Traditional Music Instruments of Punjab
Punjabi culture is one of the best cultures in India. Punjabis are people who care deeply about their culture, and that’s why they bring their culture everywhere they go. They have established communities in many Western countries such as America, Canada, Italy, France, etc. As a result, you can easily find traces of their language, music, dress and religious places in those countries as well.
Music is an integral part of our life. One can therefore say that musical instruments are important to us. Here, in this article, we are going to discuss some traditional musical instruments of Punjab.
Importance of Music in Punjab
Punjab is a music-loving province. The people of Punjab like to find opportunities to get together in times of joy and happiness. They celebrate that kind of opportunity with music. This has been a tradition. Because of that, the Punjabi people have developed traditional musical instruments in the past. To list a few of them are:
Tumbi
Alghoza
Bugchu
Chimta
Sapp
1. Tumbi
Tumbi has been a popular musical instrument over a long period of time in the Punjab. Many famous singers sang their songs using this musical instrument.
In structural terms, it’s like a viola-shaped instrument with strings attached down to a spherical base and the other side on the top of a wooden shaft. These strings are made of metal and produce a high-pitched sound as they are pressed and re-released. Tumbi used to be the singer’s first choice a long time ago.
2. Alghoza
Alghoza is like a twin flute. Its structure is such that it resembles two hollow sticks of wood oriented towards each other in a V-shape. There are several holes in the hollow wooden sticks. When the musician blows air through the hole in the V-joint, a dual flute-type sound is produced. Punjabis still like to hear the sound of this musical masterpiece.
3. Bugchu
Bugchu is also an important instrument of Punjabi folk music. Its shape is such that it appears like to be a drumet. However, one of the connecting cones is smaller and a wooden stick tied to Bugchu is pulled to generate sound waves. This musical instrument has also become extinct for usage by Punjabi singers.
4. Chimta
Chimta is a V-shaped combination of two long steel sheets. These metallic sheets strike together by squeezing through the hands and produce a striking sound in the pattern desired by the musician. There are also several round-shaped swirls attached to it. Chimta is no longer used as an instrument for pleasure. It is simply used when singing religious hymns.
5. Sapp
Sapp is an instrument of cross-shaped design. The centre of all the crosses struck one against the other when it was pressed with both hands. Sapp is made of wood and a smooth tone is produced. The sapp is used during the performance of the Bhangra dance. The dancer holds the Sapp in both hands and sometimes bows or presses depending on his dance posture.
