North Indian instruments

 Sitar- The Sitar is probably the most famous traditional Indian stringed instrument in the West. The body of the instrument is calabash shaped, and indeed calabash gourds are used in its construction.  It can have between eighteen and twenty-one strings, six or seven of which run over the curved frets on the neck. The remainder of the strings run beneath the frets and resonate sympathetically with the fretted strings. There are tuning pegs on the head for the fretted strings and along the sides of the neck for the sympathetic strings. The strings are plucked with a metal plectrum called a mizraab.

Tabla- The Tabla is the most popular musical instrument in North India and consists of a pair of wooden hand drums with goatskin heads stretched taut. It can be played alone or together with other instruments, and the one drum, the Bayan, is slightly bigger than the other producing a deeper bass sound. The smaller one, called the Dahina, is used to create treble notes. The heads are tightened using thongs, hoops, and wooden dowels along the sides of the drums. Both are characterized by a black spot in the center of the drum head made of starch combined with iron or manganese dust called tuning paste or Shyahi, which results in the harmonic overtones responsible for the tabla’s unique sound.

Tanpura - The Tanpura, or Tambura, is a four-stringed instrument with a long neck that is plucked to create a classic droning sound in Hindustani and Carnatic music systems. It is not used to play distinct melodies but instead to create a sustained sonic background against which the melody is sung by a vocalist or played by another instrument. The body, called the tumba, is hollow and gourd-shaped like the sitar, and the neck is made from tun wood (Spanish Cedar) or teak. The tanpura can be male or female depending on the pitch of the male or female vocalist’s voice. The male tanpura is bigger than the female in body size, width, and neck length. The name “tanpura” is more recent and is used by Hindustani musicians, however, it is still called the tambura in Carnatic music, a system of music associated with South India. 

Pakhawaj - The Pakhawaj is a significant instrument in north Indian classical music and was used as the only accompaniment in dhrupad style singing. It is a drum played with the open hand rather than the fingers and is used in delicate, emotive music such as thumri, khayal, and sitar. The drum is described as barley shaped and is hollowed out of a single block of wood which may be red sandalwood, sheesham, or khair. It has two different-sized drum heads held by braids and tightened with sixteen leather straps called ghat. The pakhawaj is two to two and a half feet long, with goatskin stretched over the smaller end and buffalo skin over the larger one. It is played while sitting cross-legged with the instrument horizontal on the ground or in the lap.

Bansuri - The Bansuri is a type of flute made of bamboo and is a transverse alto flute used in Hindustani classical music. There are six or seven finger holes, and it is between twelve and thirty inches long with the longer the instrument, the deeper the notes. It is mentioned as an important musical instrument in the Natya Shastra, a Sanskrit text on Indian classical music dating between 200 BCE and 200 CE. The Bansuri is held slanting slightly downwards and horizontally while the fingers of the right-hand cover the outer holes and the left-hand fingers cover the others.

Sarangi - The Sarangi is an unusual stringed instrument resembling a violin with a very short neck and is played with a bow. It is popular in Punjabi, Boro, and Rajasthani folk music, and its sound is said to resemble the human voice. It is around two feet long and has three resonance chambers made of a single piece of red cedar wood with three or four main gut strings and between eleven and thirty-seven sympathetic metal strings. The player uses the fingernails of the left hand to create specific pitches. The musician holds it vertically in front of him while seated on the floor. There are no frets, and it is challenging to play, which has led to a decline in its popularity.