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Kuzhal
The kuzhal is a traditional double reed wind instrument used in the south Indian state of Kerala. It is similar in construction to a ''nagaswaram'' or a large ''shehnai'', and has a very shrill and penetrating tone. Kuzhal is primarily used as an accompaniment for chenda-led ensembles Panchari Melam and Pandi Melam, where the piper plays the anchor role. However, as prelude to melams, it is also used to present solo concert (with a couple of accompanying instruments), in which case it is called Kuzhal Pattu. The instrument has a wooden body with a conical bore, at the end of which is affixed a brass bell. The player, who is almost always male, blows through a double reed and closes small holes with both hands. See also * Nadaswaram * Shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kuzhal Pattu
Kuzhal pattu is a form of Music of Kerala, traditional temple music practised in the Kerala state of India. It centers on the use of the kuzhal, a double reed wind instrument, and is typically performed at temple festivals. Structure In kuzhal pattu, the kuzhal plays the lead with the support of several accompanying instruments, which may include chenda (both Clef#Treble clef, treble and Bass (sound), bass), ilathalam, toppi maddalam and a sruti (drone) kuzhal. A Kuzhal Pattu typically starts with the lead kuzhal essaying an alapanam to establish a raga. The other instruments may join in as the kuzhal pattu progresses through several ragas and compositions. The span of the musical form ranges from five minutes to over an hour, with an average length of 30 minutes. Performance Kuzhal pattu is typically used as a prelude to panchari melam, but may also be played prior to night seevelis (temple circumambulations) that perform panchavadyam. It is usually performed inside the temple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panchari Melam
Panchari Melam is a percussion ensemble, performed during temple festivals in Kerala, India. Panchari Melam (or simply panchari), is one of the major forms of Chenda Melam (ethnic drum ensemble), and is the best-known and most popular in the ''kshetram vadyam'' (temple percussion) genre. Panchari Melam, comprising instruments like Chenda, Ilathalam, Kombu and Kuzhal, is performed during many temple festivals in central Kerala, where it is presented in arguably the most classical manner. Panchari is also traditionally performed, albeit with a touch of subtle regional difference, in north Kerala (Malabar) and south-central Kerala (Kochi). Of late, its charm has led to its performance even in temples in Kerala's deep south. Panchari is a six-beat thaalam ( taal) with equivalents like Roopakam in south Indian Carnatic music and Daadra in the northern Hindustani classical. Another Chenda Melam which comes close to Panchari in prominence and grammatical soundness, is Pandi Melam, pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Musical Instruments
Indian musical instruments can be broadly classified according to the Hornbostel–Sachs system into four categories: chordophones (string instruments), aerophones (wind instruments), membranophones (drums) and idiophones (non-drum percussion instruments). Chordophones Plucked strings Bowed strings * Chikara * Dhantara * Dilruba * Ektara violin * Esraj * Kamaicha * Kingri (string instrument) * Mayuri Vina or Taus * Onavillu * Behala (violin type) * Pena (musical instrument) * Pinaka vina * Pulluvan Veena - one stringed violin * Ravanahatha * Sarangi * Classical Sarangi * Sarinda * Tar Shehnai * Villu Paatu - arched bow instrument + Behala - Bengal Murshidabad Violin Persian "Behaaleh" (Restless) Other string instruments * Gethu or Jhallari – struck tanpura * Gubguba or Jamuku (khamak) * Pulluvan kutam * Santoor – Hammered dulcimer Aerophones Single reed *Pepa *Pungi or Been Double reed * Kuzhal * Mukhavina * Nadaswaram * Shehnai * Sundari * Ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double Reed
A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. In contrast with a single reed instrument, where the instrument is played by channeling air against one piece of cane which vibrates against the mouthpiece and creates a sound, a double reed features two pieces of cane vibrating against each other. This means, for instruments with the double reed fully exposed, that the air flow can be controlled by the embouchure from the top, bottom and sides of the reed. The term ''double reeds'' can also refer collectively to the class of instruments which use double reeds. Structure and dimensions The size and shape of the reed depend on the type of double-reed instrument which is of two groups, conical and cylindrical. Even within families of instruments, for example, the oboe family, the reed for the oboe is quite different from that for the cor anglais (English horn). Oboe reeds are usually 7 mm (0.3 in) in width, while bassoon reeds are wider, from 13. