Naumati Baja

A band with nine musical instrument, which consists all the instrument of Panche Baja with an addition of two pipe instruments; either Narsingha or Karnal. There are nine musical instrument of six types. Narsingha is a long, curved horn like pipe instrument, popular in Central Nepal. Karnal, the Narsingha of Western Nepal is not curved like Narsingha. Karnal is a straight and big-mouthed natural trumpet. In Naumati Baja, there are two Damaha and two Sahanai to make a total of nine instruments.

Naumati Baja consist of 9 instruments (6 different types of instruments):

1. Dhokali               - 1

2. Tyamko               - 1

3. Damaha               - 2

4. Sahanai                - 2

5. Jhurma or jhyali    - 1

6. Narsiha or Karn   - 2



Panche baja is a more popular name when traditional music is concerned and hence the general public often confuses a Naumati Baja with Panche Baja. So, both Panche and Naumati are often called a same name ‘Panche Baja’.

Panche Baja

Panche Baja (literally – five musical instruments) is a group of five traditional musical instruments played in Nepal during certain auspicious occasions like marriages. A small band of five people (traditionally, called Damahi) can form the musical band to perform in such occasions. The five instruments are:

1. Dholaki (Two sided drum, similar to Madal)
2. Tyamko (small kettle drum)
3. Damaha or Nagara (kettle drum)
4. Sahanai (a short pipe instrument) and
5. Jhurma or jhyali (cymbals)

These are traditional musical instruments of Nepal and are only found in Nepal. These are historical musical instrument of Nepal are more popular name when traditional music is concerned.

                        

Guitar

A Musical Instrument which is tied with string and is played usually with fingers or a pick. It consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. They are constructed traditionally with different woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with either nylon or steel strings. Noe the modern guitars are made up of polycarbonate materials. They are mainly divided into two groups which are acoustic guitar and electric guitar.


              Acoustic guitars (and similar instruments) with hollow bodies have been in use for over a thousand years. There are three main types of modern acoustic guitar: the classical guitar (nylon-string guitar), the steel-string acoustic guitar, and the archtop guitar. The tone of an acoustic guitar is produced by the vibration of the strings, which is amplified by the body of the guitar, which acts as a resonating chamber. The classical guitar is often played as a solo instrument using a comprehensive finger picking technique.

              Electric guitars, introduced in the 1930s, rely on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate tone. Early amplified guitars employed a hollow body, but a solid body was found more suitable. Electric guitars have had a continuing profound influence on popular culture. Guitars are recognized as a primary instrument in genres such as blues, bluegrass, country, flamenco, jazz, jota, mariachi, metal, reggae, rock,soul, and many forms of pop.

History

             Before the development of the electric guitar and the use of synthetic materials, a guitar was defined as being an instrument having "a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides". The term is used to refer to a number of related instruments that were developed and used across Europe beginning in the 12th century and, later, in the Americas. These instruments are descended from ones that existed in ancient central Asia and India. For this reason guitars are distantly related to modern instruments from these regions, including the tanbur, the setar, and the sitar. The oldest known iconographic representation of an instrument displaying the essential features of a guitar is a 3,300 year old stone carving of a Hittite bard.

The modern word guitar, and its antecedents, have been applied to a wide variety of cordophones since ancient times and as such is the cause of confusion. The English word guitar, the German gitarre, and the French guitare were adopted from the Spanish guitarra, which comes from the Andalusian Arabic قيثارةر qitara, itself derived from the Latin cithara, which in turn came from the Ancient Greek κιθάρα kithara, and is thought to ultimately trace back to the Old Persian language. Tar means string in Persian.

Although the word guitar is descended from the Latin word cithara, the modern guitar itself is not generally believed to have descended from theRoman instrument. Many influences are cited as antecedents to the modern guitar. One commonly cited influence is of the arrival of the four-string oud, which was introduced by the invading Moors in the 8th century. Another suggested influence is the six-string Scandinavian lut(lute), which gained in popularity in areas of Viking incursions across medieval Europe. Often depicted in carvings c. 800 AD, the Norse hero Gunther (also known as Gunnar), played a lute with his toes as he lay dying in a snake-pit, in the legend of Siegfried. It is likely that a combination of influences led to the creation of the guitar; plucked instruments from across the Mediterranean and Europe were well known in Iberia since antiquity.

