History
The music of India and its history are too complex to be described briefly. Nevertheless a brief introduction will help those who are new to Indian music; they will no doubt be more influenced by what they hear than by what they read but a foreknowledge of certain theoretical points may assist their appreciation.

Heritage
Indian music has a very long, unbroken tradition - the accumulated heritge of centuries. The origin can be traced back to Vedic days - nearly two thousand years. The culture of India today is an outcome of the interaction and interweaving of races and cultures, both indigenous and foreign; and it is the study of the contribution of these various races and tribes that gives us the picture of the evolution of Indian music. The Negrito, the Mongoloid, the Dravidian, and the Aryan, have all contributed to the complexity of Indian culture.

North Indian music is popularly known as Hindustani music and South Indian as Karnatic; their origin is the same, only the approach and style are different. When and how the two main schools crytallized would be an interesting study but the earliest treatises of Indian music do not make any distinction between Northern and Southern schools.

Musical Instruments Of India
India can be said to be a country of countries; its diversity of languages, religions, cultures, and traditions have no parallel example anywhere in the world. Indian musical instruments in the same manner are very diverse in nature. Most of the Indian musical instruments have evolved over centuries. Each instrument has its own history behind its evolution. In a culture's early stages, artifacts, musical Instruments, and lifestyles are simple and basic in nature. As a society progresses, the demands made on musical instruments rise. Thus, most Indian instruments - although having started in simple forms because of a long period of evolution - have now become exquisite instruments capable of producing a varied pitch and range of octaves. Example: Tabla must have started just as a plain drum.
Below is a list of some Indian musical instruments that have gained popularity and acceptance worldwide.

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Sitar

Probably the most popular string instrument from India is the sitar. String instruments have gained popularity because strings are considered to be the best accompaniment to singing, a prime element of Indian music. A main body of the sitar is made of wood, however, the main gourd (toomba) is made of pumpkin. The pumpkin acts as a resonator or a sound box. It consists of seven main strings and 11 sympathetic strings. The frets in a sitar are curved, a brilliant innovation which helps the artist to play different scales and vary the pitch while playing the instrument by pulling the strings on the sides. Its pitch range is three or more octaves.

The origin of sitar actually goes back to Iran. It used to be called "setar" which means three strings. However, the modern sitar as we know it was developed in India in the 18th century.

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Sarod

Although the origin of Sarod is not known, it is supposed to have descended from the rabab of the Middle East. Some believe that this stringed instrument might have originated from the Greco-Buddhist area of Gandhar (Modern Afghanisatan).

The modern Sarod is made of wood with one end being rounded and covered with parchment. There are six main metallic strings fastened to pegs at the neck of the instrument. It is played with a plectrum held in the right hand while the fingers of the left hand are used to play the notes.

It is fretless instrument with sympathetic strings. Sarod has secured an important place in Hindustani Classical Music for its deep and rich tone and a distinctive sound.

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Santoor

Santoor, which originated from the Vedic Vana Veena, is characteristic of the Kashmir Valley and is neither seen nor played anywhere else. The Vana Veena also had strings and was played with sticks.

The modern Santoor is made of a trapezoid wooden box. There are thirty bridges and a set of four strings of metal, turned to the same note, is stretched over each pair of bridges. It is played with a pair of flat wooden pieces curved at the striking ends. Today, Santoor is played with all Indian ragas and is very popular with film musicians.

It is made by hollowing out a single block of wood and covered by parchment and has four strings. Four tuning pegs are fixed to the hollow head and a bridge is placed on the hide-covered belly in the middle. The player places the instrument on the lap and plays it with a horse-hair bow in the right hand and fingers and nails of the left hand. The tone of the Sarangi is every near to the human vocal chord.

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Sarangi

Sarangi is another stringed instrument mainly popular as folk instrument and probably made its first appearance in the late 17th Century. The ability to play all types of gamakas has given it a prominent place in the Hindustani Classic Music.

