The ghaṭam is a percussion instrument

Percussion instrument

A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

 used in the Carnatic music

Carnatic music

Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...

 of South India

South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

. Its analogue in Rajasthan is known as the madga and pani mataqa "water jug".

The ghaṭam is an earthenware

Earthenware

Earthenware is a common ceramic material, which is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects.-Types of earthenware:Although body formulations vary between countries and even between individual makers, a generic composition is 25% ball clay, 28% kaolin, 32% quartz, and 15%...

 pot; the artist uses the fingers, thumbs, palms, and heels of the hands to strike its outer surface. An airy low-pitch bass sound, called gumki, is created by hitting the mouth of the pot with an open hand. The artist sometimes presses the mouth of the pot against their bare belly, which deepens the tone of the bass stroke, and is another way to produce the gumki sound. Different tones can be produced by hitting different areas of the pot with different parts of the hands. The ghaṭam usually accompanies a mridangam.

Although the ghaṭam is the same shape as an ordinary Indian domestic clay pot, it is made specifically to be played as an instrument. The tone of the pot must be good and the walls should be of even thickness all around to produce an even tone. In fact, there are two types of ghaṭams: Madras and Manamadurai. The Madras ghaṭam is a light pot which requires less force to play, thus is suited for extended fast patterns. The Manamadurai ghaṭam is a heavy, thick pot with tiny shards of brass mixed into the clay. This type of ghaṭam is harder to play but produces a sharp metallic ringing sound which is favored by some players.

Etymology

The word ghaṭam in Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 means pot. Variations of this term are used in modern Indian languages.

Notable ghaṭamists

• Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram
  Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram
  Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram , also known as Vikku Vinayakram is a Grammy Award–winning Indian percussionist. Vinayakram plays Carnatic music with the ghatam, an earthen pot. Vinayakram is credit for the progress and development as well as popularizing of the ghatam.-Early life:Vikku Vinayakram...
  
  
• Thetakudi Harihara Subash Chandran
  Thetakudi Harihara Subash Chandran
  Thetakudi Harihara Subash Chandran is regarded by many as the foremost Carnatic percussion teacher. His students include top percussionists such as V. Selvaganesh , N. Ramakrishnana , Ganesh Kumar , and many upcoming young talents around the world...
  
  
• Dr Bhusurapalli Venkateswarlu

Strokes

Some areas of sound production on the ghaṭam are bottom, middle and upper portions of the belly, as well as the neck and the mouth.
Tha - left middle, ring and little fingers, united, on upper belly

Kha - right middle, ring and little fingers, united, on upper belly

Ti - left index finger on upper belly

Na - right index finger on upper belly

Ku - left thumb finger on neck

Na - right thumb finger on neck

Thom - left wrist on neck

Ghum - right wrist on neck

Gumki - hand stroke on the mouth > bass tone

Similar instruments

The madga is a north Indian version of the south Indian ghaṭam and is made from a very special clay. The maker sometimes adds some kind of metal or graphit dust to the clay which is responsible for the blue/gray looking and for the special sound.

The madga can be played similarly to the ghaṭam. The extreme bass volume can be produced if one hits with the flat hand the opening at the top of the instrument. The madga can be played also with mallets (sticks) and there is a lot of differentiated sounds which can be produced with this instrument. It is thinner than a ghaṭam but one should not be afraid, it is very stable and not so fragile as one should think.

This clay pot in Gujarat is known as matka, features an almost perfectly round shape (tuned to C#), and is made in many villages in and around Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Gujarat. The matka is used to store water and sometimes yogurt (curd), and can also be used as a cooking vessel. When used as a musical instrument in folk music, it is known as ghaṛa and is played in a similar manner as the South Indian ghaṭam but the technique and rhythmic style is not as refined as that of Carnatic ghaṭam. Another difference is that the ghara is often traditionally played with metal rings on the thumbs, index, middle, and ring fingers of both hands (but players vary on how many rings and fingers are used). There are a few versions of this instrument. Some are made from a black clay that typically comes from a single area in Rajasthan while many others in Rajasthan and Gujarat are made from a reddish clay. A third version of the ghaṛa is made from reddish clay but features a much flatter, squat shape. Both of the red clay types can also be found highly decorated with colorfully painted designs (pictured below) while the black ones are usually plain and unfinished. The black ghaṛas are extremely light but very dense and have a huge sound. The shell tones ring in a bell-like fashion with much more of a sustain than the various South Indian ghaṭams (although the Mysore ghaṭam comes close). The bass tones of this instrument are also very prominent. Since these instruments are fired at a much higher temperature for a longer time than South Indian ghaṭams, there is more consistency between instruments in terms of Western pitch. In other words, there is much less variation in the tuning when compared with ghaṭams from South India, which can range from a low B up to a high A chromatically. Ghaṛas or matkas are usually found with a range from approximately C or C# to D (or slightly higher) although there does not seem to be any indication that these instruments are constructed with tuning considerations. Other spellings for matka include mutkay and madga.