The Maddale (), also known as Mrudanga (ಮೃದಂಗ) in

North Canara Uttara Kannada is a fifth largest district in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belagavi districts to the north, Dharwad District and Haveri District to the east, Shivamogga District, and Udupi District to ...

, is a

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

from

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

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 ...

. It serves as the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a

Yakshagana Yakshagana is a traditional theatre, found in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kasaragod district and Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur district, Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Keral ...

ensemble, along with

Chande The ''chande'' is a drum used in the traditional and classical music of South India and particularly in Yakshagana theatre art of Karnataka. It follows the Yakshagana Tala system. The rhythms are based on pre-classical music forms that Carnat ...

. The maddale produces a perfectly hormonic tonic (shruti swara) when struck anywhere on its surface. This is in contrast to other instruments such as the

Mrudangam The ''mridangam'' is an ancient percussion instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion in ...

, Pakawaj, or

Tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

, which cannot produce the tonic (shruti) on all parts of their surfaces. Its drum head is similar to that of the tabla and its body is similar to that of the pakhavaj. The traditional Maddale was 30 cm long and had an 8-inch drum head on the right side that produced a louder sound. Nowadays, a 6-6.5 inch wide right side Maddale is typically used, while a few using a 7-inch wide one. The left bass side is about one inch bigger than the right. The Maddale is available in more than three variants. The Maddale used in Yakshagana looks similar to the mridangam, but differs significantly in structure, acoustics, playing techniques, and rhythm system (

Yakshagana Tala Yakshagana Tala (Kannada:ಯಕ್ಷಗಾನ ತಾಳ, pronounced as ''yaksha-gaana taala''), is a rhythmical pattern in Yakshagana that is determined by a composition called Yakshagana Poetry, Yakshagana Padya. Tala also decides how a composi ...

).''Prof. Sridhara Uppura, Yakshagana and Nataka'', Diganta Sahitya Publications, 1998, Managalore. Its body is constructed from

jackfruit The jackfruit or ''nangka'' (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') is a species of tree in the Common fig, fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in d ...

tree wood among other woods such as kakke, baine, and hunaalu.

History

The Maddale belongs to the mridangam family and shares a similar history. Over time, the Maddale evolved to be made of different kinds of wood for higher octaves. It evolved with the development of Yakshagana and Yakshaganic fingering and hand techniques. The use of palm produces a sound that is somewhat a mixture of pakhawaj and mridangam.

Construction

The maddale is a double-sided drum whose body is usually made using a hollowed piece of

wood about .5 cm thick (thinner than mrudangam). This body is called ''goodu'' (or housing). The two open ends of the drum are covered with goat skin leather and laced to each other with leather straps around the circumference of the drum. These straps are stretched to tightly hold the drum heads, allowing them to resonate when struck. The drum head on the left is slightly larger (bass side) (.9 inches). One side produces

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, the other treble. The drum head is known as ''muchchige''. The bass drum head is known as the ''eda muchchige'' and the other head is known as the ''bala muchchige''. The higher drum head is similar to tabla drum head but creates a major tonal difference. The maddale produces tonic when playing on the rim and on ink. The higher drum head has a circular disk in the centre called ''karne'' (the ink) causing it to produce harmonic tones. The base drum is smeared with a tuning paste made from ash and rice called ''bona'', before performances to dampen the tone and to produce bass sound.

Methods of use

Maddale is tuned to the tonic of the Yakshagana singer before the performance (lower shadja). A wooden peg is sometimes used to tighten the straps. The two major strokes are ''gumpu'' and c''hapu''. Chapu involves playing on the rim and is used for tuning. Gumpu involves playing on the ink to produce a more resonating sound. The Kapala stroke is a cross finger stroke above the ink. It is a unique stroke that produces a hormonic mix of gumpu and chapu (Kapala is more musical than chapu of mrudangam).

History

Construction

Methods of use

See also