Ghatam

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ghatam
Carnatic music
Tanjore-style Carnatic tambura.JPG
Tanjavur-style Tambura
Concepts
Sruti Svara Raga Ta?a Me?akarta Asa?pur?a Me?akarta
Compositions
Gita? Svarajati Var?a? Kriti Kirtana Raga? Tana? Pallavi Tillana
Instruments
Melody Sarasvati Vi?a Ve?u Nagasvara? Gottuvadhyam (Citra Vi?a) Violin
Percussion Mr?da?ga? Ghatam Morsing Kanjira Thavil
Drone Tambura Shruti box
Composers Glossary
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The Ghatam (Sanskrit: ??? ghatah, Tamil: ???? ghatam, Kannada: ?? ghata,
Telugu: ??? ghatam, Malayalam: ???, ghatam) is a percussion instrument used in the
Carnatic music of South India. A variant played in Punjab and known as gharha as is
a part of Punjabi folk traditions. Its analogue in Rajasthan is known as the madga
and pani mataqa ("water jug").

The ghatam is one of the most ancient percussion instruments of South India. It is
a clay pot with narrow mouth. From the mouth, it slants outwards to form a ridge.
Made mainly of clay backed with brass or copper filings with a small amount of iron
filings, the pitch of the ghatam varies according to its size. The pitch can be
slightly altered by the application of plasticine clay or water.[1]

Although the ghatam is the same shape as an ordinary Indian domestic clay pot, it
is made specifically to be played as an instrument. The tone of the pot must be
good and the walls should be of even thickness to produce an even tone.

Ghatams are mostly manufactured in Manamadurai, a place near Madurai in Tamil Nadu.
Though this instrument is manufactured in other places like Chennai and Bangalore,
too, Manamadurai ghatams have special tonal quality. It is believed that the mud is
of special quality. The Manamadurai gha?am is a heavy, thick pot with tiny shards
of brass mixed into the clay. This type of gha?am is harder to play but produces a
sharp metallic ringing sound which is favored by some players.

Contents
1 Playing
2 Etymology
3 Similar instruments
4 Notable players
5 See also
6 References
Playing
The pot is usually placed on the lap of the performer, with the mouth facing the
belly. The performer uses the fingers, thumbs, palms, and heels of the hands to
strike its outer surface to produce different sounds. Different tones can be
produced by hitting areas of the pot with different parts of the hands. Sometimes
the ghatam is turned around so that the mouth faces the audience and the performer
plays on the neck of the instrument. The ghatam can be moved to other positions
while being played. Occasionally, the performer will, to the amusement of the
audience, toss the instrument up in the air and catch it. The ghatam is ideal for
playing rhythmic patterns in very fast tempo.[2]

The gha?am usually accompanies a mridangam.

Etymology
The word gha?a in Sanskrit means "pot". Variations of this term are used in modern
Indian languages.

Similar instruments
The madga is a north Indian version of the south Indian gha?am and is made from a
very special clay. The maker sometimes adds some kind of metal or graphite dust to
the clay which is responsible for the blue-gray appearance and for the special
sound.

The madga can be played similarly to the gha?am. Loud bass tones can be produced if
one hits with the flat hand the opening at the top of the instrument. The madga can
be played with mallets (sticks) and there are many sounds which can be produced
with this instrument. It is thinner than a gha?am but very stable and not as
fragile as one might think.

In Gujarat, the instrument is known as matka and features an almost perfectly round
shape (tuned to C#) and is made in many villages in and around Jaipur (Rajasthan)
and Gujarat. The matka is used to store water and sometimes yogurt (curd) and can
be used as a cooking vessel. When used as a musical instrument in folk music, it is
known as gha?a and is played in a similar manner as the South Indian gha?am but the
technique and rhythmic style is not as refined as that of Carnatic gha?am. Another
difference is that the ghara is often traditionally played with metal rings on the
thumbs, index, middle, and ring fingers of both hands (but players vary on how many
rings and fingers are used). There are a few versions of this instrument. Some are
made from a black clay that typically comes from a single area in Rajasthan while
many others in Rajasthan and Gujarat are made from a reddish clay. A third version
of the gha?a is made from reddish clay but features a much flatter, squat shape.
Both of the red clay types can also be found highly decorated with colorfully
painted designs while the black ones are usually plain and unfinished. The black
gha?as are extremely light but very dense and have a huge sound. The shell tones
ring in a bell-like fashion with much more of a sustain than the various South
Indian gha?ams (although the Mysore gha?am comes close). The bass tones of this
instrument are very prominent. Since these instruments are fired at a much higher
temperature for a longer time than South Indian gha?ams, there is more consistency
between instruments in terms of Western pitch. In other words, there is much less
variation in the tuning when compared with gha?ams from South India, which can
range from a low B up to a high A chromatically. Gha?as or matkas are usually found
with a range from approximately C or C# to D (or slightly higher) although there
does not seem to be any indication that these instruments are constructed with
tuning considerations. Other spellings for matka include mutkay and madga.

Notable players
Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram
Thetakudi Harihara Subash Chandran
Ghatam Sukkanya Ramgopal
Suresh Vaidyanathan
Vaikom Gopalakrishnan
Ghatam Karthick
Ghatam Udupa
Vazhappally Krishnakumar
Elathur N.Hari Narayanan
Abhay Vikranth
Udupi Sridhar
See also
Indian classical music portal
Udu
Botija
Hang
References
http://glnd.alexanderstreet.com/View/329423
Bonnie C. Wade. Music in India: the classical traditions. 2008. Pp 134-135.
Indian classical music portal
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Indian musical instruments
Wind (Sushir)
Bansuri Harmonium Kombu Nadaswaram Pungi Shankha Shehnai Shruti box Venu

Plucked Stringed (Tat)

Dotara Ektara Gottuvadhyam Pena Rudra veena Santoor Saraswati veena Sarod Seni
Rebab Sitar Surbahar Swarmandal Tanpura Veena Vichitra veena Yazh
Bowed Stringed (Vitat)
Dilruba Esraj Sarangi Sarinda Taus Violin
Membranous Percussion (Avanaddh)
Chande Chenda Damaru Dhaak Duggi Dhol Dholak Dholki Edakka Kanjira Khamak Khol
Madal Mizhav Mridangam Nagada Pakhawaj Parai Sambal Tabla Tavil
Non-Membranous Percussion (Ghan)
Chimta Ghatam Ghungroo Jal tarang Kartal Khanjani Khartal Manjira Morsing
Other
Bharatiya Sangeet Vadya Indian classical music Jivari
Categories: Carnatic music instrumentsIndian musical instrumentsPercussion
instrumentsPitched percussionPlosive aerophones
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