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🔒 Log in to trackMusic, Instruments & Maestros
🔒 Log in to trackIndia has two classical music systems. Hindustani music belongs to the north. Carnatic music belongs to the south. Exams ask which maestro plays which instrument, which class an instrument falls in, and who is the founder or master of each system.
Two systems of classical music
| System | Region | Key points |
|---|---|---|
| Hindustani | North | Persian influence; ragas tied to the time of day; forms are dhrupad (oldest), khayal, thumri, tappa; musicians belong to gharanas |
| Carnatic | South | Kriti compositions; fixed compositions |
- The Trinity of Carnatic music is Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri. They lived in the 18th and 19th centuries in the Thiruvarur region of Tamil Nadu.
- Purandara Dasa is the "father" (Pitamaha) of Carnatic music. He is not part of the Trinity.
- The Tyagaraja Aradhana is held at Thiruvaiyaru.
- Tansen, at Akbar's court (one of the Navaratnas), is the fountainhead of Hindustani music.
Tip: Pitamaha means Purandara Dasa. Trinity means Tyagaraja, Dikshitar, Syama Sastri.
The four classes of instruments
The Natya Shastra sorts instruments by how they make sound.
| Class | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Tata (string) | Strings are vibrated | sitar, veena, sarod, santoor, violin |
| Sushira (wind) | Air column | bansuri (flute), shehnai, nadaswaram |
| Avanaddha (membrane) | Stretched skin is struck | tabla, mridangam, pakhawaj, dholak |
| Ghana (solid) | Solid body is struck | ghatam, kanjira, manjira, jal tarang, cymbals |
The santoor is a string instrument with 100 strings struck by mallets. The ghatam is a clay pot.
Rule: Shehnai is wind. Santoor is string. Tabla is a drum. Ghatam is solid.
Maestros and their instruments
| Instrument | Maestros |
|---|---|
| Sitar | Pt. Ravi Shankar, Vilayat Khan, Anoushka Shankar |
| Sarod | Ali Akbar Khan, Amjad Ali Khan |
| Shehnai | Ustad Bismillah Khan |
| Tabla | Zakir Hussain, Alla Rakha (Zakir's father), Kishan Maharaj |
| Bansuri | Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pannalal Ghosh |
| Santoor | Shivkumar Sharma, Rahul Sharma |
| Sarangi (bowed) | Pt. Ram Narayan, Sabri Khan |
| Violin | Lalgudi Jayaraman, L. Subramaniam (Carnatic); N. Rajam (Hindustani) |
| Mandolin | U. Srinivas |
| Mridangam | Palghat Mani Iyer, Umayalpuram Sivaraman |
| Veena (Saraswati) | E. Gayathri, S. Balachander |
| Mohan veena (slide guitar) | Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt |
Ustad Allauddin Khan belonged to the Maihar gharana. He taught Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan.
Musicians with the Bharat Ratna
- M.S. Subbulakshmi (1998) was the first musician to receive it. She was a Carnatic vocalist.
- Pt. Ravi Shankar (1999) played the sitar.
- Lata Mangeshkar (2001) and Ustad Bismillah Khan (2001, shehnai) followed.
- Pt. Bhimsen Joshi was a Hindustani vocalist of the Kirana gharana.
- Bhupen Hazarika received it in 2019, after his death.
Watch: Bharat Ratna years vary across sources for Bhimsen Joshi. Trust the order and the first-musician fact.
Gharanas
- Gwalior is the oldest khayal gharana.
- Kirana is Bhimsen Joshi's line, through Abdul Karim Khan.
- Others: Jaipur-Atrauli, Agra, Patiala (Bade Ghulam Ali Khan) and Banaras (tabla and thumri).
- Tabla gharanas: Lucknow, Farrukhabad, Banaras, Punjab and Delhi.
- Kathak gharanas: Lucknow, Jaipur and Banaras.
The violin and the nadaswaram
The European violin joined Carnatic music around the 18th and 19th centuries. Baluswami Dikshitar, brother of Muthuswami, gets the credit. It is now a key accompaniment.
The nadaswaram is a wind instrument. It leads temple processions in the south, paired with the thavil drum.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Instrument to class
How is the shehnai classified, or find the odd one out among wind, string and drum instruments.
