Misplaced Pages

#351648

114-606: The mridangam is a percussion instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent . It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad , a modified version, the pakhawaj , is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the Kendang , played in Maritime Southeast Asia . Its a complex instrument to tune and involves a lot of mathematics to construct korvais. During

228-559: A B.A. degree from the University of Madras , where he stood first and won the gold medals in physics and English. At age 18, while still a graduate student, he published his first scientific paper on "Unsymmetrical diffraction bands due to a rectangular aperture" in the British journal Philosophical Magazine in 1906. He earned an M.A. degree from the same university with highest distinction in 1907. His second paper published in

342-530: A Nicol prism to avoid the influence of sunlight reflected by the surface. He described how the sea appears even more blue than usual, contradicting Rayleigh. As soon as the S.S. Narkunda docked in Bombay Harbour (now Mumbai Harbour ), Raman finished an article "The colour of the sea" that was published in the November 1921 issue of Nature . He noted that Rayleigh's explanation is "questionable by

456-563: A staff with the same treble and bass clefs used by many non-percussive instruments. Music for percussive instruments without a definite pitch can be notated with a specialist rhythm or percussion-clef . The guitar also has a special "tab" staff. More often a bass clef is substituted for rhythm clef. Percussion instruments are classified by various criteria sometimes depending on their construction, ethnic origin, function within musical theory and orchestration, or their relative prevalence in common knowledge. The word percussion derives from

570-484: A PhD scholar under Ganesh Prasad , was his first student. From the next year, other universities followed suit including University of Allahabad , Rangoon University , Queen's College Indore, Institute of Science, Nagpur , Krisnath College , and University of Madras. By 1919, Raman had guided more than a dozen students. Following Sircar's death in 1919, Raman received two honorary positions at IACS, Honorary Professor and Honorary Secretary. He referred to this period as

684-712: A blown conch shell. Percussive techniques can even be applied to the human body itself, as in body percussion . On the other hand, keyboard instruments , such as the celesta , are not normally part of the percussion section, but keyboard percussion instruments such as the glockenspiel and xylophone (which do not have piano keyboards) are included. Percussion instruments are most commonly divided into two classes: pitched percussion instruments, which produce notes with an identifiable pitch , and unpitched percussion instruments, which produce notes or sounds in an indefinite pitch. Percussion instruments may play not only rhythm , but also melody and harmony . Percussion

798-696: A company called Travancore Chemical and Manufacturing Co. Ltd. in 1943. The company, renamed as TCM Limited in 1996, was one of the first organic and inorganic chemical manufacturers in India. In 1947, Raman was appointed the first National Professor by the new government of independent India. Raman retired from IISC in 1948 and established the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore a year later. He served as its director and remained active there until his death in 1970. One of Raman's interests

912-695: A critical research on vibrations of the pianoforte string that was known as Kaufmann's theory. During his brief visit of England in 1921, he managed to study how sound travels in the Whispring Gallery of the dome of St Paul's Cathedral in London that produces unusual sound effects. His work on acoustics was an important prelude, both experimentally and conceptually, to his later works on optics and quantum mechanics . Raman, in his broadening venture on optics, started to investigate scattering of light starting in 1919. His first phenomenal discovery of

1026-427: A discovery which promises to be of fundamental significance to physics... The new phenomenon exhibits features even more startling than those discovered by Prof. Compton with X-rays. The principal feature observed is that when matter is excited by light of one colour, the atoms contained in it emit light of two colours, one of which is different from the exciting colour and is lower down the spectrum. The astonishing thing

1140-429: A distinctive sound. It is not uncommon to discuss percussion instruments in relation to their cultural origin. This led to a division between instruments considered common or modern, and folk instruments with significant history or purpose within a geographic region or culture. This category includes instruments that are widely available and popular throughout the world: The percussionist uses various objects to strike

1254-651: A distinguished X-ray crystallographer . He founded the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1934 and started publishing the academy's journal Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences (later split up into Proceedings - Mathematical Sciences , Journal of Chemical Sciences , and Journal of Earth System Science ). Around that time the Calcutta Physical Society was established, the concept of which he had initiated early in 1917. With his former student Panchapakesa Krishnamurti , Raman started

SECTION 10

#1732794134352

1368-491: A factual date of 2 June 1907. It was a self-arranged marriage and his wife was 13 years old. (Sources are contradicting on her age as her birth year is specified as 1892, which would make her about 15 years of age; but Parameswaran affirmed the 13-year, corroborated by her obituary in Current Science that mentioned her age as 86 on her death on 22 May 1980. ) His wife later jokingly recounted that their marriage

1482-880: A grand finale where the main artist resumes where he or she left off. Mridangam is used as an accompanying instrument in Yakshagana Himmela (orchestra) where it is called the maddale . However, the mridangam used in Yakshagana is markedly different in structure and acoustics from the ones used in Carnatic music. Significant players of the mridangam in modern times are T. K. Murthy , Dandamudi Ram Mohan Rao , T. V. Gopalakrishnan , Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman , Vellore G. Ramabhadran , T S Nandakumar, Karaikudi Mani , Trichy Sankaran , Mannargudi Easwaran , Yella Venkateswara Rao , Srimushnam V. Raja Rao, and Thiruvarur Bakthavathsalam , who have been playing and advancing

