Strokes
Basic strokes on the mridangam:
- Tha: Non-vibrating tone played on the left hand side.
- Thi: Non-vibrating tone played on the centre black portion of the right hand side using middle, ring and small fingers.
- Thom: Vibrating tone played on the outer side of the left hand side.
- Nam: Vibrating tone played on the outer layer of the right hand side using index finger, minimizing the black portion vibration with middle or ring finger- place the third finger in the gap in in ring and the second finger hits the outer layer of the right hand side of the Miruthangam ( called 'Saatham').
- Gumukki: Bass tone produced by playing on the inner layer of the lower end of the left hand side. Sound is produced only when there is a special applied paste.
- Full Chapu: It is a vibrating tone played with the small finger on the right hand side, between the black patch and the outer layer. The sound is tuned to the tonic of the tambura.
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