Indian harmonium

which was played resting on table with the right hand, the left hand pumps with a handle. , India. Development during the 19th century The European harmonium developed in the 18th century, inspired by the Chinese sheng, a gourd mouth organ. Various types of European harmoniums and reed-organs arrived in India in the 19th century, some were brought by missionaries. Over time, Europeans designed smaller harmoniums, like the guide-chant, which included manually pumped bellows. Indian craftsmen soon created a much smaller instrument based on the European designs, which was made to rest on the floor with bellows that were pumped with the left hand. Other elements were added, like the addition of drone stops (the use of drones is important in Indian music). This instrument quickly became popular: it was lightweight and thus portable, reliable, easy to learn and produced a rich sound. Dwarkanath Ghose of the Dwarkin company is often considered to be one of the first inventors of the Indian style harmonium. and Ghose took the initiative to modify it. Bhishmadev Vedi is also said to have been among the first to contemplate and design compositions specifically for the harmonium, styled along the lines of "tantakari"—performance of music on stringed instruments. These compositions tend to have a lot of cut notes and high-speed passages, creating an effect similar to that of a string being plucked. with his 22-microtone harmonium In 1954, Late Jogesh Chandra Biswas first modified the then-existing harmoniums, so it folds down into a much thinner space for easier maneuverability. Before that, if the instrument was boxed, it used to need two people to carry it, holding it from either side. This improvisation became a generic design in most harmoniums since then and was coined with the term "Folding Harmoniums". Another modification of the instrument is that by musicologist Vidyadhar Oke, who developed a 22-microtone harmonium, which can play 22 microtones as required in Indian classical music. The fundamental tone (Shadja) and the fifth (Pancham) are fixed, but the other ten notes have two microtones each, one higher and one lower. The higher microtone is selected by pulling out a knob below the key. In this way, the 22-shruti harmonium can be tuned for any particular raga by simply pulling out knobs wherever a higher shruti is required. == Construction and components ==

The basic components of an Indian harmonium include: a wooden body with two metal handles for carrying, banks of brass reeds (often 1, 2, or 3) set on a wooden reed board, a pumping apparatus (bellows), air stops (including stops for drones), and a keyboard (which is similar to a piano keyboard but with a smaller number of keys). Some models include an octave coupler, a mechanism which links one reed valve with another note (usually the same note an octave above or below). Aside from the main construction styles, harmoniums also come in several different sizes, and as such, their sound varies depending on its construction. Smaller builds may also have a smaller number of keys. The standard number is a 42 key keyboard, but smaller versions may have 39 or 32 keys. Smaller models may be built in slightly different designs as well, or they may be simple smaller versions of the classic design. Small models generally have less sustain and a sound which is less full, since the sound box is significantly smaller. Another rarer and more expensive type of harmonium is the 22 shruti (22 microtone) harmonium. These are used specifically for Indian classical music since they can replicate the 22 microtones used in Indian classical music, a feat that other models cannot accomplish. == Usage ==

at Bhakti Fest West in 2014 The harmonium is an important instrument in many genres of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi music. It is used in many South Asian musical genres including North Indian classical music forms like Dhrupad and Kheyal, Sufi Muslim Qawwali music, Hindu and Sikh devotional (bhakti) music (Bhajan and Kirtan), as well as Folk music, Filmi Sangeet (Indian Film Music), Ghazal, Geet, Dhamar, Thumri, and Shabad. In most genres, the Indian harmonium is commonly accompanied by some percussion instrument which provides the tala to the music, such as the tabla, dholak, taal, or mridangam. Almost all Qawwals use the harmonium as musical accompaniment. It has received international exposure as the genre of Qawwali music has been popularized by renowned Pakistani musicians, including Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948–1997) and Aziz Mian (1942–2000). It is also referred to as a peti (literally, box) in some parts of North India and Maharashtra (where it is widely used in Marathi kirtan). The Indian harmonium came to the western world during the spread of Indian religions to the west in the 20th century. Indian religious movements like the International Society for Krishna Consciousness's (ISKCON) and Yogi Bhajan's 3HO brought Indian devotional kirtan to the West, which included the use of the harmonium. Western kirtan singers like Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, and Snatam Kaur have become well known harmonium players, especially in the new age and yoga subcultures. ==References==