1596-430: A hollowed piece of jackfruit wood about an inch thick. The two mouths or apertures of the drum are covered with a goat, cow or buffalo skin and laced to each other with leather straps along the length of the drum. These straps are put into a state of high tension to stretch out the circular membranes on either side of the hull, allowing them to resonate when struck. These two membranes are dissimilar in diameter to allow for

1710-655: A lecture at the Congress of Universities of the British Empire. He had earned quite a reputation by then, and his hosts were Nobel laureates J. J. Thomson and Lord Rutherford . Upon his election as Fellow of the Royal Society in 1924, Mukherjee asked him of his future plans, which he replied, saying, "The Nobel Prize of course." In 1926, he established the Indian Journal of Physics and acted as

1824-473: A left-handed percussionist, the legs and hands are switched. It is not uncommon for artists to use stands for the miruthangam so the body is not loaded in an asymmetrical position. There have recently been reports of gradually altered gait and balance, varying in severity, in those that play the mridangam for long periods of time in asymmetrical positions, especially with poor attention to body posture. Some schools do not pay attention to posture and health so it

1938-403: A percussion ensemble, the mridangam is often accompanied by the ghatam , the kanjira , and the morsing . The word "Mridangam" is formulated by the union ( sandhi ) of the two Sanskrit words mŗt (clay or earth) and anga (limb), as the earliest versions of the instrument were made of hardened clay. In ancient Hindu sculpture, painting, and mythology, the mridangam is often depicted as

2052-653: A percussion instrument to produce sound. The general term for a musician who plays percussion instruments is "percussionist" but the terms listed below often describe specialties: Within rock music, the term "percussionist" is often used to refer to someone who plays percussion instruments but is not primarily a drummer. The term is especially found in bands where one person plays drums and another plays other hit instruments. Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman FRS ( / ˈ r ɑː m ə n / ; 7 November 1888 – 21 November 1970), known as C. V. Raman ,

2166-430: A performance, the leather covering the wider aperture is made moist and a spot of paste made from semolina (rawa) and water is applied to the center, which lowers the pitch of the wider membrane and gives it a very powerful resonating bass sound. Nowadays, rubber gum is also used to loosen the membrane helping in creating the bass sound, and its advantage is that unlike semolina, it will not stick on hands. The artist tunes

2280-423: A pivotal role. In military marching bands and pipes and drums , it is the beat of the bass drum that keeps the soldiers in step and at a regular speed, and it is the snare that provides that crisp, decisive air to the tune of a regiment. In classic jazz, one almost immediately thinks of the distinctive rhythm of the hi-hats or the ride cymbal when the word-swing is spoken. In more recent popular-music culture, it

2394-533: A sense of obsession with the Nobel Prize. In a speech at the University of Calcutta, he said, "I'm not flattered by the honour [Fellowship to the Royal Society in 1924] done to me. This is a small achievement. If there is anything that I aspire for, it is the Nobel Prize. You will find that I get that in five years." He knew that if he were to receive the Nobel Prize, he could not wait for the announcement of

SECTION 20

#1732794134352

2508-553: A series of articles resulting in the celebrated Raman–Nath theory. Modulators, and switching systems based on this effect have enabled optical communication components based on laser systems. Other investigations he carried out included experimental and theoretical studies on the diffraction of light by acoustic waves of ultrasonic and hypersonic frequencies, and those on the effects produced by X-rays on infrared vibrations in crystals exposed to ordinary light which were published between 1935 and 1942. In 1948, through studying

2622-478: A simple mode of observation" (using Nicol prism). As he thought: Looking down into the water with a Nicol in front of the eye to cut off surface reflections, the track of the sun's rays could be seen entering the water and appearing by virtue of perspective to converge to a point at a considerable depth inside it. The question is: What is it that diffracts the light and makes its passage visible? An interesting possibility that should be considered in this connection

2736-527: A small, handheld spectroscope to study specimens. These, along with his spectrograph, are on display at IISc. Lord Rutherford was instrumental in some of Raman's most pivotal moments in life. He nominated Raman for the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930, presented him the Hughes Medal as President of the Royal Society in 1930, and recommended him for the position of Director at IISc in 1932. Raman had

2850-455: A type of spectrograph for detecting and measuring electromagnetic waves. Referring to the invention, Raman later remarked, "When I got my Nobel Prize, I had spent hardly 200 rupees on my equipment," although it was obvious that his total expenditure for the entire experiment was much more than that. From that moment they could employ the instrument using monochromatic light from a mercury arc lamp which penetrated transparent material and

2964-636: Is a tradition that Mridangamela is held by children of the age group 3 years and above, as soon as the Utsavam is flagged off. This is performed as an offering to Lord Bharata, who is the deity of Koodalmanikyam Temple. In 2014, Mridangamela by 75 children was performed at Chembai Sangeetholsavam, which is the annual Carnatic music festival held in Guruvayur by the Guruvayur Devaswom. Mridangamela had been performed at Chembai Sangeetholsavam for

3078-437: Is almost impossible to name three or four rock, hip-hop, rap, funk or even soul charts or songs that do not have some sort of percussive beat keeping the tune in time. Because of the diversity of percussive instruments, it is not uncommon to find large musical ensembles composed entirely of percussion. Rhythm, melody, and harmony are all represented in these ensembles. Music for pitched percussion instruments can be notated on

