Ottu (instrument)

Last updated

The ottu (or otter [1] ) is a double reed wind instrument, used in Carnatic music of Southern India to provide a drone accompaniment to the similar nadaswaram oboe. [2] Like the nadaswaram, the ottu is a large conical instrument, some two and a half feet long. [3] Unlike the nadaswaram, the ottu has no fingerholes, being intended to produce one constant note while playing. It is provided with several small tuning holes which can be stopped with wax to modify its note. [4] In some cases, a shruti box may be used in place of the ottu due to its steadier sound. [5] [6] The player holds the instrument in their left hand, sustaining the sound by inhaling through their nose, and with the right hand, beats on a drum strapped onto a belt.

Related Research Articles

Playback singer a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in film

A playback singer is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not appear on the screen.

Nadaswaram

The nadaswaram, nadhaswaram, nagaswaram, nagasvaram or nathaswaram is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala.

Kanjira South Indian frame drum

The kanjira, khanjira, khanjiri or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. As a folk and bhajan instrument, it has been used in India for many centuries. It was modified to a frame drum with a single pair of jingles by Manpoondia Pillai in the 1880s, who is credited with bringing the instrument to the classical stage. It is used primarily in concerts of Carnatic music as a supporting instrument for the mridangam.

The venu is one of the ancient transverse flutes of Indian classical music. It is an aerophone typically made from bamboo, that is a side blown wind instrument. It continues to be in use in the South Indian Carnatic music tradition. In Northern Indian music, a similar flute is called bansuri. In the South, it is also called by various other names such as pullankuzhal (புல்லாங்குழல்) in Tamil, പുല്ലാങ്കുഴല് in Malayalam, and ಕೊಳಲು (koḷalu) in Kannada. It is known as pillana grōvi or Vēṇuvu (వేణువు) in Telugu.

The filmi-ghazal is a genre of filmi music based on ghazal poetry in Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu), used in Indian films, especially the music of Bollywood. The filmi-ghazals retain the couplet format and rhyme scheme similar to that in ghazals. However, instead of vocal or instrumental passages as interludes, the filmi-ghazal usually uses precomposed musical pieces.

Delhi P. Sunder Rajan Indian musician

Delhi P. Sunder Rajan is a violinist-vocalist of India performing South Indian Classical music. He is known for his improvisations and style of playing.

Urumi (drum)

The urumi is a double-headed hourglass-shaped drum from the state of Tamil Nadu, South India. Two skin heads are attached to a single hollow, often intricately carved wooden shell. The preferred wood is jackwood, although other woods like rosewood may be used. Both left and right heads are usually made from cow hide that is stretched around a thin metal ring. The outer circumference of each head is perforated with approximately seven to eight holes. The two heads are held in tension by a continuous rope that is woven around the drum in a V-shape pattern. Additional small coils of string or metal are tied around each pair of ropes near the left head. These coils can be slide horizontally along the length of the drum, increasing or decreasing the tension between the heads as necessary. For example, during the monsoon season the drum heads will slacken so much that the instrument becomes unplayable. Using these coils drummers can easily rectify such problems.

Abdul Ahad was a Bangladeshi composer, music director and singer. He was the recipient of Independence Day Award in 1978. The Government of Pakistan awarded him Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in 1962 and Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 1969 for his contribution to music.

Brij Bhushan Kabra Indian guitar player

Brij Bhushan Kabra was an Indian musician who popularized the guitar as an instrument in Indian classical music.

The titti is a type of bagpipe played in Andhra Pradesh, India, made from an entire goat-skin. The instrument is described as a goatskin with a double-reed inserted into one leg, and a bamboo blowpipe into the other. The term tittii is used in Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.

Sruti upanga type of bagpipe

The sruti upanga is a type of bagpipe played in Tamil Nadu, southern India. The instrument was often used to supply a drone to accompany mukha vina music.

