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Kurumkuzhal
The kuzhal is a traditional double reed wind instrument used in the south Indian state of Kerala. It is similar in construction to a ''nagaswaram'' or a large ''shehnai'', and has a very shrill and penetrating tone. Kuzhal is primarily used as an accompaniment for chenda-led ensembles Panchari Melam and Pandi Melam, where the piper plays the anchor role. However, as prelude to melams, it is also used to present solo concert (with a couple of accompanying instruments), in which case it is called Kuzhal Pattu. The instrument has a wooden body with a conical bore, at the end of which is affixed a brass bell. The player, who is almost always male, blows through a double reed and closes small holes with both hands. See also * Nadaswaram * Shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a type of oboe from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end. It was one of the nine instruments found in the royal court. The shehn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double Reed
A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. In contrast with a single reed instrument, where the instrument is played by channeling air against one piece of cane which vibrates against the mouthpiece and creates a sound, a double reed features two pieces of cane vibrating against each other. This means, for instruments with the double reed fully exposed, that the air flow can be controlled by the embouchure from the top, bottom and sides of the reed. The term ''double reeds'' can also refer collectively to the class of instruments which use double reeds. Structure and dimensions The size and shape of the reed depend on the type of double-reed instrument which is of two groups, conical and cylindrical. Even within families of instruments, for example, the oboe family, the reed for the oboe is quite different from that for the cor anglais (English horn). Oboe reeds are usually 7 mm (0.3 in) in width, while bassoon reeds are wider, from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations averag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Kingdom of Cochin, Cochin, Malabar District, Malabar, South Canara, and Travancore. Spread over , Kerala is the 14th List of states and union territories of India by area, smallest Indian state by area. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Laccadive Sea, Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33 million inhabitants as per the 2011 Census of India, 2011 census, Kerala is the List of states of India by population, 13th-largest Indian state by population. It is divided into 14 List of districts of Kerala, districts with the capital being Thiruvananthapuram. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The Chera dynasty was the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nadaswaram
The ''nadaswaram'' is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala and in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. This instrument is "among the world's loudest non-brass acoustic instruments". It is a wind instrument partially similar to the North Indian '' shehnai,'' but much longer, with a hardwood body, and a large flaring bell made of wood or metal. In South Indian culture, the nadasvaram is considered to be very auspicious, and it is a key musical instrument played in almost all Hindu weddings and temples of the South Indian tradition. It is part of the family of instruments known as ''mangala vadyam'' (lit. ''mangala'' "auspicious", ''vadya'' "instrument"). The instrument is usually played in pairs, and accompanied by a pair of drums called '' thavil''; it can also be accompanied with a drone from a similar oboe, called the ottu. History The nada ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shehnai
The ''shehnai'' is a type of oboe from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end. It was one of the nine instruments found in the royal court. The shehnai is similar to South India's nadaswaram. Characteristics This tubular instrument gradually broadens towards the lower end. It usually has between six and nine holes. It employs one set of quadruple reeds, making it a quadruple reed woodwind. To master the instrument, the musician must employ various and intricate embouchure and fingering techniques. The shehnai has a range of two octaves, from the A below middle C to the A one line above the treble clef (A3 to A5 in scientific pitch notation). A shehnai is often but not always made with a body of wood or bamboo and a flared metal end. Origin of the shehnai The shehnai is thought to have been brought by the Mughal Empire as its use was most associated with the Mughal courts and it's sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panchari Melam