3192-427: Is commonly referred to as "the backbone" or "the heartbeat" of a musical ensemble , often working in close collaboration with bass instruments, when present. In jazz and other popular music ensembles, the pianist, bassist, drummer and sometimes the guitarist are referred to as the rhythm section . Most classical pieces written for full orchestra since the time of Haydn and Mozart are orchestrated to place emphasis on

3306-421: Is difficult to define what is common knowledge but there are instruments percussionists and composers use in contemporary music that most people would not consider musical instruments . It is worthwhile to try to distinguish between instruments based on their acceptance or consideration by a general audience. For example, most people would not consider an anvil , a brake drum (on a vehicle with drum brakes ,

3420-589: Is discernible. Percussion instruments in this group are sometimes referred to as pitched or tuned. Examples of percussion instruments with definite pitch: Instruments in this group are sometimes referred to as non-pitched, unpitched, or untuned. Traditionally these instruments are thought of as making a sound that contains such complex frequencies that no discernible pitch can be heard. In fact many traditionally unpitched instruments, such as triangles and even cymbals, have also been produced as tuned sets. Examples of percussion instruments with indefinite pitch: It

3534-505: Is important to find a school that does so, and to ensure that teachers are experienced and licensed to teach. Additionally, the nature of the drum makes it difficult to avoid a symmetrical position for the two sides of the body. Perhaps, new innovations for the miruthangam will adapt it in such a way that circumvents this issue. Issues caused by asymmetrical body position include functional (not structural) scoliosis, uneven shoulders and hips, and this may cause issues further down limbs, such as

Mridangam - Misplaced Pages Continue

3648-433: Is not known how prevalent the issues are and some artists do not experience any symptoms, although this might be due to an awareness of health and physical appearance not being so significant some countries. Research has yet to be done on the association to physical impairments when the drum is played with a stand. Musicians should also watch out for uneven shoulder positions when playing the drum, which may be unavoidable. It

3762-500: Is produced by a stream of air being blown through the object. However, plosive aerophones , such as the udu , are percussion instruments and may also overlap with the idiophone family. In certain situations, such as in an orchestra or wind ensemble , wind instruments, such as the Acme siren or various whistles , are played by percussionists, owing to their unconventional and simple nature. When classifying instruments by function it

3876-435: Is recommended that musicians sits completely straight, with hips, spine and shoulders completely even and relaxed. Wooden stands may help alleviate issues with scoliosis, uneven shoulders, hips and its associated issues at the knee and ankles. The impacts can result in difficulty in walking and running efficiently and may cause pain later in life and in old age. Whether strength training and stretching may alleviate these problems

3990-652: Is sounded by mouth to mimic the sounds of the mridangam. Students of this art are required to learn and vigorously practice both the fingering strokes and solfa passages to achieve proficiency and accuracy in this art. Advanced strokes: Many other strokes are also taught as the training becomes more advanced, which are generally used as aesthetic embellishments while playing. These notes include gumki (or gamakam), and chaapu. The combination of these finger strokes produces complex mathematical patterns that have both aesthetic and theoretical appeal. Increasingly complex calculations (kanakku) and metres (nadais) may be employed when

4104-418: Is that the altered colour is quite independent of the nature of the substance used. The news was reproduced by The Statesman on 1 March under the headline "Scattering of Light by Atoms – New Phenomenon – Calcutta Professor's Discovery." Raman submitted a three-paragraph report of the discovery on 8 March to Nature and was published on 21 April. The actual data was sent to the same journal on 22 March and

4218-515: Is that the diffracting particles may, at least in part, be the molecules of the water themselves. When he reached Calcutta, he asked his student K. R. Ramanathan, who was from the University of Rangoon, to conduct further research at IACS. By early 1922, Raman came to a conclusion, as he reported in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London : It is proposed in this paper to urge an entirely different view, that in this phenomenon, as in

4332-542: Is true of X-Rays, it must be true of Light too. I have always thought so. There must be an Optical analogue to Compton Effect. We must pursue it and we are on the right lines. It must and shall be found. The Nobel Prize must be won." But the origin of the inspiration went further. As Compton later recollected "that it was probably the Toronto debate that led him to discover the Raman effect two years later." The Toronto debate

4446-440: Is useful to note if a percussion instrument makes a definite pitch or indefinite pitch . For example, some percussion instruments such as the marimba and timpani produce an obvious fundamental pitch and can therefore play melody and serve harmonic functions in music. Other instruments such as crash cymbals and snare drums produce sounds with such complex overtones and a wide range of prominent frequencies that no pitch

4560-442: Is widely seen as inadequate. Rather, it may be more informative to describe percussion instruments in regards to one or more of the following four paradigms: Many texts, including Teaching Percussion by Gary Cook of the University of Arizona, begin by studying the physical characteristics of instruments and the methods by which they can produce sound. This is perhaps the most scientifically pleasing assignment of nomenclature whereas

4674-478: Is yet to be researched. Therefore, it is strongly advised to notify minors and their parents of issues associated with the drum so that they can make informed decisions on whether to play the drum. When played without adequate care to posture, the miruthangam has the potential to have lifelong effects on one's physical health. Regular stretching, weight training, and sports are advisable but may not prevent impairments. Western physiotherapists may struggle to comprehend

Mridangam - Misplaced Pages Continue

4788-467: The Bay of Bengal in 1924 provided the full evidence. It is now known that the intrinsic color of water is mainly attributed to the selective absorption of longer wavelengths of light in the red and orange regions of the spectrum , owing to overtones of the infrared absorbing O-H (oxygen and hydrogen combined) stretching modes of water molecules. Raman's second important discovery on the scattering of light