It is made by hollowing out a single block of wood and covered by parchment and has four strings. Four tuning pegs are fixed to the hollow head and a bridge is placed on the hide-covered belly in the middle. The player places the instrumenton the lap and plays it with a horse-hair bow in the right hand and fingers and nails in the left hand. The tone of Sarangi is very near to the human vocal chord.

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Violin

Though the Indian Classical Music has a number of stringed instruments of the bowed variety, the introduction of Violin to it, is quite recent. In fact, it is the only western instrument to be absorbed completely into Indian music. It is said that, about a century ago, Varahappaya, a Minister to the Maratha rulers of Tanjavoor, explored this instrument to enrich Indian Classical Music.

The strings of the Violin in India are tuned to different notes than the western style. The light tone of the steel string and the deep, almost human tone of the fourth string embellishes the peculiarities of Carnatic music.

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Tabla

The tabla is a very popular percussion instrument of India. It consists of two drums called tabla & dagga (bayan) respectively. The treble drum (tabla) is generally made of wood and the top is covered with a stretched skin. To produce the distinct treble sound of the tabla; the artesan has to make a hard mixture in the center of the tabla ( shahi ). The skin is wrapped around the wood frame with the help of leather strings (wadi ) and round wooden blocks (gatta). The tuning is done with the help of a hammer which is struck on the gatta to tense or relax the skin. The dagga pot is generally made of brass or copper. It is the bass accompaniment of the Tabla. The tabla is about 11 inches long while the dagga is about 10 inches long.

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Flute

This wind instrument of ancient India was very common with Lord Krishna and the religious music of the Buddhists. Even the frescoes of Ajanta and Ellora depict this Flute or Bansuri as an accompaniment to vocal and instrumental music.

Being an instrument of great Antiquity, its construction remained constant over the years. It is made of a cylinderical bamboo pipe of uniform bore, containing six holes for movement of the fingers and a bigger hole for blowing air. It is handled in an oblique position and air is blown with the upper lip into the main hole. Different octaves are produced by covering the holes with the fingers.

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Shehnai

The shehnai belongs to the woodwind family of instruments. It has double reeds to produce that characteristic vibrating sound. It is played with the fleshy parts of the fingers rather than the tips of the fingers. The shehnai is capable of producing a sound very similar to the human voice.

The outer body of the shehnai is made of wood with a metal bell at the tip of the instrument. It has a pitch range of two octaves. The melody of shehnai forms a integral part of music at Indian marriages. The shehnai is about 20 inches long.

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Harmonium

The harmonium belongs to the wind family of instruments. The basic working of a harmon-ium is a wooden box in which air is trapped with the help of bellows. There are normally two to three chambers in which metal reeds are fixed; the sound is produced when the air is forced out of the reeds. The working of the reeds is controlled by the white and black keys on the surface of the instrument. It is a constant companion for most ghazal singers.

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Tanpura

A tanpura is always conspicuous by its absence. Nobody would feel the necessity of having a Tanpura till the time he would listen to any performance without it. It is also gaining popularity in meditation centers because of its beautiful, rich, soothing sound that has a very relaxing effect. A tanpura is made of wood and has a larger base (toomba) than a sitar. The toomba, like that of sitar, is made of pumpkin. It has four strings and comes in two pitches, male and female. It is used to produce deep resonating sound to give continuity to the music and a sense of balance.

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Veena

The Southern Veena was brought into use by Raghunatha Naik, a ruler of Tanjavoor, consisting of twenty four fixed frets. The body is hollowed out of a block of wood. The neck is attached to the stem having a weired figure like the head of a dragon. There are seven strings in all.

The Vichitra Veena of the North and a rare instrument, was introduced by Ustad Abdul Ajij Khan, a court musician at Indore. It is of comparatively recent origin. It has a broad stem and six main strings are fastened to wooden pegs fixed to the other end. It is played by means of a plectrum on the right hand finger.

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