instrument within the Byzantine Empire.

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Gopichand

Maybe most original instrument from all Indian music. And it will be the last instrument in the Indian ethnic week.

Some information from here:

The gopichand, also, known as gopiyantra, is a very popular folk instrument of Bengal. It is an instrument that is much used by the wandering minstrels known as the Baul.

There are several variations on the construction. The length may be as small as one foot or as long as three feet, however 2-3 feet is the norm. It consists of a length of bamboo that is split through most of the length. The two ends are pried apart and attached to a resonator. This resonator may be a coconut, gourd, metal container or a hollowed out cylindrical section of wood. The open end of the resonator is covered with taught skin and a string penetrates the centre. This string is attached to a reinforced section in the centre. This string then passes through the hollow of the resonator and attaches to a tuning peg located in the bamboo.

The sound of the gopichand is most distinctive. There is a peculiar bending of the pitch as the two legs of the bamboo are squeezed together by the left hand while the right hand plucks the string. This is a rhythmic instrument rather than a melodic instrument and it is used to accompany instruments such as kartal, dotar, or khol.

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Esraj

Today's instrument should be a Taus, but i couldn't find information about it, so i will tell you about another bowed string instrument - Esraj.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The esraj is a string instrument found in two forms throughout the north, central, and east regions of India. It is a young instrument by Indian terms, being only about 200 years old. The dilruba is found in the north, where it is used in religious music and light classical songs in the urban areas. Its name is translated as "robber of the heart." The esraj is found in the east and central areas, particularly Bengal (Bangladesh and Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura) and it is used in a somewhat wider variety of musical styles than is the dilruba.

The Dilruba originates from the Taus and some argue is the work of the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, whilst that of the Taus was the work of Guru Hargobind (the sixth guru of the Sikhs). The Dilruba was then produced to replace the previously heavy instrument (the Taus). This attempt was intended to 'scale down' the Taus into what is now known to be the Dilruba. This made it more convenient for the Sikh army to carry the instrument on horseback.

The structure of both instruments is very similar, each having a medium sized sitar-like neck with 20 heavy metal frets. This neck holds on a long wooden rack of 12-15 sympathetic strings. While the dilruba has more sympathetic strings and a differently shaped body than the esraj, they both have four main strings which are bowed. All strings are metal. The soundboard is a stretched piece of goatskin similar to what is found on a sarangi. Sometimes the instrument has a gourd affixed to the top for balance or for tone enhancement.

The esraj is mostly used as an accompanying instrument. It is the accompanying instrument of choice for Rabindra Sangeet singing. However, it has also been used as a solo instrument to interpret Hindustani Classical Music, mostly in the Vishnupur tradition. Additionally, the esraj is a more modern invention from the Dilruba that was made and promoted by the Namdharis.

Both the dilruba and the esraj had been declining in popularity for many decades. By the 1980s the instrument was nearly extinct. However with the rising influence of the "Gurmat Sangeet" movement, these instruments are once again attracting considerable attention.

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Rudra veena

One more plucked sting instruments. Now it is just neck with two pots, which works as resonators.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The rudra veena is a large plucked string instrument used in Hindustani classical music. It is an ancient instrument rarely played today. The rudra veena declined in popularity in part due to the introduction of the surbahar in the early 19th century which allowed sitarists to more easily present the alap sections of slow dhrupad-style ragas.

The rudra veena has a long tubular body with a length ranging between 137 and 157 cm made of wood or bamboo. Two large-sized, round resonators, made of dried and hollowed gourds, are attached under the tube. Twenty-four brass-fitted raised wooden frets are fixed on the tube with the help of wax.

It is one of the three other major types of veena popular today. The others include vichitra veena and Saraswati veena. Out of these the rudra and vichitra veenas are used in the Hindustani classical music of North India, while Tanjour veena (also known as Saraswati veena) is used in the Carnatic music of South India. As Rudra is a name for the Hindu god Shiva, rudra vina literally means "the veena dear to Shiva."