4902-572: The Johns Hopkins University was the first American to confirm the Raman effect in the early 1929. He made a series of experimental verification, after which he commented, saying, "It appears to me that this very beautiful discovery which resulted from Raman's long and patient study of the phenomenon of light scattering is one of the most convincing proofs of the quantum theory". The field of Raman spectroscopy came to be based on this phenomenon, and Ernest Rutherford , President of

5016-532: The Nizam of Hyderabad , had contributed the lands and funds for the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. The Viceroy of India , Lord Minto approved the establishment in 1909, and the British government appointed its first director, Morris Travers . Raman became the fourth director and the first Indian director. During his tenure at IISc, he recruited G. N. Ramachandran , who later went on to become

5130-524: The Royal Society , referred to it in his presentation of the Hughes Medal to Raman in 1930 as "among the best three or four discoveries in experimental physics in the last decade". Raman was confident that he would win the Nobel Prize in Physics as well but was disappointed when the Nobel Prize went to Owen Richardson in 1928 and to Louis de Broglie in 1929. He was so confident of winning

5244-499: The University of Berlin was able to reproduce Raman's results successfully. He was the first to coin the terms Ramaneffekt and Linien des Ramaneffekts in his articles published the following months. Use of the English versions, "Raman effect" and "Raman lines" immediately followed. In addition to being a new phenomenon itself, the Raman effect was one of the earliest proofs of the quantum nature of light . Robert W. Wood at

5358-599: The University of Madras with honours in physics from Presidency College at age 16. His first research paper, on diffraction of light , was published in 1906 while he was still a graduate student. The next year he obtained a master's degree. He joined the Indian Finance Service in Calcutta as Assistant Accountant General at age 19. There he became acquainted with the Indian Association for

5472-402: The acoustics of various violin and related instruments, including Indian stringed instruments, and water splashes. He even performed what he called "Experiments with mechanically-played violins." Raman also studied the uniqueness of Indian drums. His analyses of the harmonic nature of the sounds of tabla and mridangam were the first scientific studies on Indian percussions. He wrote

5586-407: The spectroscopic behaviour of crystals, he approached the fundamental problems of crystal dynamics in a new manner. He dealt with the structure and properties of diamond from 1944 to 1968, the structure and optical behaviour of numerous iridescent substances including labradorite , pearly feldspar , agate , quartz , opal , and pearl in the early 1950s. Among his other interests were

5700-481: The strings , woodwinds , and brass . However, often at least one pair of timpani is included, though they rarely play continuously. Rather, they serve to provide additional accents when needed. In the 18th and 19th centuries, other percussion instruments (like the triangle or cymbals ) have been used, again generally sparingly. The use of percussion instruments became more frequent in the 20th century classical music. In almost every style of music, percussion plays

5814-861: The "golden era" of his life. Raman was chosen by the University of Calcutta to become the Palit Professor of Physics , a position established after the benefactor Sir Taraknath Palit , in 1913. The university senate made the appointment on 30 January 1914, as recorded in the meeting minutes: The following appointments to the Palit Professorships were made at the meeting of the Senate on 30 January 1914: Dr P C Ray and Mr C.V. Raman, MA... The appointment of each Professor shall be permanent. A Professor shall vacate his office upon completion of sixtieth year of his age. Prior to 1914, Ashutosh Mukherjee had invited Jagadish Chandra Bose to take up

SECTION 50

#1732794134352

5928-409: The 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery and was the first Asian and the first non-White to receive a Nobel Prize in any branch of science. Born to Tamil Brahmin parents, Raman was a precocious child , completing his secondary and higher secondary education from St Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School at the age of 11 and 13, respectively. He topped the bachelor's degree examination of

6042-511: The Compton effect as an unmodified scattering. On 16 February, they sent a manuscript to Nature titled "A new type of secondary radiation", which was published on 31 March. On 28 February 1928, they obtained spectra of the modified scattering separate from the incident light . Due to difficulty in measuring the wavelengths of light, they had been relying on visual observation of the colour produced from sunlight through prism. Raman had invented

6156-650: The Cultivation of Science (IACS), the first research institute in India, which allowed him to carry out independent research and where he made his major contributions in acoustics and optics . In 1917, he was appointed the first Palit Professor of Physics by Ashutosh Mukherjee at the Rajabazar Science College under the University of Calcutta . On his first trip to Europe, seeing the Mediterranean Sea motivated him to identify

6270-775: The Indian Finance Service achieving first position in the entrance examination in February 1907. He was posted in Calcutta (now Kolkata ) as Assistant Accountant General in June 1907. He was highly impressed by the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Calcutta, the first research institute founded in India in 1876. He immediately befriended Asutosh Dey, who would eventually become his lifelong collaborator, Amrita Lal Sircar, founder and secretary of IACS, and Ashutosh Mukherjee , executive member of

6384-454: The King. During the post-Sangam period, as mentioned in the epic Silappadikaram , it formed a part of the antarakoṭṭu - a musical ensemble which performed at the beginning of dramatic performances, and that would later develop into Bharathanatyam . The player of this instrument held the title tannumai aruntozhil mutalvan . The mridangam is a double-sided drum whose body is usually made using