Recall the four classes.
Flute, shehnai, nadaswaram are wind.
Tabla, mridangam are drums. Ghatam, kanjira are solid. Sitar, sarod, santoor are strings.
The class depends on how the sound is made.
The shehnai is classified as which type of instrument?
Show solutionHide solution
Sound comes from a vibrating air column.
That is the sushira class.
Wind instrument (sushira)
Maestro to instrument
A musician's name comes with four instrument options.
Recall the one-to-one pairs.
Bismillah Khan is shehnai. Ravi Shankar is sitar. Zakir Hussain is tabla.
Shivkumar Sharma is santoor. Chaurasia is flute.
One instrument per maestro settles the question.
Ustad Zakir Hussain is a virtuoso of which instrument?
Show solutionHide solution
He is the son of Ustad Allah Rakha.
Allah Rakha was a tabla legend.
Tabla
Hindustani versus Carnatic
Father of Carnatic music, the Carnatic Trinity, Tansen's court, or a statement pair about the two systems.
North is Hindustani: dhrupad, khayal, gharanas, Tansen.
South is Carnatic: kriti, Trinity, Purandara Dasa.
Pitamaha means Purandara Dasa.
Each system has its own names and forms.
Who make up the Carnatic Trinity?
Show solutionHide solution
All three lived in the Thiruvarur region.
Names: Tyagaraja, Dikshitar, Syama Sastri.
Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri
Bharat Ratna musicians and gharanas
First musician with the Bharat Ratna, a singer's gharana, or the oldest gharana.
Recall the order: M.S. Subbulakshmi 1998, Ravi Shankar 1999, then Lata Mangeshkar and Bismillah Khan 2001.
Gwalior is the oldest khayal gharana.
Maihar is Allauddin Khan's school.
The first-musician fact is the favourite question.
Who was the first musician to receive the Bharat Ratna?
Show solutionHide solution
She was a Carnatic vocalist.
The year was 1998.
M.S. Subbulakshmi
Teacher and gharana
Who taught Ravi Shankar, which gharana a singer belongs to, or the gharana of Bhimsen Joshi.
Recall Allauddin Khan of Maihar as the teacher of Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan.
Bhimsen Joshi is Kirana.
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan is Patiala.
Teacher-student lines link gharanas and maestros.
Bhimsen Joshi belongs to which gharana?
Show solutionHide solution
He was a Hindustani vocalist.
His line goes back to Abdul Karim Khan.
Kirana gharana
Shortcuts that save time
T for Tyagaraja, M for Muthuswami Dikshitar, S for Syama Sastri. Purandara Dasa is the father, not part of the Trinity.
Who is called the Pitamaha of Carnatic music?
Show solutionHide solution
Pitamaha means father.
The Trinity has three other names.
Purandara Dasa
Tata is strings. Sushira is air, so wind. Avanaddha is skin drums. Ghana is solid, such as bells, cymbals and ghatam.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Naming Purandara Dasa as one of the Trinity.
The Trinity is Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri. Purandara Dasa is the father.
Calling the shehnai a string instrument.
The shehnai is a wind (sushira) instrument.
Calling the santoor a wind instrument.
The santoor is a string instrument struck with mallets.
Giving Zakir Hussain the sarod.
Zakir Hussain plays the tabla. Sarod belongs to Ali Akbar Khan and Amjad Ali Khan.
Naming Ravi Shankar as the first musician with the Bharat Ratna.
M.S. Subbulakshmi (1998) came first. Ravi Shankar followed in 1999.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Purandara Dasa is the Carnatic Pitamaha. The Trinity is Tyagaraja, Dikshitar and Syama Sastri.
Classes: tata (string), sushira (wind), avanaddha (drum), ghana (solid).
Bismillah Khan: shehnai. Ravi Shankar: sitar. Zakir Hussain: tabla.
Shivkumar Sharma: santoor. Chaurasia: bansuri. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt: Mohan veena.
M.S. Subbulakshmi was the first musician with the Bharat Ratna (1998).
Gwalior is the oldest gharana. Allauddin Khan belonged to Maihar.
Practice: 16 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 3 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.