With each new school year, parents begin a yearly ritual by going on a musical instruments shopping spree with their children. These shopping sprees may last one day, or they may go on for weeks on end with no end in sight. Parents are usually caught unaware by the notice they get about their child’s school curriculum change. The child may not be very happy about being in the school band, but in retrospect, thinks it’s a better alternative than taking a gym class.
On a musical instruments shopping spree, mother’s grab their children and head off to every music store in town, and check every newspaper ad looking for a musical instrument their child could use during the school year that they would be well-suited for. The musical instrument would not have to be brand new either. So, consulting the list of suitable instruments that the school gave her to use as a guide, she continues on with her musical instruments shopping spree.
The musical instruments shopping spree took her clear across town in the middle of rush hour traffic. By the time she entered a music store recommended to her by a friend, she was frazzled. The selection of instruments that matched her list were quite expensive, but there were several that qualified for a student rental program. She made a note of that offering, and continued to another location to check prices.
The next stop on her musical instruments shopping spree, landed her in a resale shop that had two instruments in the front window. Weathered by the sun, the cases looked a bit dry, but the price on the instrument, a flute, was within her price range. They did not have anything that her daughter wanted to play. She cleared the purchase with her son, who did not have a problem with playing the flute in the school band. His viewpoint was that he would be able to at least sit down during every concert. She made the purchase and scratched one shopping item off her list.
She asked her daughter what instrument she wanted to play. Her daughter wanted to play a guitar, or maybe some drums. Her mother suggested that she try a clarinet, and the girl balked at that idea entirely. Her mother stressed that she could try the piano but that would require lessons. Lessons would take away from her social life and that idea was not appealing in the least. The musical instruments shopping spree proceeded to the nearest pawn shop.
There was a set of electronic drums in the middle aisle that showed promise. The price of this set of drums was a bit steep, and the women decided she would try and get them to lower the price. She noticed that there was a cleaning set for a flute in the display case, which included a carry case for a flute. That price was quite reasonable, and when she offered to buy both items, the salesman promptly offered her a $25.00 discount on the drum set. Feeling that she had made a wise purchase the mother helped her daughter carry her drum set to the car.
Tabla :
Table is basically the pair of drums. Drumming with table kicks us and we immediately react with the tapping of the beats. It is generally believed that Tabla evolved from the barrel shaped drum called pakhawaj, 3000 years ago. It basically consists of the small right hand drum called dayan and a larger metal one called bayan. It is an Indian pleximetry instrument used in classical, popular and religious Hindustani music. The dayan is made up of neem or sheesham while the bayan can be made up of metal, example brass, copper, aluminum, or from terracotta or ceramic. Both dayan and bayan produces quite interesting sounds. The dayan can produce 12 different sounds, while the bayan can produce 2 different sounds. Some of the dignitaries associated with the Tabla are Ustad Zakir Hussain, Thirakwa Ustad Alla Rakha, Ustad Tari Khan, Ustad Maseet Khan, Ustad Tafo Khan and many more.
Sarod :
Sarod is one of the most popular stringed musical instrument that has been used for the classical Indian music. It is quite similar to the popular instrument called rabab used in the middle east. It is an 18 – 19 lute like instrument, four to five main strings used for playing the melody, one or two drone strings, two chikari strings and ten to eleven sympathetic strings. Most contemporary Sarod players use Roslau, Schaff or Precision brand music wire. It is approximately three to four feet long is is mainly made of wood. The strings are plucked with a triangular plectrum (java) made of polished Coconut shell, Ebony, Delrin or other materials such as bone. Among the contemporary Sarod players the name of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is quite popular.
The Flute
Flute is the musical instrument of the ancient India, quite synonymous with the name of the Lord Krishna. It belongs to the woodwind family and is also known as the Bansuri. The flute produces the sweet sound and blends well with the other instruments. It is made of the cylindrical bamboo pipe with uniform bore containing six holes and closed at the end. In a flute the sound is produced by blowing against an edge or by an vibrating reed. And in which the pitch governed by the resonant frequencies of an enclosed air column. The person who plays the flute is referred to as the flute player or the flautist. It has been used in India since the vedic period. It was earlier used to play the religious music of the Buddhists.
Sitar :
Sitar is the most popular string instrument from India. Sitar is the member of the veena family. It has been in use since 700 years. It is basically made up of the seasoned gourd and wood. It measures about 4 feet in length and has a deep, peer shaped body fashioned from wood and gourd, a long wide, hollow, wooden neck, both front and side tuning pegs and 20 arched movable frets. Its body is carved out of tun or teak wood and its main resonator is made of a pumpkin. It is the most famous instrument in North India. Famous Sitarists of India include Pandit Ravi Shankar and his daughter Anoushka Shankar.
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