Question: Kannan Balakrishnan is an exponent of an instrument that is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in which music ensemble ?

Context articles: Bandish
Gospel music
Accompaniment
Mridangam
Rhythm section
Thattai (instrument)
Kannan Balakrishnan
Scottish tenor drum
Saratovskaya garmonika
Maddale

Bandish, Cheez or Gat is a fixed, melodic composition in Hindustani vocal or instrumental music.
 It is set in a specific raga, performed with rhythmic accompaniment by a tabla or pakhavaj, a steady drone, and melodic accompaniment by a sarangi, violin or harmonium.
 There are different ways of systematizing the parts of a composition.
 A bandish provides the literature element in the music, for standard structured singing.
 In the past many gharanas protected their bandishes from moving out of the family with gross incoherent vocal renditions.
 In the realm of vocal music, it is often known as "Cheez".
Gospel music is a genre of Christian music.
 The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context.
 Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, and as an entertainment product for the marketplace.
 Gospel music usually has dominant vocals (often with strong use of harmony) with Christian lyrics.
 Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century, with roots in the black oral tradition.
 Hymns and sacred songs were often repeated in a call and response fashion.
 Most of the churches relied on hand clapping and foot stomping as rhythmic accompaniment.
 Most of the singing was done a cappella.
 The first published use of the term "gospel song" probably appeared in 1874.
 The original gospel songs were written and composed by authors such as George F. Root, Philip Bliss, Charles H. Gabriel, William Howard Doane, and Fanny Crosby.
 Gospel music publishing houses emerged.
 The advent of radio in the 1920s greatly increased the audience for gospel music.
 Following World War II, gospel music moved into major auditoriums, and gospel music concerts became quite elaborate.
Accompaniment is the musical parts which provide the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece.
 There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles of music.
 In homophonic music, the main accompaniment approach used in popular music, a clear vocal melody is supported by subordinate chords.
 In popular music and traditional music, the accompaniment parts typically provide the "beat" for the music and outline the chord progression of the song or instrumental piece.
 The accompaniment for a vocal melody or instrumental solo can be played by a single musician playing an instrument such as piano, pipe organ, or guitar.
 While any instrument can in theory be used as an accompaniment instrument, keyboard and guitar-family instruments tend to be used if there is only a single instrument, as these instruments can play chords and basslines simultaneously (chords and a bassline are easier to play simultaneously on keyboard instruments, but a fingerpicking guitarist can play chords and a bassline simultaneously on guitar).
 A solo singer can accompany herself by playing guitar or piano while she sings, and in some rare cases, a solo singer can even accompany himself or herself just using his or her voice and body (e.g., Bobby McFerrin).
The Mridangam (Sanskrit: :मृदंग Kannada: :ಮೃದಂಗ Tamil: :மிருதங்கம் Malayalam: :മൃദംഗം ) is a percussion instrument from India of ancient origin.
 It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble, and in Dhrupad, where it is known as Pakhawaj.
A rhythm section (also called a backup band) is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band who provide the underlying rhythm and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band.
 Many of the rhythm section instruments, such as keyboard instruments and guitars, are also used to play the chord progression upon which the song is based.
 The bass instrument (either double bass or electric bass, or another low-register instrument, such as synth bass, depending on the group and its style of music) plays the low-pitched bassline that supports the chord progression, typically by emphasizing the roots of the chords (and to a lesser degree the fifths and thirds of the chords).
The thattai is an Indian percussion instrument, belonging to the idiophone instruments family.
 It consists in a cane tube, in which the end has three reeds (two of them free) that produce a percussive sound when the shaft is shaken with one hand.
 Thattai is used as a toy or as rhythmic accompaniment instrument.
Kannan Balakrishnan (born 26 June 1964) is a classical musician and veena exponent from Chennai, India, in the Carnatic Music genre.
 He is also a vocalist and exponent of the instruments Mridangam, Suddha Madhalam and the Ganjira.
 He is also known his work in promoting the Veena and the annual ten-day "Veena festival" organized in Chennai.
The Scottish tenor drum is a musical instrument used within Scottish pipe bands.
 It is a double-headed membranophone that is held vertically with one head up, one head down, and played with soft mallets on the top head only.
 Common sizes of drums are 15, 16, 18, or 20 inch in diameter, with 12, 14, or 16 inch depth.
 The playing style of the Scottish tenor drum has varied throughout the years, but there is typically a variation of the combination of swings (or flourishes) and rhythmic accompaniment to the Scottish snare drum and the Great Highland Bagpipes.
 It is similar to the more common marching band style tenor drum.
The Saratovskaya garmonika, named after the Russian city of Saratov, is a colorful variant on the standard one row push–pull diatonic button accordion.
 The chief distinguishing characteristic of this little folk accordion is that it plays the tonic scale (and major chord) on the bellows draw and the dominant on the bellows press, the reverse of a standard diatonic box.
 Another curious feature is the addition of two bells on the top of the instrument which are struck with tiny metal hammers attached to the bass and chord buttons for rhythmic accompaniment.
 They add a fun accent on dance tunes.
 It is possible to play the basses very lightly and avoid activating the bells, as they become rather tiresome after a while.
 The basses also have an additional tonic chord button in the center, lighter in tone than the regular chord, which is not attached to the hammers.
The Maddale (Kannada: ಮದ್ದಲೆ ) is a percussion instrument from Karnataka, India.
 It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Yakshagana ensemble along with Chande.
 Maddale also represents a remarkable progress in percusive instruments as it produces the perfectly hormonic tonic (shruti swara) when played anywhere on the surface compared to Mrudangam, Pakwaj or Tabla that can not produce the tonic (shruti) on all parts of the drum surface.
 The traditional variety of Maddale was 30 cm long, had 8 inch drum head for right and produced the louder sound.
 These days 6 - 6.5 inch wide right side maddale is used with only a few using 7 inch wide.
 Left bass side is about an inch (few hairs less) bigger than right.
 Maddale is available in more than three different variations.
 Maddale used in Yakshagana looks similar to mridangam but is markedly different in structure, acoustics, playing techniques and the rhythm system (Yakshagana Tala).