6498-455: The Latin verb percussio to beat, strike in the musical sense, and the noun percussus , a beating. As a noun in contemporary English, Wiktionary describes it as the collision of two bodies to produce a sound. The term is not unique to music, but has application in medicine and weaponry, as in percussion cap . However, all known uses of percussion appear to share a similar lineage beginning with

6612-527: The Nobel Committee normally made towards the end of the year considering the time required to reach Sweden by sea route. With confidence, he booked two tickets, one for his wife, for a steamship to Stockholm in July 1930. Soon after he received the Nobel Prize, he was asked in an interview the possible consequences if he had discovered the Raman effect earlier, which he replied, "Then I should have shared

6726-415: The aid of a pitch pipe or a tambura . The larger membrane can also be tuned in a similar manner, though it is not done as frequently. Note that since the leather straps are interwoven between both the smaller and larger aperture, adjusting the tension on one side often can affect the tension on the other. The mridangam is played resting it almost parallel to the floor. A right-handed mridangam artist plays

6840-494: The art that they are often referred to as the Mridangam Trinity. K V Prasad Percussion instrument The percussion section of an orchestra most commonly contains instruments such as the timpani , snare drum , bass drum , tambourine , belonging to the membranophones, and cymbals and triangle , which are idiophones. However, the section can also contain aerophones, such as whistles and sirens , or

6954-495: The authenticity of the discovery. Georg Joos at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena asked Arnold Sommerfeld at the University of Munich , "Do you think that Raman's work on the optical Compton effect in liquids is reliable?... The sharpness of the scattered lines in liquids seems doubtful to me". Sommerfeld then tried to reproduce the experiment, but failed. On 20 June 1928, Peter Pringsheim at

SECTION 60

#1732794134352

7068-459: The center with a black disk made of rice flour, ferric oxide powder and starch. This black tuning paste is known as the satham or karanai and gives the mridangam its distinct metallic timbre. The combination of two inhomogeneous circular membranes allows for the production of unique and distinct harmonics. Pioneering work on the mathematics of these harmonics was done by Nobel Prize-winning physicist C. V. Raman . Immediately prior to use in

7182-600: The circular hub the brake shoes press against), or a fifty-five gallon oil barrel musical instruments yet composers and percussionists use these objects. Percussion instruments generally fall into the following categories: One pre-20th century example of found percussion is the use of cannon usually loaded with blank charges in Tchaikovsky 's 1812 Overture . John Cage , Harry Partch , Edgard Varèse , and Peter Schickele , all noted composers, created entire pieces of music using unconventional instruments. Beginning in

7296-412: The deep sea has nothing to do with the color of water, but is simply the blue of the sky seen by reflection". Rayleigh had correctly described the nature of the blue sky by a phenomenon now known as Rayleigh scattering , the scattering of light and refraction by particles in the atmosphere. His explanation of the blue colour of water was instinctively accepted as correct. Raman could view the water using

7410-531: The detriment of his own research or assisting advanced students in their researches. Raman's appointment as the Palit Professor was strongly objected to by some members of the Senate of the University of Calcutta, especially foreign members, as he had no PhD and had never studied abroad. As a kind of rebuttal, Asutosh Mukherjee arranged for an honorary DSc which the University of Calcutta conferred Raman in 1921. The same year he visited Oxford to deliver

7524-417: The earliest Nepal Bhasa manuscripts on music is a treatise on this instrument called Mridanga anukaranam. The range of its use has changed over the years. In the old days, percussionists were only employed to accompany the lead player, often the vocalist. Now its use is not restricted to accompaniment, and it is used for solo performances. In Tamil culture, it is called a tannumai. The earliest mention of

7638-499: The early 20th century perhaps with Ionisation by Edgard Varèse which used air-raid sirens among other things, composers began to require that percussionists invent or find objects to produce desired sounds and textures. Another example the use of a hammer and saw in Penderecki 's De Natura Sonoris No. 2 . By the late 20th century, such instruments were common in modern percussion ensemble music and popular productions, such as

7752-402: The experiment in the beginning of January 1928. On 7 January, he discovered that no matter what kind of pure liquid he used, it always produced polarised fluorescence within the visible spectrum of light. As Raman saw the result, he was astonished why he never observed such phenomenon all those years. That night he and Krishnan named the new phenomenon as "modified scattering" with reference to

7866-634: The first editor. The second volume of the journal published his famous article "A new radiation", reporting the discovery of the Raman effect . Raman was succeeded by Debendra Mohan Bose as the Palit Professor in 1932. Following his appointment as Director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore , he left Calcutta in 1933. Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV , the King of Mysore, Jamsetji Tata and Nawab Sir Mir Osman Ali Khan ,

7980-493: The first from the institute. The work inspired IACS to publish a journal, Bulletin of Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, in 1909 in which Raman was the major contributor. In 1909, Raman was transferred to Rangoon , British Burma (now Myanmar ), to take up the position of currency officer. After only a few months, he had to return to Madras as his father died from an illness. The subsequent death of his father and funeral rituals compelled him to remain there for

8094-417: The force is exerted at precisely the point where it is needed. Striking the periphery of the smaller membrane in the direction toward the hull raises the pitch, while striking the periphery from the opposite side (away from the hull) lowers the pitch. The pitch must be uniform and balanced at all points along the circumference of the valanthalai for the sound to resonate perfectly. The pitch can be balanced with

