What Instruments are Commonly Associated with Carnatic Music?
Written by Seetha Chandrashekhar ( About the Author)
Tambura
The primary instrument for Carnatic vocal and instrumental music is a source of shruti (pitch), known as the tambura (or tanpura). It is a lute type instrument and has four to five strings. These are plucked continuously, creating a very harmonious droning effect which serves as the melodic backdrop for the rest of the music. Today, several electronic versions of the tambura are also used widely during performance and practice.
The typical male shruti in Carnatic music ranges from B to D# (7 to 2.5 kattai) and the femaleshruti range lies between F and A (4 to 6 kattai).
In the Concert Platform
A typical Carnatic vocal concert features a minimum of two instrumental accompaniments – one melodic (the violin) and one percussive (themridangam). Any additional accompaniments are typically provided by other percussive instruments.
Traditional Carnatic solo melodic instruments include the Chitravina (also known asGotuvadyam), Veena, Flute and Nadaswaram. The violin, which was introduced around late 1700’s has now joined the list of such mainstream instruments. In the last few decades, Carnatic concerts have also been presented on Guitar, Keyboard, Clarinet, Mandolin, Sitar and Saxophone.
Among the percussive instruments, themridangam plays a prominent role in almost all concerts except those featuring the Nadaswaram(where Tavil is used predominantly). In addition tomridangam, a Carnatic music concert may also be supplemented by instruments such as Ghatam,Kanjira or Morsing. Sometimes the singular art form of “Konnakkol” (vocal percussion) is also featured.
A Carnatic concert can be a vocal or instrumental in nature using any of the melodic instruments. Though a vocal concert needs a melodic and rhythmic accompaniment, an instrumental concert can be presented with just one percussion support (as the main performer already fulfills the role of providing a melody through his/her instrument).
Complementary roles
In concerts where more than one rhythmic accompaniment is used, the accompanists often take turns supporting the main artist, which makes the performance very colorful.
For example, in a concert where ghatam andmridangam are used, during the segment where the main artiste takes up on kalpana swarams(improvisation segment where the artiste creates musical patterns with just the notes present in the song, that fits into the rhythmic cycle of the song), the Mridangist typically provides the support (and the Ghatam artiste may not play).
In response to the main artiste’s swaras, a violinist plays swara passages. Now, in these segments, the percussion support would be provided by the Ghatam artiste, (and now it is theMridangist’s turn to give the ghatam artist a chance to accompany solo). During a climactic stage, the artistes may break away from this pattern by playing together at the behest of the main artiste, who is also a “conductor” of sorts in Indian concerts.
“Tani avartanam” is an entirely rhythmic segment which is the exclusive domain of the percussionists. Again, they may take turns to improvise initially and then build it towards a climax, where they play together and end with a grand finale.
Melodic instruments
Violin
The violin has four strings that are tied to the pegs at one end, and to the adjusters on the other end. The bridge is the small white part at the top portion and fingerboard is the long black piece that the strings are tied across. The strings are placed on the correct notches of the bridge. The performer should draw the bow on the particular section of the string between the bridge and the fingerboard to create a rich resonating sound.
Western music practice demands that the performer play the violin upright. Yet, Carnatic performance requires the violinist to adopt a seated posture while propping the broader side of the violin against the left side of the body and the narrow sides rests on right foot, while the right hand holds the bow. Sound is produced by plucking the strings while drawing the bow across the string. Violin has a range of almost 4 octaves. The Carnatic tuning and playing techniques are also highly specialized.
The violin is widely regarded as an instrument that mimics qualities of the human voice—in terms of the timbre of the instrument, the playing technique involved, and the overall musical impact on a listener. These attributes make the violin an excellent accompaniment for the voice or any other solo instrumentalist.
Chitravina
A very colorful introduction by Radio National, Australia describes the Chitravina as ‘the world's oldest slide instrument’ and also says, “Sorry, bluesmen & Hawaiians - you came along more than a few hundred years late!". The Chitravina is certainly one of India’s oldest stringed instruments, dating back to more than 2000 years. However, since it was a fretless lute-type instrument, it had been dormant for centuries because of the challenge posed to musicians to play accurately, using just a slide.
However, the Chitravina re-entered the concert scene about 120 years ago and is today one of the most sought after instruments not only in Carnatic concerts but also in collaborations with Western music, Jazz and other musical cultures. This is primarily because of the beauty and scope of the instrument which includes an 'Infinite capacity for micro-tonal shadings reminiscent of the human voice', as The New York Times says. The attractiveness of the Chitravina is enhanced immensely by the 11 or 12 resonance strings that vibrate beautifully when the main strings are activated.
