Question 16
HardOriginal questionIn the classical fourfold classification of instruments, the tabla and the mridangam belong to which category?
Show the answer and explanation
CorrectNot quiteAnswer B
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Avanaddha covers instruments sounded by striking a stretched membrane, which is what a drum is.
Tata covers stringed instruments such as the sitar and the veena, and sushira the wind instruments such as the flute and the shehnai.
Ghana covers solid instruments that sound without a membrane or string, such as the ghatam and the manjira.
Worth noting
The ghatam is a clay pot and the tabla a drum, so both are percussion in ordinary speech — but the classification splits them, and that split is the question.
- Concept
- The fourfold classification of instruments
- Typical timeTypical
- 45 s
- Your timeYours
- —
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