Two medieval instruments that were called "guitars" were in use by 1200: the guitarra moresca (Moorish guitar) and the guitarra latina (Latin guitar). The guitarra moresca had a rounded back, wide fingerboard, and several soundholes. The guitarra Latina had a single soundhole and a narrower neck. By the 14th century the qualifiers "moresca" and "latina" had been dropped and these two cordophones were usually simply referred to as guitars.

The Spanish vihuela or (in Italian) "viola da mano", a guitar-like instrument of the 15th and 16th centuries, is widely considered to have been a seminal influence in the development of the guitar. It had six courses (usually), lute-like tuning in fourths and a guitar-like body, although early representations reveal an instrument with a sharply cut waist. It was also larger than the contemporary four course guitars. By the late 15th century some vihuelas were played with a bow, leading to the development of the viol. By the sixteenth century the vihuela's construction had more in common with the modern guitar, with its curved one-piece ribs, than with the viols, and more like a larger version of the contemporary four-course guitars. The vihuela enjoyed only a short period of popularity in Spain and Italy during an era dominated elsewhere in Europe by the lute; the last surviving published music for the instrument appeared in 1576. Meanwhile the five-course baroque guitar, which was documented in Spain from the middle of the 16th century, enjoyed popularity, especially in Spain, Italy and France from the late 16th century to the mid 18th century. Confusingly, in Portugal, the word vihuela referred to the guitar, whereas guitarra meant the "Portuguese guitar", a variety of cittern.

Drum set

          A instrument containing drum which is played by striking stick  to the drum . The drums of drum set are given different names like bass drum, snare drum etc. The sticks used in drums are called percussion sticks which are use to strike the drum and cymbals. Cymbals are also given different names like tension post crash cymbals, high-hat cymbals, ride cymbals etc.Drum sets are also called Drum kits or trap set.  The below figure gives a clear explanation of drum set.

History

             Drum kits are infants of the Vaudeville era. Pecuniary and theater space considerations demanded that fewer percussionists covered more percussion parts. In military and orchestral music settings, drums and cymbals were traditionally played separately by one or many percussionists. The bass drum, snare drum, cymbals and other percussion instruments were played by hand. Circa 1890, experimentation with foot pedals began. Liberating the hands for the first time, this evolution saw the bass drum played (first standing) with the foot of a percussionist and became the central piece around which every other percussion instruments would later revolve. Ludwig-Musser, William F. Ludwig Senior and his brother Theodor Ludwig founded the Ludwig & Ludwig Co. in 1909 and patented the first workable bass drum pedalsystem, paving the way for what was to become the modern drum kit

By World War I drum kits were characterized by very large bold marching bass drums and many percussion items suspended on and around them, and they became a central part of jazz music, specifically (but not limited to) dixieland. Metal consoles were developed to hold Chinesetom-toms, with swing out stands for snare drums and cymbals. On top of the console was a "contraption" (shortened to "trap") tray used to hold whistles, klaxons, and cowbells, thus drum kits were dubbed "trap kits." Hi-hat stands appeared around 1926.

By the 1930s, Ben Duncan and others popularized streamlined trap kits leading to a basic four piece drum set standard: bass, snare, tom-tom, and floor tom. In time legs were fitted to larger floor toms, and "consolettes" were devised to hold smaller tom-toms on the bass drum. In the 1940s, Louie Bellson pioneered use of two bass drums, or the double bass drum kit. Gene Krupa was the first drummer to head his own orchestra and thrust the drums into the spot light with his drum solos, and others would soon follow his lead. Krupa is also known to be the first to record a drum solo on a commercial record.

With the ascendance of rock and roll, a watershed moment occurred between 1962 and 1964 when the Surfaris released "Wipe Out," and when Ringo Starr of The Beatles played his Ludwig kit on American television; events that motivated legions to take up the drums.

