Dhaa

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The Dhaa (or Dhah) [1] is a two-headed drum, "slightly smaller than the Dhimay." [1] It belong to the membranophone group of Newar traditional musical instruments. It is a kind of drum specially played during the month of Gunlaa, the ninth month of Newar calendar. Dhaa is also known as "Gunlaa Baajan".

It is made of a hollow wooden trunk covered at both sides with animal skin. The left side is covered with a thicker skin producing flat sound whereas the right side is covered with thinner skin producing sharper sound.

The Dhaa is played by a group of even number of people standing. The instrument is suspended with a belt over the right shoulder. Dhaa is always accompanied with Taa and Bhushyaa along with the tunes from some aerophones.

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The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a percussion mallet, to produce sound. There is usually a resonance head on the underside of the drum, typically tuned to a slightly lower pitch than the top drumhead. Other techniques have been used to cause drums to make sound, such as the thumb roll. Drums are the world's oldest and most ubiquitous musical instruments, and the basic design has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years.

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Dhol

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Newa music Music of the Newar people of Nepal

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Dhimay

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Khin is a classical membranophone used in Newar music. Khin are played in pair putting on lap by the players facing each other.

Musical instrument History and classification

A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates to the beginnings of human culture. Early musical instruments may have been used for ritual, such as a horn to signal success on the hunt, or a drum in a religious ceremony. Cultures eventually developed composition and performance of melodies for entertainment. Musical instruments evolved in step with changing applications and technologies.

Gunla Bajan

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Classification of percussion instruments

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Conservation and restoration of musical instruments

The conservation and restoration of musical instruments is performed by conservator-restorers who are professionals, properly trained to preserve or protect historical and current musical instruments from past or future damage or deterioration. Because musical instruments can be made entirely of, or simply contain, a wide variety of materials such as plastics, woods, metals, silks, and skin, to name a few, a conservator should be well-trained in how to properly examine the many types of construction materials used in order to provide the highest level or preventive and restorative conservation.

References

  1. 1 2 "Membranophones". Jwajalapa!. newatech, inc. 1 May 2008. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2016.