||Aerophones|| || Chordophones|| ||Idiophones|| ||Pahari Instruments||
|| Rajasthani Folk Instruments|| || Other Musical Instruments||

Membranophones or Percussion Instruments or Drums are referred as Avanaddha Vadya. Avanaddha means 'to be covered'. Most of the percussion instruments that have one or two faces covered with hide or skin fall under this category. These include Tabla, Pakhawaj, Mridangam, Chenda, Dhol, Dholak, Ghatam, Dugitaranag, Dhap, Tavil, Damroo, Dafri, Dumbak, Marvas, Edakka, Kanjira, Pung, Yaihung, Uddukai and Nagara. The most ancient of the Indian drums is the bhumi dundubhi, the so-called earth-drum.

DAMARU

It is a small sacred drum of India and Nepal, which is shaped like an hourglass. Two small beads are attached to a string that winds around the middle of the instrument. It is held in the right hand and rolled from side to side to produce sound. This instrument is associated with Lord Shiva.

DHOLAK

Dholak is a simple and universally popular drum found all over India. It is a double-sided drum, cylindrical in shape, bored out of solid wood. Its pitch is variable and is an essential accompaniment for folk music of North India. The Dholak is the main accompaniment instrument of the folk songs.

GOPICHAND

The Gopichand, also called Gopiyantra or Khamak or Indian Plucked Drum, is typical of Bengal. The Gopichand is used by religious mendicants for accompanying pastoral songs and is a favourite instrument of the bauls of Bengal.

MRIDANGAM

The Mridangam is the most commonly occurring drum in the South Indian classical music. It is barrel-shaped with drumheads at both of its open ends. The Mridangam is used to accompany mainly vocal and instrumental performances, and most often the temple music.

Maestros: Palghat Mani Iyer, Balamurali Krishna, Guruvayur Dorai, and T.K.Murthy

NAGARA

Nagara is a very large hemispherical drum with a metallic shell, which is beaten by two curved sticks. In olden days it stood at the entrance of a city, palace or at any important gateway. It was mainly used to attract the attention of people prior to making any announcements.

PAKHAWAJ

Pakhawaj is derived from the words pakh which means ‘pure’ and awaj which translates to ‘sound’. Pakhawaj is considered to the oldest of the percussion instruments and finds mention in several ancient texts like the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Griha Sutras and the Natya Shastra. Abul Fazl in his Ain-i-Akbari described Pakhawaj ("awaj") as "the most important percussion instrument used in the accompaniment of Dhrupad".

Pahkawaj is similar in shape to Mridangam and is used mainly in the North. It is made of lighter wood than the Mridangam and has single skinheads. The Pakhawaj is a double-headed drum, its right side is called madee and the left side is called nar. Various types of sounds are produced by striking different parts of the drum on each side. These sounds are the bols or alphabets of the Pakhawaj. It is termed as the 'King of Drums' in Hindustani music due to its majestic appearance and resounding sound quality. Pahkawaj is used in the performance of older music styles, usually to accompany Been, Rabab, Surbahar as well as Sitar played in the old style of Dhrupad. Lately, with the growing popularity of instruments like the sitar, the importance of the Pakhawaj diminished to some extent. Presently, Pakhawaj is being played either in solo or in Jugalbandi with other musical instruments.

Over many years, three main styles or gharanas of playing the Pakhawaj have emerged. The gharanas of Kudau Singh of Uttar Pradesh and Nanasaheb Panse and Nath Dwar of Maharashtra are the most renowned. Arjun Shejwal is one of the popular contemporary Pakhawaj players.

PUNG

Pung is a long bodied drum with both ends covered in skin and plays an important role in Manipuri dancing when it is played by men and women, either in a sitting position or standing position. Its large end is called maru and the small end is called manau.

TABLA

Tabla is the overall term for two drums, which are played as accompaniment to North Indian music and dance. It is actually a pair of drum played with fingers and wrists of both hands. The right hand, smaller, high-pitched drum is called Tabla, and the left hand one the Bayan or Dagga. The Bayan in particularly is recognizable for it low "swoops" of sound and colourful pitch effects. Tabla is a rhythm instrument and accompanies vocal forms like khayal and ghazal and instruments like the sitar and Sarod. It is also a popular accompaniment to dance forms like Kathak. The Tabla is capable of producing a great extent of sound modulation, and has in recent times raised itself to the position of being recognised as a solo instrument. Amir Khusro (13th Century AD) is credited with the creation and development of tabla. According to another opinion, the precursor of tabla was available in ancient India as early as the 3rd century BC. A 2200 year-old motif on the stone-wall at Bhaja Caves in Maharashtra shows a woman playing an instrument similar to tabla.

Maestros: Ahmed Jan Thirakawa, Anokhey Lal, Kanthe Maharaj, Kishen Maharaj, Santaprasad, Keramutallah Khan, Chatur Lal, Shankar Ghosh, Kanai Dutta, Mahapurush Mitra, and Latif Ahmed Khan are some of the most important contributors towards the development of the tabla. Ustad Alla Rakha and his son Ustad Zakir Hussain, Fayaz Khan, Nikhil Jyoti Ghosh and Swapna Kumar Chowdhry are the most popular exponents of the tabla in contemporary times. Dr Aban Mistry is considered as India's first woman tabla maestro.