Sushira Vadya

In the Sushira Vadya group, sound is produced by blowing air into an hollow  column. The pitch of the note is determined by controlling the air passage and the melody is played by using the fingers to open and close the in the instrument. The simplest of these instruments is the  flute. Generally flutes are made of bamboo or wood and the Indian musician prefers these due  to the tonal and musical attributes of these materials. However, there are references of flutes  made of red sandalwood, black wood, cane, ivory, bronze, silver and gold also. The diameter of the bamboo flutes is usually - about 1.9 cms; though, flutes with wider diameters,  are also commonly, used. The musical text Sangeet Ratnakar written in the 13th. century by  Sharangdev refers to 18 kinds of flutes. These categories are based on the distance between the blow hole and the first finger hole (see diagram). Excavations of the Indus civilizations have shown bird whistles of clay, and seals which show wind and percussion instruments. Actual musical instruments are made of bamboo, wood, animal hide, etc. which perish when buried for any length of time, hence, flutes made of wood  or bamboo have not survived the ravages of time and are not found in excavations of past civilizations. There is reference in the Vedas to an instrument-the Venu which was used as an accompaniment  to chanting and recitation. There is also mention of a kind of a flute called the Nadi. The flute has a variety of names like Venu, Vamsi, Bansuri, Murali and so on in the north,  and Pullankuzhal, Pillankarovi and Kolalu in the south. The wind instruments are roughly  divided into two categories on the basis of how sound is produced. They are: - the flutes, and - the reed instruments Flutes Single or double flutes with only one hollow tube with finger holes for controlling the pitch of the note are very common in many parts of the country. Long horizontal flutes with a larger  diameter are used to play slow passages such as Alap of the lower registers. Smaller and shorter  flutes, sometimes held vertically, are used for Taans, the faster passages, and also for producing higher pitches of sound. The double flutes are mostly played by musicians of the tribal and  rural areas and are rarely found on the concert platform. They resemble beak flutes which  have a narrow aperture at one end. One finds references to these types of instruments in the sculptures of the first century in the Sanchi Stupa which shows a musician playing on a double flute.   Reed instruments Reed instruments like the Shehnai, Nadaswaram, etc., have one or two reeds inserted in the hollow beak or tube of the instrument, these vibrate when air is blown into them. In this type  of instrument the reeds are bound together with a gap between them before inserting into the body of the instrument. The body of the tube is conical in shape narrow at the blowing end and opening out gradually with a metallic bell at the farther end to enhance the volume of the sound. A set of spare reeds, an ivory or silver needle for adjusting and cleaning the reeds are also hung from the mouth piece of the instrument.   The Shehnai is a reed instrument in which there are seven holes along the tube which are used  for playing the melody by opening and closing them with the fingers. It is known as a  Mangal vadya and is usually played on all auspicious occasions in north India such as marriages, temple festivals, etc. The Shehnai is considered to have come to India from West Asia,  there are other scholars who believe that this instrument travelled to China from India. It is now a popular instrument in concerts, the sound is very sweet and suited for playing Raga Sangeet. In the early fifties of this century, Ustad Bismillah Khan is credited for popularising this instrument.  Today, Pt. Anant Lal, Pt. Daya Shankar are also noted Shehnai players.