Music of India

Sitar

The sitar is a plucked stringed instrument that was invented in India in the 1500s. The sitar is made out of wood, metal strings, and a round gourd body. Sitars can have 18, 19, 20, or 21 strings, but only 6 or 7 of those strings are actually plucked by the musician. The rest of the strings sit under the plucked strings and vibrate on their own. Unlike a guitar, the frets on a Sitar can actually be moved to play different kinds of scales.

Veena

The veena is a Indian stringed instrument that looks very similar to the sitar. It is held the same as a sitar, with the musician in a seated position. The instrument is made out of wood and has two hollow gourds at each end for the sound to resonate in. The sound of the veena is much different from the sitar. It is less twangy and similar to a clean electric guitar sound. The veena has 7 strings. Four of the strings are melodic and the veena player will place the fingers of their left hand on different places on the neck of the instrument to change the pitch. The other 3 strings are drone strings and those notes do not change.

Tabla

Like the bongos of Latin America, the tabla is a pair of different sized drums played with the hands. It can either be played by itself or can be played along with other Indian instruments and singers. They are made out of wood, clay, or metal. The smaller tabla drum plays higher pitched rhythms and the larger drum produces lower sounds. The tabla player uses a combination of their fingertips and palms to change the pitch of the drum.