To simplify, we divided the instruments into rough categories with several of our favorite examples and links to videos and song translations beneath. We have created a Beginner’s Guide to the Instruments of Classic Hindi Films for whether you’re a newcomer to Bollywood or a veteran, the innovation of these songs and their mechanisms will stun you. From traditional Indian instruments that date to the Vedic age to the orchestral forerunners of Europe to the unsung instruments of Brazil and Africa, the rich mediums of Bollywood music wrote their own rules. To truly understand the brilliance of the men and women who shaped Hindi film music, we must learn their tools. Burman’s daring musical ingenuity in his break-out film Teesri Manzil, Bollywood music as we know it would be radically different. Without composer Naushad defying his parents to play the harmonium “live” for silent films in the 1930s or R.D. Their risks and creativity were a gift to generations of music-lovers. The incredible talents of Hindi film music directors and musicians are responsible for the compositions we love today. The history of Bollywood film music goes much deeper than the playback singers who lived in limelight.
How many different instruments can you spot in this photo?Įver find yourself listening to Bollywood film music and feel like your brain is exploding in ecstasy from the rainbow of instruments striking your tympanic membranes? We know the feeling. Music director Madan Mohan in his studio circa.