Musical Excellence of Mridangam: an introductory review

TL;DR

This paper reviews the scientific analysis of the Mridangam, an Indian classical percussion instrument, explaining its unique tonal properties and bridging the gap between musical tradition and scientific understanding.

Contribution

It introduces scientific concepts and analysis methods used to study the Mridangam, connecting traditional musical insights with scientific rigor for the first time.

Findings

Identification of unique tonal properties of the Mridangam

Explanation of scientific concepts behind its sound production

Bridging traditional music and scientific analysis

Abstract

This is an introductory review of Musical Excellence of Mridangam by Dr. Umayalpuram K Sivaraman, Dr. T Ramasami and Dr. Naresh, which is a scientific treatise exploring the unique tonal properties of the ancient Indian classical percussive instrument -- the Mridangam. This review aims to bridge the gap between the primary intended audience of Musical Excellence of Mridangam - listeners, artistes and makers -- and the scientific rigour with which the original treatise is written, by first introducing the concepts of musical analysis and then presenting and explaining the discoveries made within this context. The first three chapters of this review introduce the basic scientific concepts used in Musical Excellence of Mridangam and provides background to previous scientific research into this instrument, starting from the seminal work of Dr. CV Raman. This also includes brief discussions of the corresponding chapters in Musical Excellence of Mridangam. The next chapters all serve the purpose of explaining the main scientific results presented in Musical Excellence of Mridangam in each of the corresponding chapters in the treatise, and finally summarizing the relevance of the work.