8208-503: The gradual turning in of sole of the right foot to face medially. The asymmetry throughout the body may cause mild balance issues. As well as impairing sporting prowess, it can impair one's ability to maintain good cardiovascular health, leading to the development of associated health conditions. If the body becomes uneven to the point of impairing balance, this too can affect one's daily life. It can also affect one's self image through changing gait and balance – especially in male artists. It

8322-544: The hand or by a percussion mallet , such as the hang , gongs and the xylophone , but not drums and only some cymbals . 21 Struck drums , includes most types of drum, such as the timpani, snare drum, and tom-tom. 412.12 Percussion reeds , a class of wind instrument unrelated to percussion in the more common sense There are many instruments that have some claim to being percussion, but are classified otherwise: Percussion instruments are sometimes classified as pitched or unpitched. While valid, this classification

8436-460: The institute and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta . With their support, he obtained permission to conduct research at IACS in his own time even "at very unusual hours," as Raman later reminisced. Up to that time the institute had not yet recruited regular researchers, or produced any research paper. Raman's article "Newton's rings in polarised light" published in Nature in 1907 became

8550-431: The instrument by varying the tension of the leather straps spanning the hull of the instrument. This is achieved by placing the mridangam upright with its larger side facing down, and then striking the tension-bearing straps located along of circumference of the smaller membrane with a heavy object (such as a stone). A wooden peg is sometimes placed between the stone and the mridangam during the tuning procedure to ensure that

8664-417: The instrument of choice for a number of deities including Ganesha (the remover of obstacles) and Nandi , who is the vehicle and follower of Shiva . Nandi is said to have played the mridangam during Shiva's primordial tandava dance, causing a divine rhythm to resound across the heavens. The mridangam is thus also known as "deva vaadyam," or "Divine Instrument". Over the years, the mridangam evolved and

8778-468: The issues faced because they are unfamiliar with the nature of the drum. Even when the issues are well understood, it is not known whether such long-term changes to the body can be reversed. Such conditions may be avoided through learning from experienced, licensed teachers. Research on the miruthangam and postural issues are yet to be done. Basic strokes on the mridangam: There is also a parallel set of rhythmic solfa passages (known as "solkattu") which

8892-416: The lecture series organised at the university from 5 to 8 February 1916. He also held the position of permanent visiting professor. With Suri Bhagavantam , he determined the spin of photons in 1932, which further confirmed the quantum nature of light. With another student, Nagendra Nath, he provided the correct theoretical explanation for the acousto-optic effect (light scattering by sound waves) in

9006-419: The membrane or head is struck with a hand, mallet, stick, beater, or improvised tool. Examples of membranophones: Most instruments known as chordophones are defined as string instruments , wherein their sound is derived from the vibration of a string, but some such as these examples also fall under percussion instruments. Most instruments known as aerophones are defined as wind instruments whereby sound

9120-741: The mridangam in Tamil literature is found perhaps in the Sangam literature where the instrument is known as 'tannumai'. In later works, like the Silappadikaram, we find detailed references to it as in the Natyasastra . During the Sangam period , it was one of the principal percussion instruments used to sound the beginning of war, along with the murasu, tudi and parai , because it was believed that its holy sound would deflect enemy arrows and protect

9234-517: The mridangam is played. Classically, training is by dharmic apprenticeship and includes both the yoga of drum construction and an emphasis on the internal discipline of voicing mridangam tone and rhythm both syllabically and linguistically, in accordance with Rigveda, more than on mere performance. Types of Talam, each with specific angas and aksharas: Today the mridangam is most widely used in Carnatic music performances. These performances take place all over Southern India and are now popular all over

9348-408: The off-Broadway show, Stomp . Rock band Aerosmith used a number of unconventional instruments in their song Sweet Emotion , including shotguns , brooms, and a sugar bag. The metal band Slipknot is well known for playing unusual percussion items, having two percussionists in the band. Along with deep sounding drums, their sound includes hitting baseball bats and other objects on beer kegs to create

9462-522: The optics of colloids , and electrical and magnetic anisotropy . His last interests in the 1960s were on biological properties such as the colours of flowers and the physiology of human vision . Raman married Lokasundari Ammal, daughter of S. Krishnaswami Iyer who was the Superintendent of Sea Customs at Madras, in 1907. The wedding day is popularly recorded as on 6 May, but Raman's great-niece and biographer, Uma Parameswaran , revealed

9576-459: The original Latin percussus. In a musical context then, the percussion instruments may have been originally coined to describe a family of musical instruments including drums, rattles, metal plates, or blocks that musicians beat or struck to produce sound. The Hornbostel–Sachs system has no high-level section for percussion . Most percussion instruments as the term is normally understood are classified as idiophones and membranophones . However

9690-436: The other paradigms are more dependent on historical or social circumstances. Based on observation and experimentation, one can determine how an instrument produces sound and then assign the instrument to one of the following four categories: "Idiophones produce sounds through the vibration of their entire body." Examples of idiophones: Most objects commonly known as drums are membranophones. Membranophones produce sound when

9804-421: The parallel case of the colour of the sky, molecular diffraction determines the observed luminosity and in great measure also its colour. As a necessary preliminary to the discussion, a theoretical calculation and experimental observations of the intensity of molecular scattering in water will be presented. True to his words, Ramanathan published an elaborate experimental finding in 1923. His subsequent study of

9918-530: The past 35 years orchestrated by Korambu Mridanga Kalari. Over the years and especially during the early 20th century, great maestros of mridangam also arose, inevitably defining "schools" of mridangam with distinct playing styles. Examples include the Puddukottai school and the Thanjavur school. The virtuosos Palani Subramaniam Pillai , Palghat Mani Iyer and C.S. Murugabhupathy contributed so much to

