Class 6 Arts (Kriti-I) Chapter 7, Musical Instruments, explores the role of accompaniment in a musical piece (starting with Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Shyamale Meenakshi), classifies India’s four traditional instrument families (Vadya), and guides students to build a DIY Jaltarang.
What Class 6 Art Chapter 7 Covers
Role of Instruments & Four Instrument Families (Activities 1–3) sings Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Nottuswara composition Shyamale Meenakshi and classifies instruments into the four classical Indian categories: Tat Vadya (string/chordophones like Sitar, Sarod, Veena), Sushir Vadya (wind/aerophones like Bansuri, Shehnai, Nadaswaram), Avanaddha Vadya (membrane percussion like Tabla, Mridangam, Dhol), and Ghan Vadya (solid idiophones like Manjira, Ghatam, Khartal).
Make Your Own Jaltarang & Instrument Project (Activities 4–6) builds a working Jaltarang using water-filled bowls tuned to Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni and documents local folk instruments and luthiers.
Exercises in Chapter 7
- Studio Activities, step-by-step creative exercises, and peer/self-reflection prompts.
Read Class 6 Art Chapter 7 Online
More Chapters
- Previous: Chapter 6: Music and your Emotions
- Next: Chapter 8: Taal or Talam and Raga or Ragam in Indian Music
- Hindi medium: Class 6 Arts Chapter 7 PDF in Hindi (Kriti-I)
- All Art chapters and the other Class 6 books: Class 6 NCERT books 2026-27
- All Class 1 to 12 NCERT Textbooks: NCERT Books PDF (Class 1–12)
- Every book chapter by chapter: NCERT chapter wise PDF
FAQ
What are the four categories of musical instruments (Vadya) in Indian music?
1. Tat Vadya (stringed instruments), 2. Sushir Vadya (wind instruments), 3. Avanaddha Vadya (percussion instruments covered with a membrane/skin), and 4. Ghan Vadya (solid percussion instruments struck together).
How do you change the pitch of a bowl in a Jaltarang?
Adding more water to a bowl lowers the pitch of the sound when struck, while reducing the water level raises the pitch.