Veena
Because of the inherent difficulties perceived in the Chitravina centuries ago, musicians started adding frets to it to create other kinds of ‘veenas’. Literally, a veena meant any stringed instrument. The veena seen today with 24 frets was developed only by 1600s. This instrument, like the Chitravinahas a primary sound chamber that is hemispherical, a long hollow stem and a secondary resonating bowl at the end of them stem. Both instruments are made from the wood of the jackfruit tree. The secondary resonator is made from dried and hollowed guard, wood or sometimes metal. Metal strings are secured at the main resonating bowl and they are placed over an elevated bridge just like the violin and are wound around the pegs on the other end.
While the Veena is played by plucking the strings with the right hand and gliding the left hand over the strings and pressing them against the frets, the Chitravina is played by plucking using the fingers in the right hand and gliding a cylindrical block made of ebony wood, bison horn or Teflon over the strings using the left hand.
Nadaswaram
Nadaswaram is among the brightest woodwinds in the world. With a range of two and a half octaves, it is very well suited for outdoor concerts and widely used in auspicious occasions like temple festivals, weddings and family functions.Nadaswaram is usually supported by anotherNadaswaram rather than violin. Sound production is controlled by the pressure and strength of the air-flow into the pipe. This poses quite a bit of challenge in terms of getting a good tone and also adherence to the basic pitch. However, in the hands of a master, the instrument is capable of tremendous speeds and long bright passages. Over the last several decades, this instrument has had a great impact on numerous vocalists. There evolved a distinct singing style known as the Nadaswaram bani.
Flute
Flutes that are used in Carnatic music are generally only made of bamboo. Metal flutes are not considered very suited for the Carnatic system. The flute is played by blowing air from one end and opening and closing a series of holes, carefully spaced on the far side of the instrument. Partially opening the holes will produce half notes. The flat portion of the finger, about an inch from the tip is used to play the instrument.
Flute has a range of two and a half octaves to three octaves and is a very pleasant instrument in the hands of a master. However, the challenge for Carnatic flautists is to not merely play tunefully and pleasingly but to develop an ability to handle the subtle oscillations that are unique in ragas such as Begada, Mukhari, Sahana and so forth. This technique was taken to great heights only in the early part of the 20th century.
Jalatarangam
Jalatarangam means “waves in water”; it is not a one piece instrument. China bowls of various sizes are arranged in a specific order, placing larger bowls on the left hand side and smaller ones to the right of the artiste in a semi-circle. These are filled with water and tuned to various notes. The tuning can be altered by changing the level of water in a given bowl. The instrument is played by striking the bowls with bamboo sticks (sometimes covered with cotton on the striking end). While the tone can be pleasing in general, the limitation of jalatarangam is its inability to play glides and oscillations, which has hampered its popularity in the Carnatic spectrum.
Clarinet and Saxophone
The Clarinet gained popularity in Carnatic mostly through film and orchestral music initially. Not long after, artistes such as A K C Natarajan expanded its scope and made it a viable solo instrument. Similarly, Kadri Gopalnath introduced the Saxophone to Carnatic audiences, making a few modifications in the process.
Guitar & Mandolin
Artistes like Sukumar Prasad started using the Guitar to express their Carnatic thoughts. The quality of music and the degree of finesse an artiste can produce depends on the artiste’s familiarity with the nuances of the system, apart from basic instrumental skills. Another fretted lute from the West, the Mandolin was adapted by U Srinivas for Carnatic music by converting the original four pairs of strings to 4 single strings. Later another string for base was added.
Keyboard & Piano
While the harmonium was attempted in Carnatic music several years ago, it did not take off much. However, in more recent times, the versatility of the Keyboard and synthesizers in the West have encouraged Carnatic artistes to start trying them again primarily because of the feature of pitch bend, which enables artistes to oscillate the notes in a style that approximates to the system’s requirements. The piano is also being used but more in collaborative concerts with Carnatic artistes.
Percussion instruments
Mridangam
The body of the Mridangam is made from the wood of the jackfruit tree. One end of themridangam is smaller than the other end. The wider aperture or mouth (“thoppi” or “eda bhaaga”) produces lower-pitched bass sounds while the smaller aperture (“valanthalai” or “bala bhaaga”) produces higher pitched sounds with a metallic timbre. The Mridangist is usually seated on the right side of the main artiste with the smaller side of the instrument facing the audience.
Prior to the performance, the bass aperture is moistened by applying a paste made of semolina and water to improve the tonal quality.
