De snaarinstrumenten uit India en China zijn de sitar en de pipa.

De sitar is perfect gebouwd om de vloeiende beweging van de melodie - de raga - en de vele glissando's, die het kenmerk zijn de van de Indiase vocale muziek, te laten weerklinken.
De viersnarige pipa is nauw verwant aan de Europese luit en uitermate expressief.

De tabla (India), die zorgt voor de ritmische begeleiding, bestaat uit twee kleine trommels die een rijk palet aan tonen kunnen voortbrengen door met de vingers te slaan en/of de met de muis van de hand op het trommelvel te duwen.


De kora, uit West Afrika, is een 24-snarige harp met een kalebas als klankkast. Het geluid is percussief en zeer geschikt om te combineren met de meest toonaangevende trommels van Afrika; de sabar en de djembé. De Afrikaanse gitaarstijl high life is een vertaling van de koramelodieën naar de meer westerse georiënteerde elektrische gitaar. De musici spelen in verschillende combinaties en stijlen èn in traditionele kleding. In de eerste set wisselen solo's, duo's en trio's elkaar af terwijl in de tweede set de volledige bezetting speelt.


Sitar

De sitar is een grote luit, met een lange hals, uit India. Er zijn zeer veel soorten. De sitar op deze pagina , is een concert-sitar. Dit instrument wordt veel gebruikt in Noord-India en Pakistan en wordt vaak begeleid door de tabla (een soort trom) en de tambura (basluit).




Pipa (Pear Shaped Lute, Chinese guitar)

The word "Pi" meant "to play forward" and "Pa" meant "to play backward". The pipa had a half pear shaped sound box, a crooked neck, and normally 4 or 5 strings. The Pipa arrived in China in the 4th century AD from Central Asia. The history of pipa dates back more than 2000 years. Tang poet Bai Juyi described the Pipa in his "Song of the Pipa" as "large pearls, small pears tumbling onto a plate of jade", shown the great popularity in the Tang and Song period.

The number of frets (bridges) has gradually been increased over the years, up to 23, 25 even 30 frets in the modern type. This has expanded the instrument range chromatically. The range is over three and a half octaves. The modern Pipa also use steel strings with or without nylon coiling rounded instead of silk. The musician tapes picks (fake fingernails) to all fingers on the hand except for the thumb, although all five are used. The pipa is clear, bright and mellow in tone and has a variable volume.

The Pipa occupies a very important role among the plucked strings because it has a magnificent tone and can produce very expressive sound, from gentle and pleasing music, to dramatic sound effects of horses galloping and battlefield scenes. Today the playing techniques are even more sophisticated. The pipa is often used for solos and in ensembles or in modern Chinese orchestras.




Tabla

Indian music has fascinated the West for many years. The tabla in particular has attracted the attention of a number of American and European percussionists. It has been used in popular music as early as the 60's and is heard in the popular media even today. However, many percussionists shy away from this instrument. The reasons for not "getting into it" are varied. Sometimes it is the lack of instruments; sometimes lack of teachers; sometimes it is the belief that tabla is just too difficult. These are legitimate concerns but they are not insurmountable obstacles. This article will address the concerns of a musician just wishing to get started in tabla. We will discuss the theory of Indian music, how to purchase tabla, the basic technique, and compositional theory. All of this information should make the job of getting started much easier. We should first familiarize ourselves with the extensive theory of Indian music. Indian music is one of the oldest musical traditions in the world. It has its roots in theVedic chants of the first few millennia BC. Although the mechanics of the music have undergone tremendous changes in the last few thousand years, the essential characteristics of awe, respect and devotion have remained unchanged.


A strong remnant of the Vedic tradition is seen in the method of learning. One does not learn tabla from books but from a guru (teacher). The strong bond between teacher and disciple is considered essential for the continuation of the musical tradition. Indeed the tradition of teacher and disciple is considered to be at the very core of Indian classical music. We use the expression "Indian music" rather loosely. In reality this consists of numerous different styles. There are two systems of classical music; one of Northern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and another which is found in southern India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon). There is also the popular medium of the film industry, which is comparable to American "Top 40". Finally there are innumerable folk traditions.

The tabla is found in all these traditions except for south Indian classical. Most people in the West think of tabla from the standpoint of the North Indian tradition. This is from exposure to great artists such as Zakir Hussain, Mahapurush Misra, Alla Rakha (Ravi Shankar's accompanist during the 60's) and a host of others. Although this is not the only genre to which tabla is important, it is a reasonable starting place. It is reasonable because this is the genre which created tabla, and provides the most systematic theoretical base for its performance practice. We will follow this viewpoint through the rest of this article.

The north Indian system is based upon two major concepts; "rag" and "tal". Rag may briefly be considered the melodic or modal aspect of the music while tal is the rhythmic. Both rag and tal occupy an equal and inseparable position in this system.
Tabla has a position in both rag and tal. When numerous tabla are tuned to the notes of the scale, entire melodies may be played. This is called "Tabla Tarang". However, the most important use of tabla is to provide the tal. It is in this capacity that most people think of the instrument.

The word "tal" literally means "clap". The clapping of hands may be the oldest form of rhythmic accompaniment. Today, a system of claps and waves forms a conceptual common ground. It is common to the way instrumentalists, dancers and vocalists think of rhythm. There are similarities between Western and Indian rhythm. Western rhythm may function at the level of beats, measures or even longer cycles. The same is true of Indian rhythm. We may now look more closely at these different levels
The most fundamental unit is the "matra". This translates to "beat". In many cases the matra is just a single stroke. However, just as sixteenth, or eighth-notes may be strung together to make a single beat, so too may several strokes of tabla be strung together to have the value of one matra.

The next higher level of structure is the "vibhag". This translates to "measure" or "bar". These measures may be as little as one beat or more than five; usually they are two, three, or four matras (beats) in length. These vibhags are described in terms of claps and waves. A vibhag, which is signified by a clap of the hands, is said to be "bhari" or "tali". Conversely, a vibhag which is signified by a waving of the hand, is said to be "khali".

Let us use a common tal called "tintal" as an illustration. It has 16 beats divided into four vibhag (measures) of four matras (beats) each. Its clapping arrangement is:

Clap, 2, 3, 4, Clap 2, 3, 4, Wave, 2, 3, 4, Clap, 2, 3, 4,

This brings us to the concept of the overall cycle. This cycle, called "avartan" dominates the highest level of looking at the rhythm. Unfortunately it does not really have a Western equivalent. Although the cycle is found in Western music there is a flexibility that is not allowed in Indian music. If one is playing a 16 beat structure, one must maintain that structure throughout.

The importance of the cycle gives special significance to the first beat. This beat, called "sam" (pronounced like 'sum'), is a point of convergence between the tabla player and the other musicians. Whenever a cadence is indicated it will usually end on this sam. This means that the sam may be thought of as both the beginning of some structures as well as the ending of others.

The mnemonic syllable, called "bol", is a very important concept for the tabla player. It represents the various strokes of the tabla. It is important for two reasons. First, the bol allows the musician to remember complicated fixed compositions. Second; the musician uses the bol to perform the mental permutations to know if an improvised passage or "lick" will work. Although these bols are supposed to represent the strokes there is not a one-to-one correlation. This variation is often attributed to differences in gharana.
Gharana may be thought of as a school, approach or dialect of tabla. Many years ago transportation and communication were not good in India. In this environment, different places developed their own regional variations in technique, bol, and overall philosophy. There are six acknowledged gharanas of tabla: Dilli (Delhi), Farukhabad, Benares, Lucknow, Ajrada, and Punjab. Most of the artists today trace their lineage to one or more of these established schools.

Although each of the gharanas have their own minor variations, there are two major approaches; Dilli and Purbi. The Dilli style derives its name from Delhi. It is characterized by a strong emphasis on rim strokes and use of the middle finger. The Purbi style derives its name from the Hindi word "purab". Purab means "Eastern" and reflects the fact that this style was popular in Lucknow, Benares, and other eastern parts of the country. The Purbi style is characterized by open hand strokes and a strong emphasis on material from pakhawaj (an ancient barrel shaped drum from which tabla was derived).

This has been just a brief overview of tabla. More information can be found in the rest of this web page.


Kora

De Mandinka kora is een uniek instrument die er een beetje uitziet als een harp en een brug heeft gelijk aan die van een luit of gitaar. Hij klinkt enigzins als een harp, maar zijn ingewikkelde speelwijze lijkt meer op die van een flamenco gitaar. Het instrument wordt voor het eerst beschreven in 1799 door ene Mungo Park.
Traditioneel heeft de Kora 21 snaren die worden bespeeld met de duim en de wijsvinger van elke hand. De overige vingers houden vast aan de twee verticale handvaten. Veel kora-spelers komen uit Gambia, Mali, Guinee en Senegal.




Sabar

There is usually an ensemble of seven drums which are played during a sabar performance. The drums are played with one hand and one long, thin stick (galan). The drums are tuned by a system of seven pegs and are adjusted to create melodic rhythms when played together. The head of the drum is made from shaved goatskin. Depending on the type of drum and its function, the goatskin is attached by either a complex method of stringing or lashed directly to the wood with the pegs. (For a great sabar drum ensemble picture, check out EARTHSHAKING MUSIC's African Collection 1 in the instruments section of their catalogue. Then scroll down to the sabar section, figure 9.)



As it was explained to me, there are three different types of wood involved in sabar drums. The first is the wood used to carve the drum. This wood comes from the baobab tree(baawbaab guy in Wolof), a prominent feature of the West African landscape. The seven pegs are made from a very different tree (neem ?) and each peg represents one of the seven drums in the sabar drum family. The sticks, called galans, used to play the drums come from a tree called the sump tree. This tree is often used as an herb to cure diarrhea. The wooden shell of all the traditional sabar drums is harvested and carved by the Laube (the Wolof wood worker caste). However, it is the Griot (master drummer) who assembles the drum and all its parts and creates the rhythms and music. If someone visits the home of the Griot while he is fixing or assembling a sabar drum, it is good luck for them. The Griot cuts off a piece of the goat skin and gives it to the guest. The guest in turn gives the Griot some money. Each drum has a specific function and each usually has a specific accompanying rhythm for the different songs. These rhythms and their baks (introductory compositions or breaks) often vary slightly among different Griot families or change over time. Sometimes these variations are a trademark of a specific family.


Guqin

The guqin is the most revered musical instruments in China that originated during the Han dynasty. The guqin, commonly referred to as the Qin or even the seven-stringed Zither, was invented by legendary Chinese emperor Fu Xi. The guqin has a long, narrow upper wooden board made of a tong tree (from the pine family) and a lower board made from a catalpa tree (hardwood). These boards are struck together and lacquered on the surface. There are thirteen small dots, hui, inlaid on the outside of the upper boards, which mark the positions of the notes and their harmonics. Seven strings are stretched on the upper board, starting from the thickest on the outside to the thinnest on the inside. The guqin was the instrument of the Confucian Superior Man and most of the scholars of the day were required to study and practice it regularly. Compared to other traditional Chinese instruments, the guqin is unique in three ways. It can create a tone rich in the lower register that fits the sounds of nature and very large vibrating amplitude due to its strings having an effective vibrating length, longer than any other Chinese instrument. Secondly, the fingerboard of the guqin is the upper board that does not have any frets. Its sound holes are opened on the lower board, which means that the sound is transmitted downwards. And finally, the guqin can play over 100 harmonics, making it the instrument with the largest number of overtones (Guqin).