One reason Indian music is
so distinct is the instruments that are used. I got a harmonium for Christmas and I’m learning how to play
it! A harmonium is a keyboard
instrument in which the tones are produced by pumping air through metal reeds
by means of steadily pushed bellows.
It’s kind of like an accordion, but you sit on the floor to play it, and
the sound is really unique. A
Mridanga is a double-sided drum made of clay. Kartals are hand cymbals. A vina is a lute-like instrument in the zither family. It has seven strings and a pear-shaped
fretted neck. This is the
instrument that the goddess Saraswati plays. A tanpura is a stringed instrument similar to a sitar. It is usually made of dried pumpkin or
wood, and it has four to six strings played one after the other. It is usually background for other
instruments. And of course, Indian
music is often accompanied by exuberant singing and dancing.
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