The study of the Indian musical drum and of'the manner in which out of the most
unpromising materials has been built up a genuine musical instrument which
satisfies the most stringent acoustical tests and-which even now stands on a
pedestal high above the types of percussion instruments known to European
Music, leaves very little doubt in one's mind as to the highly-developed artistic
tastes and acoustic knowledge of the ancient Hindus. The high esteem in which
the instrument itself has always been held in India and the existence of many
treatises in the original Sanskrit dealing elaborately with its construction and
technique is not without significance. Indeed, from the references that appear in
certain of these treatises, it is clear that the general nature of the acoustic results
obtained with this instrument had long been known, and that the pitch and
duration of the different tones obtained by striking the drumhead at different
points had been fully studied. The Hindus were well aware that sounding bodies
generally give rise to many different tones simultaneously, and the evidence
available points irresistably to the c~nclusionth at the development of the Indian
musical drum was the result of deliberate and probqbly prolonged efforts to
improve the tone quality of percussion-instruments by bringing the overtones
into musical relation with each other. The success of the results obtained remains
a striking testimony to the acoustic knowledge and skill that must have inspired
those efforts.
From The acoustical knowledge of the ancient Hindus, C V RAMAN, Professor of Physics, University of Calcutta
Asutosh Mookerjee Silver Jubilee Volume 2. 1922.
unpromising materials has been built up a genuine musical instrument which
satisfies the most stringent acoustical tests and-which even now stands on a
pedestal high above the types of percussion instruments known to European
Music, leaves very little doubt in one's mind as to the highly-developed artistic
tastes and acoustic knowledge of the ancient Hindus. The high esteem in which
the instrument itself has always been held in India and the existence of many
treatises in the original Sanskrit dealing elaborately with its construction and
technique is not without significance. Indeed, from the references that appear in
certain of these treatises, it is clear that the general nature of the acoustic results
obtained with this instrument had long been known, and that the pitch and
duration of the different tones obtained by striking the drumhead at different
points had been fully studied. The Hindus were well aware that sounding bodies
generally give rise to many different tones simultaneously, and the evidence
available points irresistably to the c~nclusionth at the development of the Indian
musical drum was the result of deliberate and probqbly prolonged efforts to
improve the tone quality of percussion-instruments by bringing the overtones
into musical relation with each other. The success of the results obtained remains
a striking testimony to the acoustic knowledge and skill that must have inspired
those efforts.
From The acoustical knowledge of the ancient Hindus, C V RAMAN, Professor of Physics, University of Calcutta
Asutosh Mookerjee Silver Jubilee Volume 2. 1922.