Iacobus Leodiensis [Iacobus de Montibus, Iacobus de Oudenaerde]

6. Instrumental traditions.

South Asian instruments are classically arranged into four groups: tata (‘stretched’) are chordophones; susira (‘tubular’) are aerophones; avanaddha (‘covered’) are membranophones; and ghana (‘solid’) are idiophones. This section discusses the instrumental repertories of Hindustani and Karnatak music; organological information is found under each instrument’s individual entry. It should be noted that many of the instruments below are also used in local, devotional and popular traditions.

(i) Chordophones.

(ii) Aerophones.

(iii) Membranophones.

(iv) Idiophones.

(v) Ensembles.

India, Subcontinent of, §III, 6: Theory and practice of classical music., Instrumental traditions.

(i) Chordophones.

The general term for a chordophone in Sanskrit music literature has been vīnā (see Vīnā, §§1–2). Today this term designates the Karnatak vīnā (a plucked, fretted lute sometimes called Sarasvatī-vīnā), while bīn refers to the Hindustani vīnā (a plucked, fretted stick zither) associated with the dhrupad tradition (Table 15). Both of these instruments have a fretless counterpart, the gottuvādyam and vicitrā vīnā respectively, the string being stopped with a sliding block. The plucked lutes of Hindustani music are the fretted sitār (and its larger counterpart, the sūrbahār), the fretless sarod (and its forerunner the rabāb) and the drone lute tambūrā (also used in Karnatak music).

Bowed lutes in south Asia, the fretless sārangī and violin and (uncommonly) the fretted dilrubā and esrāj, were traditionally accompanying instruments. The violin was predominant in the south and the sārangī in the north; both now appear on concert platforms as solo instruments. The santūr, a struck box zither, was until recently restricted to the sūfiāna mūsīqī of Kashmir but is now being used to perform Hindustani music. Hindustani and Karnatak musicians have also adopted instruments originating from outside south Asia. In addition to the violin mentioned above, there are notable performers on the guitar and the mandolin.

TABLE 15: Principal south Asian string instruments
			Hindustani	Carnatic
		drone		tamburā	tamburā
		fretted		bīn	vīnā
plucked						sitar (and surbahar)
		fretless		vicitra (mahātī) vīnā	gottuvādyam
						*rabāb
					(sūr śringār)
					sarod
				sārangī
		fretless		violin	violin
bowed					(sārindā)
		fretted		(dilrubāa and esrāj)
*the plucked ‘Afghan’ rabāb, not the bowed kemānche-like one