User Manual
31A User’s Guide to Garritan World Instruments
• Plucked Strings (Tat): Gopichand, Santur, Tanpura, Sitar
• Bowed Strings (Vitat): Sarangi (bowed and drone)
• Membranous Percussion (Avanaddh): Dai, Damroo, Dhol, Dholak, Khol, Maddal, Mridan-
gam, Naal, Nagara, Pakhawaj, Tabla, Tamte, Tasha, Tavil, Udaku
In addition to these traditional ve classes, a sixth class of electronic instruments has been created.
One such instrument in the Garritan World Instruments collection is the Electric Sitar.
e Beatles and Ravi Shankar popularized the sounds of India in the West. But more recently an
exploding lm industry, known as Bollywood, has emerged in India showcasing the subcontinent’s
broad range of traditional, folk and popular music.
e Music and Instruments of China
China is among the oldest civilizations, with a formal history dating to 2100 BCE or earlier. China
boasts the earliest musical scale in recorded history and China’s musical traditions were established
even before the ascendency of the Roman Empire. e oldest known written music is the “Solitary
Orchid,” believed to have been written by Confucius (551 BCE. – 479 BCE). Confucius conceived
of music as a way of calming passions and dispelling unrest.
Music has always held an integral role in Chinese culture and thought. e ancient Chinese believed
that sound inuenced the harmony of the universe. A vital duty of the emperor of each dynasty was
to seek out and establish that dynasty’s standard of pitch.