Percussion instruments

1. Classification and musical function

Indian percussion encompasses concert drums, folk instruments, temple ensembles and small timekeeping instruments. The Natya Shastra, attributed to Bharata, presents a fourfold classification of musical instruments: tata, sushira, avanaddha and ghana. This classification is based primarily on how sound is generated, not on the instrument’s size, regional origin or place in a modern orchestra. Avanaddha instruments roughly correspond to membranophones, while ghana instruments broadly correspond to idiophones in modern organology.

In avanaddha vadya, sound arises principally from a stretched membrane mounted over a hollow body. Tabla, mridangam, pakhawaj, dhol and kanjira belong here. In ghana vadya, the solid material of the instrument itself vibrates. Examples include cymbals such as manjira, metal plates, bells and the clay-pot ghatam. The presence of a hollow resonating chamber does not by itself make an instrument avanaddha: the ghatam has no stretched membrane.

Percussion articulates tala, the recurring organisation of musical time, and helps establish laya, or tempo. Tala is not simply speed, nor is it equivalent to a drum pattern alone. In Hindustani music, a theka is a characteristic pattern of strokes identifying a tala. Performers use mnemonic syllables, or bols, to transmit rhythmic compositions. Carnatic pedagogy similarly uses spoken rhythmic syllables, commonly called solkattu; konnakol is their vocal performance.

• Examination test: identify the vibrating element before classifying the instrument.
• Musical test: distinguish tala, the rhythmic framework, from laya, the pace of performance.

2. Tabla and pakhawaj in Hindustani traditions

The tabla is a pair of separately played drums. For a conventional right-handed player, the smaller wooden dayan is played with the right hand and the larger bayan with the left. The bayan commonly has a metal body, although other materials are also used. Their membrane heads carry a carefully prepared loading paste, known as syahi. This loading modifies vibration and contributes to the characteristic tonal quality. The dayan is normally tuned to a suitable pitch related to the music’s tonic.

The tabla accompanies khayal, instrumental recitals and Kathak, and also has a developed solo repertoire. Delhi, Ajrada, Lucknow, Farrukhabad, Banaras and Punjab are major tabla gharanas. Their repertoires and approaches to stroke production differ, although modern performers frequently draw from several lineages. Important names include Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, Alla Rakha, Kishan Maharaj and Zakir Hussain. Gharanas represent artistic lineages and styles rather than different categories of musical instrument.

The pakhawaj is a single, elongated, double-headed drum, generally played horizontally with the hands. Its resonant, weighty sound is closely associated with dhrupad and dhamar. Dhamar also names a fourteen-matra tala. The history of tabla’s emergence is debated; the popular claim that Amir Khusrau invented it by cutting a pakhawaj into two should not be presented as established historical fact. The safe examination distinction is between the tabla’s two separate drums and the pakhawaj’s two heads on one body.

3. Percussion in Carnatic music

The mridangam is the principal percussion accompaniment in Carnatic concerts. It is a double-headed, barrel-shaped drum, usually made from a hollowed wooden body, commonly jackwood. Its two heads differ in pitch and construction; the smaller head carries a permanent loading that supports a clear musical tone. Played horizontally with the hands, it can reinforce the composition’s rhythmic structure while responding creatively to the vocalist or instrumentalist. Palghat Mani Iyer, Palani Subramania Pillai and Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman are major exponents.

The ghatam is a specially prepared clay pot played with the fingers, palms and other parts of the hands. Its walls produce sound, while its cavity and opening influence resonance. It is therefore a ghana instrument, not a membrane drum or a wind instrument. Vikku Vinayakram is a celebrated exponent. The kanjira is a small frame drum with a single membrane and metal jingles; despite the jingles, its principal sound-producing element places it among membrane instruments.

The morsing is a jaw harp with a vibrating tongue held near the mouth; the oral cavity modifies its resonance. It is classified as an idiophone rather than a wind instrument. These instruments may join the mridangam in a tani avartanam, the concert segment devoted to percussion improvisation. The thavil, a powerful double-headed drum played with a stick and the fingers, is especially associated with the nadaswaram in Tamil temple, wedding and ceremonial music.

4. Regional, folk and ritual instruments

Kerala has distinctive percussion traditions centred on temple festivals and theatre. The chenda is a cylindrical, double-headed drum suspended vertically and usually played with sticks. It is prominent in chenda melam and accompanies forms such as Kathakali. The maddalam is a double-headed drum played horizontally, while the idakka is an hourglass-shaped drum capable of pitch variation through adjustments in membrane tension. These instruments differ in construction, playing technique and ensemble function.

Panchavadyam, literally an ensemble of five instruments, combines timila, maddalam, idakka, ilathalam and kombu. The first three are drums, ilathalam consists of cymbals, and kombu is a curved wind instrument. Thus, an ensemble strongly associated with percussion need not contain only percussion instruments. The mizhavu, a large pot-shaped drum with a membrane-covered opening, is central to Kutiyattam and also accompanies Chakyar Koothu. It must not be confused with the membrane-free ghatam.

Across India, drums connect music with community life. The Punjabi dhol is closely associated with Bhangra, the Assamese dhol with Bihu, and the dholki with Maharashtra’s Lavani and Tamasha traditions. The khol, an elongated double-headed drum with unequal playing surfaces, accompanies devotional singing in eastern India, notably Vaishnava traditions in Bengal and Assam. The pung is central to Manipuri Sankirtana and Pung Cholom. Daf and related frame drums appear in several regional traditions, but local names, dimensions and performance contexts vary.

5. Materials, cultural significance and examination traps

Instrument-making combines knowledge of acoustics with skilled work in wood, clay, metal and animal membranes. Shell dimensions, membrane thickness, tension, loading pastes and playing technique affect tone. Craftspersons also maintain instruments through head replacement, tuning and repair. Musical heritage therefore includes not just compositions and performers but artisan communities, material supply chains and systems of apprenticeship. Climate and humidity can influence tuning and membrane behaviour.

Percussion also carries symbolic meanings. Shiva’s damaru is a small hourglass-shaped drum associated with sacred sound and with the iconography of Nataraja. Such religious symbolism should be distinguished from claims about the historical invention of an instrument. Likewise, a drum associated with one state may circulate widely beyond it: regional associations are useful for examinations, but they are not always exclusive geographical boundaries.

For revision, organise each instrument under five headings: sound-producing element, shape, playing technique, associated tradition and notable performer. Common traps include classifying every hollow instrument as a wind instrument, treating all percussion as unpitched, confusing mridangam with pakhawaj, and assuming that every instrument in Panchavadyam is a drum. UNESCO inscriptions also require careful reading: recognition of a performing tradition does not automatically constitute a separate inscription for each accompanying instrument.

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