10032-559: The physics of light was the blue color of seawater . During a voyage home from England on board the S.S. Narkunda in September 1921, he contemplated the blue color of the Mediterranean Sea . Using simple optical equipment, a pocket-sized spectroscope and a Nicol prism in hand, he studied the sea water. Of several hypotheses on the colour of the sea propounded at the time, the best explanation had been that of Lord Rayleigh 's in 1910, according to which, "The much admired dark blue of

10146-412: The position, but Bose declined. As a second choice, Raman became the first Palit Professor of Physics but was delayed for taking up the position as World War I broke out. It was only in 1917 when he joined Rajabazar Science College , a campus created by the University of Calcutta in 1914, that he became a full-fledged professor. He reluctantly resigned as a civil servant after a decade of service, which

10260-544: The prevailing explanation for the blue colour of the sea at the time, namely the reflected Rayleigh-scattered light from the sky, as being incorrect. He founded the Indian Journal of Physics in 1926. He moved to Bangalore in 1933 to become the first Indian director of the Indian Institute of Science . He founded the Indian Academy of Sciences the same year. He established the Raman Research Institute in 1948 where he worked to his last days. The Raman effect

10374-580: The prize in 1930 that he booked tickets in July, even though the awards were to be announced in November. He would scan each day's newspaper for announcement of the prize, tossing it away if it did not carry the news. He did eventually win that year. Raman had association with the Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi . He attended the foundation ceremony of BHU and delivered lectures on mathematics and "Some new paths in physics" during

10488-403: The production of both bass and treble sounds from the same drum. The bass aperture is known as the thoppi or eda bhaaga and the smaller aperture is known as the valanthalai or bala bhaaga . The smaller membrane, when struck, produces higher pitched sounds with a metallic timbre. The wider aperture produces lower pitched sounds. The goat skin covering the smaller aperture is anointed in

10602-514: The rest of the year. Soon after he resumed office at Rangoon, he was transferred back to India at Nagpur , Maharashtra, in 1910. Even before he served a year in Nagpur, he was promoted to Accountant General in 1911 and again posted to Calcutta. From 1915, the University of Calcutta started assigning research scholars under Raman at IACS. Sudhangsu Kumar Banerji (who later become Director General of Observatories of India Meteorological Department ),

10716-534: The same journal that year was on surface tension of liquids. It was alongside Lord Rayleigh 's paper on the sensitivity of ear to sound, and from which Lord Rayleigh started to communicate with Raman, courteously addressing him as Professor. Aware of Raman's capacity, his physics teacher Rhishard Llewellyn Jones insisted he continue research in England. Jones arranged for Raman's physical inspection with Colonel (Sir Gerald) Giffard. Raman often had poor health and

10830-406: The smaller membrane with their right hand and the larger membrane with the left hand. The mridangam rests above the right ankle (but not on it), the right leg being slightly extended, while the left leg is bent and rests against the hull of the drum and against the torso of the artist. It is extremely important that the two sides of the hips are level, to prevent a habitual lateral pelvic tilt. For

10944-682: The technique for decades. Mridangamela is a synchronized performance of mridangam by a group of artists. The concept of Mridangamela was developed by Korambu Subrahmanian Namboodiri and is currently propagated by Korambu Vikraman Namboodiri. Mridangamela is designed to be easily performed and managed even when performed by a group of children. It is common that the age of artists can range from 3 years to above. Most Mridangamelas are performed by children soon after their initiation to learning mridangam. A teaching method developed to train for Mridangamela made this easy to be taught and contributed to its popularity. In Koodalmanikyam Temple , Irinjalakuda , it

11058-685: The term percussion is instead used at lower-levels of the Hornbostel–Sachs hierarchy, including to identify instruments struck with either a non sonorous object hand, stick, striker or against a non-sonorous object human body , the ground. This is opposed to concussion , which refers to instruments with two or more complementary sonorous parts that strike against each other and other meanings. For example: 111.1 Concussion idiophones or clappers , played in pairs and beaten against each other, such as zills and clapsticks . 111.2 Percussion idiophones , includes many percussion instruments played with

11172-487: The world. As the principal rhythmic accompaniment ( pakkavadyam ), the mridangam has a place of utmost importance, ensuring all of the other artists are keeping their timing in check while providing support to the main artist. One of the highlights of a modern Carnatic music concert is the percussion solo ( thani avarthanam ), where the mridangam artist and other percussionists such as kanjira, morsing, and ghatam vidwans exchange various complex rhythmic patterns, culminating in

11286-439: Was a case of a "trace of fluorescence ." In 1925, K. S. Krishnan , a new Research Associate, noted the theoretical background for the existence of an additional scattering line beside the usual polarised elastic scattering when light scatters through liquid. He referred to the phenomenon as "feeble fluorescence." But the theoretical attempts to justify the phenomenon were quite futile for the next two years. The major impetus

11400-431: Was a new type of radiation, an eponymous phenomenon called the Raman effect. After discovering the nature of light scattering that caused blue colour of water, he focused on the principle behind the phenomenon. His experiments in 1923 showed the possibility of other light rays formed in addition to the incident ray when sunlight was filtered through a violet glass in certain liquids and solids. Ramanathan believed that this

