Musical instruments for Carnatic (contd...)

I now cover all typs of drums that are used:

Chenda
is a drum from the South Indian state of Kerala and parts of Karnataka. It is an indispensable accompaniment for the Kathakali dance form. The Karnataka version, known as chende, is also used in the dance drama known as Yaksha Gana. It has heads on both ends but only one side is played.

Dholki
also called nal, is an drum with a barrel shaped shell. The left side resembles the bayan (large metal drum of the tabla) except that it uses dholak masala (oil based application) on the inner surface instead of a syahi (permanent black spot). The right head is unique in its construction. Goat-skin is stitched onto an iron ring. In the centre of this skin is a syahi, similar to tabla except much thinner. The traditional nals were laced with rope and had sticks to function as turnbuckles. Today, metal turnbuckles have replaced the rope lacing in most models. The nal is very popular in the tamasha (street performance) of Maharashtra. It has been absorbed into the Hindi film industry and today the nal is very popular for filmi music. There is often some confusion concerning the term "dholki" because, this term literally means, "a small dholak"; as such, the term is often used for smaller dhalaks that structurally are disimilar to the nal

Idakka and udaku
are hour-glass drums from south India. They are very similar to the damaru which is found throughout India. Where the damaru is played by rattling knotted cords against the resonators, the idakka is played with a stick and the udaku is played with the hand. The udaku is structurally different in that it has a small snare made of hair, fishing line or similar material stretched over one side. Like the damaru both the udaku and the idakka's pitch may be bent by squeezing the lacing in the middle

Kanjira
The kanjira is a small tambourine. It is made by stretching lizard skin over a wooden frame. The frame is about seven inches in diameter with one metal jingle mounted in it. The kanjira is very popular in South Indian classical performances. It is related to the daf of folk music

Mridamgam
Mridangam is a South Indian version of the pakhawaj. It bears a strong superficial resemblance to pakhawaj but there are major differences in construction and technique. The tone of the instrument is quite different.

Ghatam
Ghatam is nothing more than a large clay pot. It is very commonly played in South Indian classical performances. There are two actions of resonance. The primary one is the ringing of the pot caused by striking. A very low resonance is also produced by the cavity. This pitch is raised or lowered by opening or closing the hole with the stomach.

Please listen to my carnatic songs: