Pakistani musical instruments

**Pakistani musical instruments** are the musical instruments that developed and are used in Pakistan or the Greater Indus region. Pakistani classical music, also known as _Hindustani classical music_ () uses a lot of these instruments. These musical instruments known as _Vādya_ are traditionally grouped into five types. The five types are: _Tāt Vādya_ which are string instruments played with fingers or a plectrum; _Vitāt Vādya_ which are string instruments played with a bow; _Avanaddh Vādya_ which are percussion instruments that are hollow and covered with membranes; _Ghaṇa Vādya_ which are based upon percussive instruments which do not have membranes, specifically those which have solid resonators; and _Śushira Vādya_ which are wind instruments played by blowing air. This is the grouping of musical instruments used during the Mughal era in Pakistan as mentioned in the _Ain-i-Akbari_.

_Sangita Ratnakara_, a 13th-century musicological text by Śārṅgadeva from Kashmir, gives another classification based on the function of the instruments: _Sushkám_, which is for solo playing; _Gītānugám_, which is for accompaniment to vocal music; _Nṛttyānugám_, which is for accompaniment to dance; and _Dvayānugám_, which is for accompaniment to both dance and vocal music. There are many other Pakistani musical instruments in the semi-classical and folk categories but may not fit in these groups.

## Music theory

The _Natyashastra_, according to Emmie te Nijenhuis, is the oldest surviving text that systematically discusses the theory and instruments of South Asian music. Music has been an essential part of performance arts in ancient Pakistan since the Vedic times.

Before the _Natyashastra_ was written, the ancient tradition in Pakistan grouped musical instruments into four to five categories based on how they produce sound (how they work, rather than the material they are made of). These categories are stringed instruments (_tat_ or chordophones), wind instruments (_sushir_ or aerophones), solid instruments (_ghan_ or idiophones), and percussion instruments with a membrane (_avanaddha_ or membranophones).

According to Maurice Winternitz, the _Natyashastra_<nowiki/>'s music theory focuses on three themes – sound, rhythm, and the structure of musical texts. The text states that there are 22 _shrutis_ (microtones) or 1200 cents in an octave, which are small intervals of sound measuring about 54.5 cents each. This system is very close to the ancient Greek system, where similar intervals measured 55 cents. The _Natyashastra_ also discusses musical scales (_gramas_) and modes (_murchanas_), with 21 combinations, some of which are same as the Greek modes. However, the Gandhara-grama is just mentioned in _Natyashastra_, which mainly focuses on two scales, fourteen modes, and four _tanas_ (notes). The text also discusses which scales are best for different forms of performance arts.

|width="40px" style="background: #ffad66;"|Svara (Long)|width="40px"|Shadja ()|width="40px"|Rishabha ()|width="40px"|Gandhara ()|width="40px"|Madhyama ()|width="40px"|Panchama ()|width="40px"|Dhaivata ()|width="40px"|Nishada ()|width="40px"|Shadja ()|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|width="40px"|Svara (Short)|width="40px"|Sa ()|width="40px"|Ri ()|width="40px"|Ga ()|width="40px"|Ma ()|width="40px"|Pa ()|width="40px"|Dha ()|width="40px"|Ni ()|width="40px"|Sa ()|
|width="40px"|(_shadja-graama_)|width="40px"||width="40px"||width="40px"||width="40px"||width="40px"||width="40px"||width="40px"||width="40px"||
|width="40px"|Varieties|width="40px"|C|width="40px"|D♭, D|width="40px"|E♭, E|width="40px"|F, F♯|width="40px"|G|width="40px"|A♭, A|width="40px"|B♭, B|width="40px"|CC|

From chapter 28 onwards, the _Natyashastra_ describes four main types of musical instruments. It gives examples like the _veena_ for stringed instruments, drums for covered instruments, cymbals for solid instruments, and flutes for wind instruments. Chapter 33 talks about group performances, which it calls _kutapa_ (orchestra). It suggests that an orchestra should include one male and one female singer, along with nine to eleven musical instruments.

## Musical instruments

Following is the list of Pakistani musical instruments grouped into several types:

### Plucked String Instruments

|Name|Image|Description|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Tanbur, also called _Tambura_ or _Tampura_||A long-necked plucked string instrument used for providing drone in classical music. There are different versions of it among the Baloch and Hazara communities of Pakistan.|
|Veena||Various chordophone instruments from South Asia. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers, and arched harps.|
|Sitar||A plucked string instrument with a long neck and gourd resonator. Originated during the Delhi Sultanate period.|
|Surbahar||A large plucked string instrument similar to the sitar but with a deeper tone.|
|Sarod||A fretless string instrument used in Hindustani classical music.|
|Rubab||A string instrument from the northwestern and northern regions of Pakistan.|
|Sarangi||A fretless string instrument from North India.|
|Dilruba||A plucked string instrument similar to both the Sitar and Sarangi. Believed to be a mix of both.|
|Esraj||A bowed string instrument with a resonator body.|
|Santur||A hammered dulcimer from Kashmir of Iranian origins.|

## Further reading

- Enayetullah, A. (1970). Musical Instruments of Pakistan.
- _Who’s Who: Music in Pakistan._ (2012). United States: Xlibris UK. .
- Dehlavi, S. A. (1959). Tradition and Change in Indo-Pakistani Classical Music.
- Nabī Bak̲h̲shu K̲h̲ānu Balocu. Musical Instruments of the Lower Indus Valley of Sindh. Pakistan, Culture Department, Government of Sindh, 2012.
- Malik, M. S. (1983). The Musical Heritage of Pakistan. Pakistan: Idara Saqafat-e-Pakistan (Pakistan National Council of the Arts).
- Qureshi, R. (1986). Sufi Music of India and Pakistan: Sound, Context and Meaning in Qawwali. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. .
- Pakistan Living Traditions of Arts & Music. (1996). Pakistan: Pakistan National Council of the Arts.

## Other websites

- _Musical Instruments of the Indian Subcontinent_ Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Metmuseum.org
- _Ayeen Akbery_ (1684)
- _The Ain i Akbari, Volume 3_ (1894)
- _Supplement to the first volume of Gladwin's Ayeen Akberi_ (1918)
- Natya shastra Manuscript (with 37 chapters), in Sanskrit (Chapters 31, 32 and 34 missing)