THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

Friends, as part of mass communication programme project online journal,one of my articles that I wrote was about MUSIC:

Read my article below about the Sound of Music, and do give me your comments.

Different kinds of Instrument for different Music.

Veena Nadha Samarambhaam

Murali Rava Prasadanaam

Vaadyavrinda Bhooshitam

Vanse Devam Jagat Gurum.

Starting with the resonants of the Veena's chords flowing with the mellifluence of the flute with different musical instruments, let me worship that God Lord Shiva). - so says the Holy Book of Scriptures.

Music is the nectar of life, and especially so in the context of our Indian Culture. A musical instrument can be described as an object constructed or used for the purpose of making the sounds of music.

India has a rich history of music culture, and thanks to Indian sensibilities, it still exists because of the popularity of Indian music.

Our life is full of sounds, and why not - the cacophony of traffic horns, the jangling of vessels, all these add to the sound that is Indian essentially.

Take Ghatam for example. Ghatam is a unique clay instrument that can remind one of the 'matka' - which is essentially used for the purpose of storing water. The Ghatam, like all other instruments is beleived to have taken roots in that what we call the cultural aspect of India. Do we now understand the link between music and everyday life?

Now that brings us to how different kinds of music are created from different instruments? Like Veena's music is intrinsically different from that of guitar or piano's is different from tabla. How does that happen? A musical instrument, like everything else, has a nature that is uniquely own. That is because, everything has it's own natural frequency. This frequency produces sound. Therefore the sound of Veena comes from making the strings vibrate, by plucking them or using a bow. On the other hand, hitting drums and tablas with sticks makes them vibrate. Flute, a cylindrical tube is made of bamboo - and is one among all the celebrated musical instruments in our country.

The rich, deep and mellow tune of the flute id what makes it one of the most popular ensembles, even today.

Flutes made of bamboo are longer in the north than those that are used in the south. South India and Bengal are popular for horizontal flute.

Mridanga which means body of clay is the most ancient. This is ancient and the most common instrument used to accompany vocal and instrumental performance. Today the Mridanga is most widely used in Carnatic music performances. These performances take place all over Southern India and are now popular all over the world. As the principle rhythmic accompaniment, the mridangam has a place of utmost importance, ensuring all of the other artists are keeping their timing in check while providing support to the main artist. One of the highlights of a modern Carnatic music concert is the percussion solo (thani avarthanam), where the mridangam artist and other percussionists such as Kanjir, Morsing, and Ghatam vidwans exchange various complex rhythmic patterns, culminating in a grand finale where the main artists resums where he or she left off. Mrindangam is used as an accompanying instrument in Yakshagana Himmela (Orchestra) where it is called Maddale. However, Mridangam used in Yakshagana is markedly different in structure and acoustics from the ones used in Carnatic music.

Nagada are the kellte drums. It is very popular in the Punjab region. And Hindi film music has made the Nagada all the more popular, with hindi songs using it as a part of their lyrics - thus making it a household name. Today, this instrument is greatly used to accompany shehnai.

The Shehnai, a north Indian instrument, is considered particularly auspicious. It is found in temple musicals and is an indispensable component of any North Indian Wedding. The Shehnai thus has been part of the traditional ensembles of nine instruments found at royal courts.