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List of Indian musical instruments

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Woman playing pulluvan veena

Musical instruments of the Indian subcontinent can be broadly classified according to the Hornbostel–Sachs system into four categories: chordophones (string instruments), aerophones (wind instruments), membranophones (drums) and idiophones (non-drum percussion instruments).

Chordophones

Plucked strings

Bowed strings

Tribal fiddle instruments called "Dhodro Banam" used by Santhal people in Eastern India.

Other string instruments

Aerophones

Single reed

Snake charmer playing pungi
Bansuri player at Mehrangarh Fort at Jodhpur.
Indian Harmonium

Double reed

Flute

Bagpipes

Free reed

Free reed and bellows

Brass

Membranophones

Hand drums

Learning to play tabla
Tumbaknaer, drum from Jammu and Kashmir for accompanying devotionals
Chenda (top) and Chande (below) are different drums
Chande of Yakshagana

Hand frame drums

  • Daf, duf, or dafli – medium or large frame drum without jingles, of Persian origin
  • Dubki, dimdi or dimri – small frame drum without jingles
  • Kanjira – small frame drum with one jingle
  • Kansi – small drum without jingles
  • Patayani thappu – medium frame drum played with hands

Stick and hand drums

Stick drums

Chennakeshava Temple, 12th century A.D. Goddess playing an hourglass drum, possibly an udukai.

Idiophones

A medieval instrument, labeled nagaveena (snake veena), is a type of musical scraper.

Melodic

Jaltarang
  • Jal tarang, ceramic bowls with water
  • Kanch tarang, a type of glass harp
  • Loh tarang (लोह तरंग), a set of tuned gongs
  • Kashtha tarang, a type of xylophone

Hand harmonium

Dwarkanath Ghose (Dwarkin) modified the French pedal harmonium.

Electronic

See also

References

Indian musical instruments
Wind (Sushir)
Plucked Stringed (Tat)
Bowed Stringed (Vitat)
Membranous Percussion (Avanaddh)
Non-Membranous Percussion (Ghan)
Other
Historical/possibly extinct
Ragas as per performance time
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Night
Anytime
Season
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