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar was one of the 20th century's foremost exponents of the instrument. He modified and redesigned the rudra veena using bigger gourds, a thicker tube (Dandi), thicker steel playing strings (0.45-0.47 mm) and closed Javari that. This produced a soft and deep sound when plucked without the use of any plectrum (Mizrab).

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Pungi

When i played recorders other people often asked me "where is your snake?". They didn't know that Indian snake flute is Pungi. Here it is ^_^_^

Some information from Wikipedia:

The pungi, also called the been, or bin is a wind instrument played by snake charmers in India. The pungi is similar to the Chinese Hulusi but has only two reed pipes, known as the "jivala". The pungi was improved to produce the Shehnai. The pungi originated in India and is still played by snake charmers in street performances. The pungi is generally available in all music knowledge books and music instrument shops.

The pungi was originally developed as an Indian folk music instrument. It is important for religious purposes and music in India. The pungi was popular in the Badagutittū about fifty years ago. However, prior to this it derived from Indian folk music and was used for religious purposes for snake charming.

The pungi is traditionally made from a dried bottle gourd. Often, the neck of the gourd is carved for aesthetic reasons. On the other end, two reed or bamboo pipes are connected. These are known as the jivala. One of the pipes has seven holes and plays the melody; the other pipe is for drone. The jivala is fitted to the gourd with beeswax, which can be adjusted for pitch modification.

Indian musical practices often coincide with religious ideals. An example would be the comprehensive practice of mantra incantation, which, can be defined as meaningful and/or meaningless syllables used to create prayer to a supernatural force or deity. The pungi, or Indian snake charmer, is believed to be one of the many avenues in which one can communicate with the gods through devotional genres. The pungi is played with no pauses, so the pungi players use a technique called circular breathing.

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Sarangi

One more Indian instrument which i like. As i understood there aren't many really good and original instruments in India. I saw two types of flute, sitar and many instruments of sitar type, sarangi and many percussion instruments. But i still like Indian ethnic because of its slow meditative rhythms.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The Sarangi is a bowed, short-necked string instrument of India. It plays an important role in India's Hindustani classical music tradition. Of all Indian instruments, it is said to most resemble the sound of the human voice – able to imitate vocal ornaments such as gamakas (shakes) and meend (sliding movements). It is also said to be the hardest Indian instrument to master.

The word sarangi is derived from two Hindi words: sau (meaning "hundred") and rang (meaning "colour"). This is because the sound of the sarangi is said to be as expressive and evocative as a hundred colours. Its origins are unknown, however most people believe that it became a mainstream instrument in the mid 18th Century. Notoriously difficult to play and tune, the sarangi has traditionally been used primarily for accompanying singers (shadowing the vocalist's improvisations),in recent times it has become recognised as a solo instrument by the efforts of Ram Narayan and Sabri Khan.

Carved from a single block of wood, the sarangi has a box-like shape, usually around two feet long and around half a foot wide. The lower resonance chamber is made from a hollowed-out block of tun (red cedar) wood and covered with parchment and a decorated strip of leather at the waist which supports the elephant-shaped bridge. The bridge in turn supports the huge pressure of approximately 40 strings. Three of the strings – the comparatively thick, tight and short ones – are bowed with a heavy horsehair bow and "stopped" not with the finger-tips but with the nails, cuticles and surrounding flesh (talcum powder is applied to the fingers as a lubricant). The remaining strings are resonance strings or tarabs (see: sympathetic strings), numbering up to around 35, divided into 4 different "choirs". On the lowest level are a diatonic row of 9 tarabs and a chromatic row of 15 tarabs, each encompassing a full octave plus 1–3 extra notes above or below. Between these lower tarabs and the main playing strings lie two more sets of longer tarabs, which pass over a small flat ivory bridge at the top of the instrument. These are tuned to the important tones (swaras) of the raga. A properly tuned sarangi will hum and buzz like a bee-hive, with tones played on any of the main strings eliciting echo-like resonances. A few sarangis use strings manufactured from the intestines of goats - these harken back to the days when rich musicians could afford such strings.

