Percussion of India
Posted on September 15, 2008 in Art & Culture by Lalita
The mridangam is a percussion instrument used in carnatic music, the form of music from South India. Mridangams are referred to in many scriptures of India. It is said that this was one of the instruments that formed a part of the entertainment for Gods. This was the instrument used in most of the sabhas in the olden days, and even now.
Mridangams are hollow cylindrical drum whose ends are covered with goat skin. This is made to stay together with the help of leather straps. The centre of the goat skin has a black mixture made of starch, rice flour and ferric oxide, which are solidified together.
Mridangams are usually played by men. There are very few female mridangam players even in the modern times. Mridangams are played at gana sabhas and dance performances for the background score. In the previous few generations, the popularity of the Mridangam rose ever since schools of mridangam were started in the 20th century. Generation after generation people have beenn learning, playing and teaching the Mridangam.
Many people usually get confused regarding the mridangam and the tabla. The major differences are the genre of music and the structure of the two. Tabla is played as an accompaniment for Hindustani music and Mridangam is played with Carnatic music. Both the instruments have the variation of membranes.
They both have two- one small membrane and one large. The only difference is that these are placed at either end of the mridangam, where as those of the tabla are placed upside facing the player.It is usually not easy to differentiate between the sounds of the two unless one has an ear for music.
Subramanya Pillai is a well-known Mridangam player. Tabla has the famous Zakhir Hussain against its name.
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September 16th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Good article.