11514-463: Was a teacher at a local high school, and earned a modest income. He recalled: "I was born with a copper spoon in my mouth. At my birth my father was earning the magnificent salary of ten rupees per month!" In 1892, his family moved to Visakhapatnam (then Vizagapatam or Vizag) in Andhra Pradesh as his father was appointed to the faculty of physics at Mrs A.V. Narasimha Rao College . Raman

11628-557: Was about the discussion on the existence of light quantum at the British Association for the Advancement of Science meeting held at Toronto in 1924. There Compton presented his experimental findings, which William Duane of Harvard University argued with his own with evidence that light was a wave. Raman took Duane's side and said, "Compton, you're a very good debater, but the truth isn't in you." Krishnan started

11742-482: Was allowed to fall on a spectrograph to record its spectrum. The lines of scattering could now be measured and photographed. The same day, Raman made the announcement before the press. The Associated Press of India reported it the next day, on 29 February, as "New theory of radiation: Prof. Raman's Discovery." It ran the story as: Prof. C. V. Raman, F.R.S., of the Calcutta University, has made

11856-448: Was an Indian physicist known for his work in the field of light scattering . Using a spectrograph that he developed, he and his student K. S. Krishnan discovered that when light traverses a transparent material, the deflected light changes its wavelength . This phenomenon, a hitherto unknown type of scattering of light, which they called "modified scattering" was subsequently termed the Raman effect or Raman scattering . Raman received

11970-493: Was considered as a "weakling." The inspection revealed that he would not withstand the harsh weathers of England, the incident of which he later recalled, and said, "[Giffard] examined me and certified that I was going to die of tuberculosis … if I were to go to England." Raman's elder brother Chandrasekhara Subrahmanya Ayyar had joined the prestigious Indian government service, Indian Finance Service (now Indian Audit and Accounts Service ). Raman followed suit and qualified for

12084-688: Was described as "supreme sacrifice" since his salary as a professor would be roughly half of his salary at the time. But to his advantage, the terms and conditions as a professor were explicitly indicated in the report of his joining the university, which stated: Mr C.V. Raman's acceptance of the Sir T N Palit Professorship on condition that he will not be required to go out of India... Reported that Mr C. V. Raman joined his appointment as Palit Professor of Physics from 2.7.17... Mr Raman informed that he will not be required to take any teaching work in MA and MSc classes, to

12198-659: Was discovered on 28 February 1928. The day is celebrated annually by the Government of India as the National Science Day . C. V. Raman was born in Tiruchirappalli in the Madras Presidency of British India (now Tiruchirapalli , Tamil Nadu , India) to Tamil Iyer Brahmin parents, Chandrasekhar Ramanathan Iyer and Parvathi Ammal. He was the second of eight siblings. His father

12312-861: Was educated at the St Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School , Visakhapatnam . He passed matriculation at age 11 and the First Examination in Arts examination (equivalent to today's intermediate examination, pre-university course ) with a scholarship at age 13, securing first position in both under the Andhra Pradesh school board (now Andhra Pradesh Board of Secondary Education ) examination. In 1902, Raman joined Presidency College in Madras (now Chennai ) where his father had been transferred to teach mathematics and physics. In 1904, he obtained

12426-519: Was fascinated with the church music and Raman with the acoustics. They had two sons, Chandrasekhar Raman and Venkatraman Radhakrishnan , a radio astronomer . Raman's elder brother Chandrasekhara Subrahmanya Ayyar's son Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar won the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics. Throughout his life, Raman developed an extensive personal collection of stones, minerals , and materials with interesting light-scattering properties, which he obtained from his world travels and as gifts. He often carried

12540-461: Was made from different kinds of wood for increased durability, and today, its body is constructed from the wood of the jackfruit tree. It is widely believed that the tabla , the mridangam's Hindustani musical counterpart, was first constructed by splitting a mridangam in half. With the development of the mridangam came the tala (rhythm) system. The mridangam has a large role in Newa music . One of

12654-511: Was not so much about her musical prowess (she was playing veena when they first met) as "the extra allowance which the Finance Department gave to its married officers." The extra allowance refers to an additional INR 150 for married officers at the time. Soon after they moved to Calcutta in 1907, the couple were accused of converting to Christianity. It was because they frequently visited St. John's Church, Kolkata as Lokasundari

12768-433: Was on the scientific basis of musical sounds. He was inspired by Hermann von Helmholtz 's The Sensations of Tone , the book he came across when he joined IACS. He published his findings prolifically between 1916 and 1921. He worked out the theory of transverse vibration of bowed string instruments based on superposition of velocities. One of his earliest studies was on the wolf tone in violins and cellos. He studied

12882-532: Was published on 5 May. Raman presented the formal and detailed description as "A new radiation" at the meeting of the South Indian Science Association in Bangalore on 16 March. His lecture was published in the Indian Journal of Physics on 31 March. A thousand copies of the paper reprint were sent to scientists in different countries on that day. Some physicists, particularly French and German physicists were initially sceptical of

12996-566: Was the discovery of Compton effect . Arthur Compton at Washington University in St. Louis had found evidence in 1923 that electromagnetic waves can also be described as particles. By 1927, the phenomenon was widely accepted by scientists, including Raman. As the news of Compton's Nobel Prize in Physics was announced in December 1927, Raman ecstatically told Krishnan, saying: "Excellent news... very nice indeed. But look here Krishnan. If this

#351648