Panchari Melam is a percussion ensemble, performed during Temple Festivals of Kerala, temple festivals in Kerala, India. Panchari Melam (or simply panchari), is one of the major forms of Chenda Melam (ethnic drum ensemble), and is the best-known and most popular in the ''kshetram vadyam'' (temple percussion) genre. Panchari Melam, comprising instruments like Chenda, Ilathalam, Kombu (instrument), Kombu and Kuzhal, is performed during many temple festivals in central Kerala, where it is presented in arguably the most classical manner. Panchari is also traditionally performed, albeit with a touch of subtle regional difference, in north Kerala (Malabar) and south-central Kerala (Kochi). Of late, its charm has led to its performance even in temples in Kerala's deep south. Panchari is a six-beat thaalam (tala (music), taal) with equivalents like Roopakam in south Indian Carnatic music and Daadra in the northern Hindustani classical. Another Chenda Melam which comes close to Panchar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pandi Melam
Pandi melam is a classical percussion concert or melam (ensemble) led by the ethnic Kerala instrument called the chenda and accompanied by ilathalam (cymbals), kuzhal and Kombu. A full-length Pandi, a melam based on a thaalam ( taal) with seven beats, lasts more than two-and-a-half hours, and is canonically performed outside temples. It has basically four stages, each of them with rhythmic cycles (thaalavattam) totalling 56, 28, 14 and seven respectively. The most celebrated Pandi Melam is staged inside a temple compound at the ''Vadakkunnathan'' shrine's precincts in the central Kerala town of Thrissur. For the last several years, Peruvanam Kuttan Marar is the lead conductor for this symphony of drums known as ''Elanjithara Melam''. Elsewhere, like in the pooram festivals of Aarattupuzha and Peruvanam near Thrissur and the rest of central and northern Kerala, it is performed outside temples. Another ensemble called Panchari Melam, which is similar to Pandi going by the k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kuzhal Pattu
Kuzhal pattu is a form of traditional temple music practised in the Indian state of Kerala. It centers on the use of the kuzhal, a double reed wind instrument, and is typically performed at temple festivals. Structure In kuzhal pattu, the kuzhal plays the lead with the support of several accompanying instruments, which may include chenda (both treble and bass), ilathalam, toppi maddalam and a sruti (drone) kuzhal. A Kuzhal Pattu typically starts with the lead kuzhal essaying an alapanam to establish a raga. The other instruments may join in as the kuzhal pattu progresses through several ragas and compositions. The span of the musical form ranges from five minutes to over an hour, with an average length of 30 minutes. Performance Kuzhal pattu is typically used as a prelude to panchari melam, but may also be played prior to night seevelis (temple circumambulations) that perform panchavadyam. It is usually performed inside the temple before midnight. The kuzhal pattu is genera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. In use since prehistoric times, it is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other within the same crystal structure. Brass is similar to bronze, a copper alloy that contains tin instead of zinc. Both bronze and brass may include small proportions of a range of other Chemical element, elements including arsenic, lead, phosphorus, aluminium, manganese and silicon. Historically, the distinction between the two alloys has been less consistent and clear, and increasingly museums use the more general term "list of copper alloys, copper alloy". Brass has long been a popular material for its bright gold-like appearance and is still used for drawer pulls and door handle, doorknobs. It has also been widely used to ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nadaswaram
The ''nadaswaram'' is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala and in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. This instrument is "among the world's loudest non-brass acoustic instruments". It is a wind instrument partially similar to the North Indian '' shehnai,'' but much longer, with a hardwood body, and a large flaring bell made of wood or metal. In South Indian culture, the nadasvaram is considered to be very auspicious, and it is a key musical instrument played in almost all Hindu weddings and temples of the South Indian tradition. It is part of the family of instruments known as ''mangala vadyam'' (lit. ''mangala'' "auspicious", ''vadya'' "instrument"). The instrument is usually played in pairs, and accompanied by a pair of drums called '' thavil''; it can also be accompanied with a drone from a similar oboe, called the ottu. History The nada ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shehnai
The ''shehnai'' is a type of oboe from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end. It was one of the nine instruments found in the royal court. The shehnai is similar to South India's nadaswaram. Characteristics This tubular instrument gradually broadens towards the lower end. It usually has between six and nine holes. It employs one set of quadruple reeds, making it a quadruple reed woodwind. To master the instrument, the musician must employ various and intricate embouchure and fingering techniques. The shehnai has a range of two octaves, from the A below middle C to the A one line above the treble clef (A3 to A5 in scientific pitch notation). A shehnai is often but not always made with a body of wood or bamboo and a flared metal end. Origin of the shehnai The shehnai is thought to have been brought by the Mughal Empire as its use was most associated with the Mughal courts and it's sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