Kanjira
The Kanjira is one special percussion instrument with the natural shruti that does not require shrutialignment. The Kanjira is a South Indian frame drum that belongs to the tambourine family. The circular frame is made of the wood of the jackfruit tree, which is between 7 to 9 inches in width and 2 to 4 inches in depth. One side is left open while the other is covered by the skin of the monitor lizard. The frame has single slit that holds three to four small metal discs that jingle when the Kanjirais played.
Although the Kanjira has a very high pitched sound, sprinkling water on the inside of the instrument produces a good bass sound. You will see Kanjira artistes sprinkling water, repeatedly several times during the course of the concert to maintain a good sound. Due to this nature, the tone of the Kanjira gets affected by the external temperature and moisture conditions. The Kanjirais usually held on the left hand and played with the palm and fingers of the right hand.
Ghatam
Ghatam is a specially made clay pot, with a narrow mouth. Sound is produced by playing in one of the three parts, the mouth portion, or the slating portion or at the round shaped bottom.Ghatam artiste can produce various nadhams(musical sounds) by playing at different parts of the Ghatam. Like Kanjira, Ghatam also comes with the natural shruti, but can be altered by applying plasticine clay and water inside the pot. Naturalshruti of the pot depends on the size of the pot; Pots with lower pitch are bigger in size. The metallic sound of the instrument is attributed to the brass, copper or iron fillings that are added to the clay mixture along with egg as the bonding agent.
Ghatam is played with fingers, wrists and even nails. Artistes change the position of the Ghatamwhile playing; some of the performers have tremendous control over the instrument, they throw the Ghatam up in the air and catch them back in perfectly synchronized rhythm, enthralling audiences.
Morsing
Morsing is another second line percussion instrument that produces a nasal, twang sound.Morsing consists of a metal tongue, supported within a circular metal frame. This instrument is very small and part of the instrument is kept inside the mouth. Using the left hand the morsingis held inside the mouth while the tongue is plucked by the right hand to produce music.Morsing comes with the natural shruti, but theshruti can be lowered by applying beeswax to the tongue of the instrument.
Tavil
The Tavil produces louder sound than themridangam and is best suited as accompaniment for the Nadaswaram. Tavil can be an accompaniment in Carnatic or Folk performances. The tavil is a barrel-shaped drum which has a hollow cylindrical shell made of jackfruit tree, covered with animal skin on the sides. The larger side is covered water buffalo skin and the left side is covered with goat skin. The instrument is positioned such that its broader side is held near the right hand. The performer wears finger caps on the right hand; these are made of hardened flour glue. The left side is played using a stick.
In temple processions, one can see the performer standing wearing the instrument around the neck. In recent times, the tavil has been also featured along with Chitravina, violin and other melody instruments.
Tuning Instruments
The pitch of string instruments are characterized by the thickness of the strings that are used in the instrument. Artistes use pegs of the instrument/adjusters to adjust the tension of the string to make sure the instrument is tuned to align with the correct shruti in each string. When violin is played as an accompaniment, violinists string the instrument with the shruti that matches the shruti of the vocal artiste. However, in solo violin concerts, the instrumentalist (be it violin or other instruments) chooses a shruti that is most pleasing to the ears, which is usually D# or near that range.
Instruments like Veena are tuned to a particularshruti like D# and artistes don’t change strings to play along with vocalists, but prefer to play in themadhyama shruti.
Rhythmic instruments like mridangam are usually made for a specific shruti and can be adjusted either half-tone above or half-tone below. So, most mridangists often own few mridangams to cover different ranges. Occasionally you will findmridangists using the same instrument to accompany male and female vocalists, by playing in the natural shruti for males and in panchama shruti for females.
Percussion instruments like mridangam and Tavil are made of hollow wooded body and the two ends are covered with membranes made of stretched animal (usually goat) skins. They are anchored by leather straps tied through holes drilled through the membrane. The instrument is tuned by adjusting the tension of the straps using a wooden block and a heavy stone.
Instruments like Ghatam and Kanjira have naturalshruti and can only be marginally altered.
Instruments mentioned in Hindu Scriptures
Indian scriptures have multiple references to Gods, Goddesses and other celestials playing various musical instruments. One can see pictures of Goddess Saraswati and sage Narada with aVeena, Lord Hanuman with the Chitravina, Lord Vishnu with the Conch Shell, Shiva playing Damaru, Krishna playing the flute, Nandi withmridangam and so forth.
Thus, instruments have always held pride of place within Indian culture.