Pakistani musical instruments

holding a Veena.]]
**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.
, Pakistan (Gandhara region, 4th - 5th century CE)]]
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*'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.

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 
## References 
## 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)