The trend towards bigger drum kits in Rock music began in the 1960s and gained momentum in the 1970s. By the 1980s, widely popular drummers like Billy Cobham, Carl Palmer, Nicko McBrain, Phil Collins, Stewart Copeland and perhaps most notably Neil Peart were using large numbers of drums and cymbals[1] and had also begun using electronic drums. In the 1990s and 2000s, many drummers in popular music and indie music have reverted back to basic four piece drum set standard.[2]

In the 21st century, it is not uncommon for drummers to use a variety of auxiliary percussion instruments, found objects, and electronics as part of their "drum" kits. Popular electronics include: electronic sound modules; laptop computers used to activate loops, sequences and samples; metronomes and tempo meters; recording devices; and personal sound reinforcement equipment (e.g., a small PA system to amplify electronic drums and provide a monitor for singing).

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Angklung

  

Angklung is a musical instrument made out of two bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame. The tubes are carved so that they have a resonant pitch when struck. The two tubes are tuned to octaves. The base of the frame is held with one hand while the other hand shakes the instrument rapidly from side to side. This causes a rapidly repeating note to sound. Thus each of three or more angklung performers in an ensemble will play just one note and together complete melodies are produced. Angklung is popular throughout Southeast Asia, but originated from Indonesia and it has been used and played by the Sundanese since the ancient times.

                             

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal. Although not portable and often expensive, the piano's versatility and ubiquity have made it one of the world's most familiar musical  instruments.  Pressing a key on the piano's keyboard causes a felt-covered hammer to strike steel strings. The hammers rebound, allowing the strings to continue vibrating at their resonant frequency.^[1] These vibrations are transmitted through a bridge to a sounding board that more efficiently couples the acoustic energy to the air. The sound would otherwise be no louder than that directly produced by the strings. When the key is released, a damper stops the string's vibration. See the article on Piano key frequencies for a picture of t

piano keyboard and the location of middle-C. In the Hornbostel-Sachs system of instrument classification, pianos are considered chordophones.

The word piano is a shortened form of pianoforte, the Italian word for the instrument (which in turn derives from the previous terms "gravicembalo col piano e forte" and fortepiano). The musical terms "piano" and "forte" mean "quiet" and "loud," and in this context refers to the variations in volume of sound the instrument produces in response to a pianist's touch on the keys: the greater a key press's velocity, the greater the force of the hammer hitting the string(s), and the louder the note produced.

History

Early history

The piano is founded on earlier technological innovations. The first string instruments with struck strings were the hammered dulcimers.^[2] During the Middle Ages, there were several attempts at creating stringed keyboard instruments with struck strings.^[3] By the 17th century, the mechanisms of keyboard instruments such as the clavichord and the harpsichord were well known. In a clavichord the strings are struck by tangents, while in a harpsichord they are plucked by quills. Centuries of work on the mechanism of the harpsichord in particular had shown the most effective ways to construct the case, soundboard, bridge, and keyboard.

The invention of the modern piano is credited to Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731) of Padua, Italy, who was employed by Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany, as the Keeper of the Instruments. He was an expert harpsichord maker, and was well acquainted with the body of knowledge on stringed keyboard instruments. It is not known exactly when Cristofori first built a piano. An inventory made by his employers, the Medici family, indicates the existence of a piano by the year 1700; another document of doubtful authenticity indicates a date of 1698. A friend of the family by the name of Sebastian LeBlanc suggested the idea to switch the black and white keys^{[citation needed]} The three Cristofori pianos that survive today date from the 1720s.^[4][5]

While the clavichord allowed expressive control of volume and sustain, it was too quiet for large performances. The harpsichord produced a sufficiently loud sound, but had little expressive control over each note. The piano was likely formed as an attempt to combine loudness with control, avoiding the trade-offs of available instruments.

Cristofori's great success was solving, with no prior example, the fundamental mechanical problem of piano design: the hammer must strike the string, but not remain in contact with it (as a tangent remains in contact with a clavichord string) because this would dampen the sound. Moreover, the hammer must return to its rest position  without bouncing violently, and it must be possible to repeat a note rapidly. Cristofori's piano action was a model for the many different approaches to piano actions that followed. Cristofori's early instruments were made with thin strings, and were much quieter than the modern piano—but compared to the clavichord (the only previous keyboard instrument capable of dynamic nuance via the keyboard) they were much louder and had more sustain.

madal

Madal is a hand drum which originates in Nepal. It is cylindrical in shape with a slight bulge in the middle. Its main frame is made of wood or clay, and the leather on two of its heads is what vibrates and produces the sound. Both heads are played with hands, holding the madal drum horizontally. This typical Nepalese percussion instrument is the backbone of most of Nepali folk music. The well-known Nepali musician Ranjit Gazmer introduced this instrument to Bollywood music and has used it in many Bollywood songs such as 'Hum dono do premi duniya chhod chale', 'Kanchha re kanchhi re' and many others.

