Slave to the Game

Dilruba

Dilruba : The dilruba is found in the north, where it is used in religious music and light classical songs in the urban areas. Its name is translated as "robber of the heart." It has a skin head sound box with 4 main strings and 18 sympathetic strings, 20 frets with special bow and wooden box. There is also well known fact that The Dilruba originates from the Taus and some argue is the work of the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, whilst that of the Taus was the work of Guru Hargobind (the sixth guru of the Sikhs)..

Esraj

Esraj : The esraj is found in the east and central areas, particularly Bengal (Bangladesh and Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura) and it is used in a somewhat wider variety of musical styles than is the dilruba. It’s containing 4 main strings and 15 sympathetic strings and 20 frets. The neck is similar to a sitar in which the frets are tied with thread but it is played with a bow.

Sarangi

Sarangi : The sarangi is a bowed, short-necked string instrument of north India which originated from Rajasthani folk instruments. It plays an important role in India's Hindustani classical music tradition. Of all Indian instruments, it is said to most resemble the sound of the human voice – able to imitate vocal ornaments such as gamakas (shakes) and meend (sliding movements). Professional sarangi made from well seasoned tun wood with 39 strings.

Tabla

Tabla : The term 'tabla is derived from an Arabic word, tabl, which simply means "drum." It’s a very popular Indian percussion instrument (of the membranophone family, similar to bongos), used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent.

Dholak

Dholak : The dholak is mainly a folk instrument, lacking the exact tuning and playing techniques of the tabla or the pakhawaj. It’s a South Asian two-headed hand-drum. It is widely used in qawwali , kirtan and Bhangra.

Damru

Damru : A damaru or damru is a small two-headed drum, used in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. In the Hindu mythology it’s known as a power drum, and when played, it is believed to generate spiritual energy. It is associated with the Hindu deity Shiva.

In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the damaru is part of a collection of sacred implements and musical instrument was adopted from the tantric practices of ancient India. These reached the Land of Snows from the 8th to 12th century, persisting in Tibet as the practice of Vajrayana flourished there, even as it vanished in the subcontinent of India.

Mizhavu

Mizhavu : A mizhav or mizhavu is a big copper drum played as an accompanying percussion instrument in the Koodiyattam and Koothu, performing arts of Kerala . It is played by the Ambalavasi Nambiar community.

Mridangam

Mridangam : It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. The mridangam is also played in Carnatic concerts in countries outside of India, including Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. During a percussion ensemble, the mridangam is often accompanied by the ghatam, kanjira, and the morsing.

Ghungroo

Ghungroo : A Ghungroo, also known as Ghunghroo or Ghungur (Bengali) or Salangai (Tamil) is one of many small metallic bells strung together to form Ghungroos, a musical anklet tied to the feet of classical Indian dancers. Ghungroos or Salangais are worn in traditional performances of the classical Indian dance forms: Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, and Odissi etc.

Ghatam

Ghatam : the ghatam (Sanskrit: ghatam "pot", Tamil: katam, Kannada: ghata, Telugu: ghatat) is a percussion instrument used in the Carnatic music of South India. Its analogue in Rajasthan is known as the madga and pani mataqa "water jug". The ghatam usually accompanies a mridangam.

Khartal

Khartal : is found three kind of in society.
1. Kartals (blocks). It consists of a pair of wooden blocks with jingles or crotales (kartals mean crotales). One pair is used in one hand of the musician. These pieces can be clapped together at high speeds to make fast complex beats.
2. Kartals (small sheets). It consists of a pair of thin, hard wooden pieces similar to the percussion bones (instrument). These are used in Rajasthan.
3. Kartals (cymbals). The karatalas are small cymbals, also known as manjeera. These are used in devotional chants.

Manjeera

Manjeera : is a traditional musical instrument in India. It is also known as manjeera, taal, jalra, khartàl or kartàl. It is used in various religious ceremonies of India, especially with bhajans in temples. Manjira are usually made of bronze, brass, copper zinc or Bell metal and connected with a copper cord which passes through holes in their center.

Jal tarang

Jal tarang : It consists of a set of ceramic or metal bowls tuned with water. The bowls are played by striking the edge with beaters, one in each hand. In other words jal tarang means "waves in water" but indicates motion of sound created or modified with the aid of water.

Kanch tarang or Glass Harp

Kanch tarang or Glass Harp : It's not an Indian classical instrument but it's like Jal - Tarang.
It is played by running moistened or chalked fingers around the rim of the glasses. Each glass is tuned to a different pitch, either by grinding each goblet to the specified pitch, in which case the tuning is permanent, or by filling the glass with water until the desired pitch is achieved.
The glass harp was created in 1741 by Irishman Richard Pockrich, who is known as the first virtuoso of the musical glasses.

Loh tarang

Loh tarang : It consists of a set of iron circular plates, of different sizes, held in a frame. Each plate is pitched to a note and they are struck with sticks on each hand. 'Tarang' means waves. Plates sound depends on the different size of plate and hand movement. Theory is based like Jal-Tarang.

Shruti Box

Shruti Box : A shruti box (or sruti box) is a small wooden instrument that traditionally works on a system of bellows. It is similar to a harmonium and is used to provide a dronein a practice session or concert of Indian classical music.

Shennai or Mangal Vadya

Shennai or Mangal Vadya : is an aerophonic (wind) instrument, a double reed conical oboe, common in North India, West India andPakistan, made out of wood, with a metal flare bell at the end. The South Indian equivalent of the shehnai is the nadaswaram.

Flute or Bansuri

Flute or Bansuri : The bansuri is a transverse flute of India made from a single hollow shaft of bamboo with six or seven finger holes. The Bansuri is revered as Lord Krishna's divine instrument, and is often associated with Krishna's Rasa lila; mythological accounts tell of the tunes of Krishna's flute having a spellbinding and enthralling effect not only on the women of the Braj, but even on the animals and birds of the region.

Harmonium

Harmonium or Hand pumped : It's a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion. The air is usually supplied by bellows operated by the foot, hand, or knees.
In North America, the most common pedal-pumped free-reed keyboard instrument is known as the "American reed organ", (or "parlor organ", "pump organ", "cabinet organ", "cottage organ", etc.) and along with the earlier melodeon, is operated by a suction bellows where air is sucked through the reeds to produce the sound. A reed organ with a pressure bellows that pushes the air through the reeds is referred to as a "harmonium". In India, generally refers to a hand-pumped instrument.

Synthesizer

Synthesizer or Keyboard : A sound synthesizer (often abbreviated as "synthesizer" or "synth") is an electronic instrument capable of producing a wide range of sounds. Synthesizers use a number of different technologies or programmed algorithms to generate signal, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Among the most popular waveform synthesis techniques are subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis, wavetable synthesis, frequency modulation synthesis, phase distortion synthesis, physical modeling synthesis and sample-based synthesis.