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Sitar

Sitar with all its 22 strings and long neck has one of the richest sounds from all plucked strinf instruments.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The sitar is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages. It derives its resonance from sympathetic strings, a long hollow neck and a gourd resonating chamber.

Used throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Northern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The sitar's curved frets are movable, allowing fine tuning, and raised so that sympathetic strings can run underneath them. A sitar can have 21, 22, or 23 strings, among them six or seven played strings which run over the frets: the Gandhaar-pancham sitar (used by Vilayat Khan and his disciples) has six playable strings, whereas the Kharaj-pancham sitar, used in the Maihar gharana ,to which Pt. Ravi Shankar belongs, has seven. Three of these (or four on a Kharaj-pancham sitar), called the chikaari, simply provide a drone: the rest are used to play the melody, though the first string (baajtaar) is most used.

The instrument has two bridges; the large bridge (badaa goraa) for the playing and drone strings and the small bridge (chota goraa) for the sympathetic strings. Its timbre results from the way the strings interact with the wide, sloping bridge. As a string reverberates its length changes slightly as its edge touches the bridge, promoting the creation of overtones and giving the sound its distinctive tone. The maintenance of this specific tone by shaping the bridge is called jawari. Many musicians rely on instrument makers to adjust this.

Materials used in construction include teak wood or tun wood (Cedrela tuna), which is a variation of mahogany, for the neck and faceplate (tabli), and gourds for the kaddu (the main resonating chamber). The instrument's bridges are made of deer horn, ebony, or very occasionally from camel bone. Synthetic material is now common as well. The sitar may have a secondary resonator, the tumbaa, near the top

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Bansuri

As flutist i couldn't begin from another instrument. This one has softest sound from all Indian instruments.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The bansuri is a transverse alto flute of the Indian Subcontinent made from a single hollow shaft of bamboo with six or seven finger holes. An ancient musical instrument associated with cowherds and the pastoral tradition, it is intimately linked to the love story of Krishna and Radha, and is depicted in Buddhist paintings from around 100 AD. The Bansuri is revered as Lord Krishna's divine instrument, and is often associated with Krishna's Rasa lila; mythological accounts tell of the tunes of Krishna's flute having a spellbinding and enthralling effect not only on the women of the Braj, but even on the animals of the region. The North Indian bansuri, typically about 14 inches in length, was traditionally used as a soprano instrument primarily for accompaniment in lighter compositions including film music. The bass variety (approximately 30"), pioneered by Pt. Pannalal Ghosh and elevated to heights of global renown by the brilliance of Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia has now been indispensable in Hindustani Classical music for well over half a century. Bansuris range in size from less than 12" to nearly 40".

There are two varieties of bansuri: transverse, and fipple. The fipple flute is usually played in folk music and is held at the lips like a whistle. Because it enables superior control, variations and embellishments, the transverse variety is preferred in Indian classical music.

Pandit Pannalal Ghosh (1911–1960) elevated the Bansuri from a folk instrument to the stage of serious classical music. He experimented with the length, bore and number of holes, and found that longer length and larger bore allowed for better coverage of the lower octaves. He eventually pioneered longer bansuris with larger bores and a seventh hole placed a quarter turn inwards from the line of the other six finger holes.

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The week of Indian ethnic

The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretized with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music at length. The Samaveda was derived from the Rigveda in order that its hymns could be sung as Samagana; this style evolved into jatis and eventually into ragas. Bharat's Natyashastra was the first treatise laying down fundamental principles of dance, music and drama.

Indian classical music is both elaborate and expressive. Like Western classical music, it divides the octave into 12 semitones of which the 7 basic notes are, in ascending tonal order, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa, similar to Western music's Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do. However, Indian music uses the just intonation tuning, unlike most modern Western classical music, which uses the equal-temperament tuning system.

Indian classical music is monophonic in nature and based around a single melody line, which is played over a fixed drone. The performance is based melodically on particular ragas and rhythmically on talas. Because of the focus on exploring the raga, performances have traditionally been solo endeavors, but duets are gaining in popularity.