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations average to between 73–55 ka.", "Modern human beings—''Homo sapiens''—originated in Africa. Then, int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Canara, and Thiruvithamkoor. Spread over , Kerala is the 21st largest Indian state by area. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33 million inhabitants as per the 2011 census, Kerala is the 13th-largest Indian state by population. It is divided into 14 districts with the capital being Thiruvananthapuram. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The Chera dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala. The Ay kingdom in the deep south and the Ezhimala kingdom in the north formed the other kingdoms in the early years of the Common Era (CE). The region had been a prominent spic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nadaswaram
The Nagaswaram (nādḥasvaram) is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala. This instrument is "among the world's loudest non-brass acoustic instruments". It is a wind instrument partially similar to the North Indian ''shehnai,'' but much longer, with a hardwood body, and a large flaring bell made of wood or metal. In South Indian culture, the nadasvaram is considered to be very auspicious, and it is a key musical instrument played in almost all Hindu weddings and temples of the South Indian tradition. It is part of the family of instruments known as ''mangala vadyam'' (lit. ''mangala'' "auspicious", ''vadya'' "instrument"). The instrument is usually played in pairs, and accompanied by a pair of drums called ''thavil''; it can also be accompanied with a drone from a similar oboe, called the ottu. History The nadasvaram is referred to in many ancient Tam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shehnai
The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end.Shehnai Britannica.com. Its sound is thought to create and maintain a sense of auspiciousness and sanctity and as a result, is widely used during s, and in s although it is also played in |
Pandi Melam
Pandi melam is a classical percussion concert or melam (ensemble) led by the ethnic Kerala instrument called the chenda and accompanied by ilathalam (cymbals), kuzhal and Kombu. A full-length Pandi, a melam based on a thaalam ( taal) with seven beats, lasts more than two-and-a-half hours, and is canonically performed outside temples. It has basically four stages, each of them with rhythmic cycles (thaalavattam) totalling 56, 28, 14 and seven respectively. The most celebrated Pandi Melam is staged inside a temple compound at the ''Vadakkunnathan'' shrine's precincts in the central Kerala town of Thrissur. For the last several years, Peruvanam Kuttan Marar is the lead conductor for this symphony of drums known as ''Elanjithara Melam''. Elsewhere, like in the pooram festivals of Aarattupuzha and Peruvanam near Thrissur and the rest of central and northern Kerala, it is performed outside temples. Another ensemble called Panchari Melam, which is similar to Pandi going by the kin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other within the same crystal structure. Brass is similar to bronze, another copper alloy, that uses tin instead of zinc. Both bronze and brass may include small proportions of a range of other elements including arsenic (As), lead (Pb), phosphorus (P), aluminium (Al), manganese (Mn), and silicon (Si). Historically, the distinction between the two alloys has been less consistent and clear, and modern practice in museums and archaeology increasingly avoids both terms for historical objects in favor of the more general "copper alloy". Brass has long been a popular material for decoration due to its bright, gold-like appearance; being used for drawer pulls and doorknobs. It has also been widely used to make utensils because of its low melting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nadaswaram
The Nagaswaram (nādḥasvaram) is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala. This instrument is "among the world's loudest non-brass acoustic instruments". It is a wind instrument partially similar to the North Indian ''shehnai,'' but much longer, with a hardwood body, and a large flaring bell made of wood or metal. In South Indian culture, the nadasvaram is considered to be very auspicious, and it is a key musical instrument played in almost all Hindu weddings and temples of the South Indian tradition. It is part of the family of instruments known as ''mangala vadyam'' (lit. ''mangala'' "auspicious", ''vadya'' "instrument"). The instrument is usually played in pairs, and accompanied by a pair of drums called ''thavil''; it can also be accompanied with a drone from a similar oboe, called the ottu. History The nadasvaram is referred to in many ancient Tam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
