Name: Jal Tarang
Type: Idiophones > Percussion > Bells > Standing >
Hornbostel-Sachs No#:
Area:
Country: India
Region: South Asia

Description: The Jal Tarang [in Devanagari:  जलतरंग “waves in water” ; in Telugu: జల్ తరంగ్ ; in Tamil: ஜல் தரங் ; ] is a standing bell that is played by striking the surface of the cups while they are filled with water to achieve a particular pitch in the raga or melody being performed. The amount of cups used to set up a Jal Tarang depend on given raga. The jal tarang is a struck percussion instrument that is a member of the idiophone family of musical instruments.

History: The earliest mention of the Jal Tarang is found in ‘Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra’ as playing on musical glasses filled with water. Jal-tarang was also mentioned in the medieval Sangeet Parijaat text, which categorized this instrument under Ghan Vadya – idiophone instruments in which sound is produced by striking a surface, also called concussion idiophones.

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