Contents

• 1 History
  • 1.1 Medieval era
  • 1.2 Modern history
  • 1.3 BAHUN music
  • 1.4 Khas Music
    • 1.4.1 Deuda Music
  • 1.5 Gurung Music
  • 1.6 Kirant Music
  • 1.7 Tamang Music
  • 1.8 Magar Music
  • 1.9 Sherpa Music
  • 1.10 Maithili Music
• 2 Imported Music
  • 2.1 Nepali Music
  • 2.2 Western Music
• 3 Awards
  • 3.1 Annual Hits FM Music Awards
• 4 See also
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Harmanium

A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion. The air is usually supplied by bellows operated by foot, hand, or knees.

 

In North America, the most common pedal-pumped free-reed keyboard instrument is known as the American Reed Organ, (or parlor organ, pump organ, cabinet organ, cottage organ, etc.) and along with the earlier melodeon, is operated by a suction bellows where air is sucked through the reeds to produce the sound. A reed organ with a pressure bellows, that pushes the air through the reeds, is referred to as a harmonium.

 

A traditional wooden portable harmonium

In much of Europe, the term "harmonium" is used to describe all pedal-pumped keyboard free-reed instruments, making no distinction whether it has a pressure or suction bellows.

In India, the term generally refers to a hand-pumped instrument.

Tabala

The tabla (or tabl, tabla) (Hindi: तबला, Marathi: तबला, Kannada: ತಬಲ, Telugu: తబల, Tamil: தபேலா, Bengali: তবলা, Nepali: तबला, Urdu: طبلہ, Arabic: طبل، طبلة‎) is a popular Indian percussion instrument (of the membranophone family) used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres. The term 'tabla is derived from an Arabic word, tabl, which simply means "drum." ^[1]

Playing technique involves extensive use of the fingers and palms in various configurations to create a wide variety of different sounds, reflected in the mnemonic syllables (bol). The heel of the hand is used to apply pressure or in a sliding motion on the larger drum so that the pitch is changed during the sound's decay.

Contents

• 1 History
• 2 Nomenclature and construction
• 3 Tabla Notations
• 4 Basic Strokes
• 5 Gharānā — tabla tradition
• 6 Jori / Jodi and Dhama Style Tabla
• 7 Tabla terminology
• 8 Eminent Tabla Players
  • 8.1 From the past
  • 8.2 Present
  • 8.3 Promising youngsters
• 9 See also
• 10 Further reading
• 11 References

Basuri

The bansuri (Hindi: बांसुरी,Nepali: बाँसुरी, Marathi: बासरी Assamese: বাঁহি, Bengali: বাঁসুরী) is a transverse alto flute of India and Nepal 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", tonic E3 at A440Hz), pioneered by Pt. Pannalal Ghosh and elevated to heights of global renown by the brilliance of Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasiahas now been indispensable in Hindustani Classical music for well over half a century. Bansuris range in size from less than 12" to nearly 40".

Contents 1 History 2 Construction 3 Playing 4 Care and Maintenance 5 See also 6 Externals links 7 Notes

History

 

Hariprasad Chaurasia playing the Bansuri

The word bansuri originates in the Sanskrit bans [bamboo] + swar [musical note]. 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.^[1] 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.

Construction

Bansuri construction is a complex art. The bamboo suitable for making a bansuri needs to possess several qualities. It must be thin walled and straight with a uniform circular cross section and long internodes. Being a natural material, it is difficult to find bamboo shafts with all these characteristics, which in turn makes good bansuris rare and expensive. Suitable species of bamboo (such as Pseudostachyum) with these traits are endemic to the forests of Assam and Kerala.^[2]

After harvesting a suitable specimen, the bamboo is seasoned to allow naturally present resins to strengthen it. Once ready, a cork stopper is inserted to block one end, next to which the blowing hole is burnt in. The holes must be burnt in with red hot skewers since drilling causes the fibrous bamboo to split along the length, rendering it useless. The approximate positions of the finger holes are calculated by measuring the bamboo shaft's inner and outer diameters and applying certain formulae. Flute makers have only one chance to burn the holes, and a single mistake ruins the flute, so they usually begin by burning in a small hole, after which they play the note and using a chromatic tuner, gradually make adjustments by sanding the holes in small increments. Once all the holes are perfected, the bansuri is steeped in a solution of antiseptic oils, after which it is cleaned, dried and its ends are bound with silk or nylon threads for both decoration as well as protection against thermal expansion.