Falak is a style of music native to the Pamir Mountains of Central Asia, particularly the Badakhshan region of northeastern Afghanistan, southeastern Tajikistan, and northern Pakistan. Falak lyrics can involve religious-mystical themes of divine love, separation and reunion, or secular and melancholy lyrics of human love and suffering.

Alankara, also referred to as palta or alankaram, is a concept in Indian classical music and literally means "ornament, decoration". An alankara is any pattern of musical decoration a musician or vocalist creates within or across tones, based on ancient musical theories or driven by personal creative choices, in a progression of svaras. The term alankara is standard in Carnatic music, while the same concept is referred to as palta or alankara in Hindustani music.

The arbajo is a type of Nepali plucked lute, long-necked and four stringed, now described as largely extinct and superseded by the smaller, rir bowed Nepali sarangi. Some of the few musicians still playing the arbajo are of the Gaine caste, in Lamjung District and Kaski District of western Nepal.

Sangita, also spelled Samgita or Sangeeta, refers to "music and associated performance arts" in the Indian traditions. According to Guy Beck, the root "saṃ-" implies "combining, coming together, convergent wholesome blending, unison" in the context of musical arts. Sangita connotes any form of singing with music, harmonious recitation or chorus singing in particular. In some medieval era literary genre such as the Puranas and poetic texts such as Kathasaritsagar, a related term Sangita-shastra and Sangita-vidya mean the "art, science or knowledge of singing and dancing with music". According to Alison Arnold and Bruno Nettl, the modern term music fails to capture the historic sense of "Sanskrit sangita and Greek mousike". In the Indian tradition, the term sangita includes melodious singing, rhythmic dancing, instrumental music, classical, provincial, ritual chanting and incidental forms of music-related performance arts.

Bhagavata Mela is a classical Indian dance that is performed in Tamil Nadu, particularly the Thanjavur area. It is choreographed as an annual Vaishnavism tradition in Melattur and nearby regions, and celebrated as a dance-drama performance art. The dance art has roots in a historic migration of practitioners of Kuchipudi, another Indian classical dance art, from Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu

Vadya Instrumental music, instrument in Sanskrit texts

Vadya, also called Vadyaka or Atodya, is one of the three components of sangita, and refers to "instrumental music" in the Indian traditions. The other two components of sangita are gita and nrtya. In the general sense, Vadya means an instrument and the characteristic music they produce, sound or play out.

Nritya Indian art form

Nritya, also referred to as Nrit, Nritta, Natana or Natya, refers to "dance, act on the stage, act, gesticulate, play" in the Indian traditions. It is sometimes sub-divided into two forms: nritta or pure dance, wherein expression-less movements of a dancer play out the rhythms and phrases of the music; and nritya or expressive dance, wherein the dancer includes facial expression and body language to portray mood and ideas with the rhythmic movements to communicate with the audience.

Mardani Jhumair( also Mardana Jhumar) is a Nagpuri folk dance performed by men in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Men wear ghongroo, hold sword, shield and dance in a circle by holding each other's hand. Musical instruments used in this dance are mandar, nagara, dhak and Shehnai or bansi.

References

  1. Sampa Ghosh; Utpal Kumar Banerjee (1 January 2006). Indian Puppets. Abhinav Publications. pp. 26–. ISBN   978-81-7017-435-6 . Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  2. Shrine to Music Museum (University of South Dakota); Thomas E. Cross (1982). Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal, Thailand, and Tibet. Shrine to Music Museum, University of South Dakota. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  3. Light Isaac (1967). Theory of Indian music. Printed at Shyam Printers. pp. 156–157. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  4. Alison Arnold (2000). South Asia: The Indian Subcontinent. Taylor & Francis. pp. 360–. ISBN   978-0-8240-4946-1 . Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  5. Vidya Shankar (1983). The art and science of Carnatic music. Music Academy Madras. p. 10. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  6. Alison Arnold (2000). South Asia: The Indian Subcontinent. Taylor & Francis. pp. 359–. ISBN   978-0-8240-4946-1 . Retrieved 25 December 2012.

Further reading