Playing

	Sound samples Bass Bansuri played with key of E(white three) sound samples Small Bansuri played with key of E(white three)
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Bansuris range in length from less than 12 inches (called muralis) up to about 40 inches (shankha bansuris). 20-inch bansuris are common. Another common and similar Indian flute played in South India is the venu, which is shorter in length and has 8 finger holes(This type of Indian flute is played by the famous Carnatic Musician Shashank Subramanyam). The index, middle, and ring fingers of both hands are usually used to finger the six hole bansuri. For the seven hole bansuri, the little finger (pinky) of the lower hand is usually employed.^[3]

 

fingering chart for a Bansuri

The sound of a bansuri is generated from resonance of the air column inside it. The length of this column is varied by closing or leaving open, a varying number of holes. Half-holing is employed to play flat or minor notes. The 'sa' (on the Indian sargam scale, or equivalent 'do' on the octave) note is obtained by covering the first three holes from the blowing-hole. Octaves are varied by manipulating one's embouchure and controlling the blowing strength. Various grip styles are used by flutists to suit different lengths of Bansuris, the two prominent styles being the Pannalal Ghosh grip, which uses the fingertips to close the holes, and the Hariprasad Chaurasia grip, which uses the pads(flat undersides) of the fingers to close the holes.^[4] While playing, the sitting posture is also important in that one should be careful not to strain one's back over long hours of practice. The size of a Bansuri affects its pitch. Longer bansuris with a larger bore have a lower pitch and the slimmer and shorter ones sound higher.

In order to play the diatonic scale on a bansuri, one needs to find where the notes lie. For example, in a bansuri where Sa or the tonic is always played by closing the first three holes, is equivalent to D, one can play sheet music by creating a finger notation that corresponds to different notes. A flutist is able to perform complex facets of Raga music such as microtonal inflections, ornamentation, and glissando by varying the breath, performing fast and dextrous fingering, and closing/opening the holes with slow, sweeping gestures. These techniques are demonstrated by the famous Indian flautist Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia.

Care and Maintenance

Since, Bansuri is a natural woodwind instrument, it is prone to cracks and thermal stresses while playing.

• Avoid playing in very cold conditions. This causes the bamboo to expand unevenly and develop cracks, because of the warm air blown into it.

• Frequently oiling the bansuri is recommended as this conditions the bamboo and makes it to last longer. Usually, slight amount of mustard oil is used on the inside of the bansuri. Some bansuri players and makers prefer linseed oil or walnut oil to mustard oil, owing to its strong odour. Oiling must never be done on the threads or near the blowing hole on the inside. A small cotton swab(attached to any convenient piece of stick) soaked in the oil should be applied on the inside, about two inches away from the blowing hole. It must be made sure that the bansuri is cold(i.e., not recently played, because  recently played bansuris have moisture on the bore surface) before oiling. After oiling is done, it is allowed to soak completely.

• The frequency of oiling depends on the climatic conditions in which the bansuri is played. Dry hot climates require oiling as frequent as four to six times an year.

• If, in case, cracks develop on the bansuri, they will most likely destroy the tuning of the bansuri. To prevent further damage due to cracks, apply instant glue( with lower viscosity, so that it can seep into the crack and bond it) on the crack and then bind the area with threads(nylon threads used in crochet can be used).

Famous masters of the bansuri include Pt. Pannalal Ghosh, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Vijay Raghav Rao, G. S. Sachdev, Pt. Devendra Murdeshwar, Pt. Raghunath Seth, Ronu Majumdar and Nityanand Haldipur, Pt. Rajendra Prasanna

See also

• Hindustani classical music
• Venu
• Flute