Discuss the following four aspects of Carnatic percussionists: improvisation, drum strokes (drum timbres), role in the Carnatic music tradition, and relation to the melodic soloist

What will be an ideal response?

• Improvisation: The mridangam player/percussionist improvises his music based on rhythmic patterns and drum strokes he has learned.
• Drum strokes/timbres: The percussionist has different strokes or distinctive drum timbres produced by playing on different parts of the drum head with different finger combinations or parts of the hand.
• Role of drummer: The drummer must know and accompany songs/compositions in the Carnatic tradition.
• Drummer and melodic soloist: The percussionist must relate spontaneously to what the melodic soloist is doing, instantly calculating appropriate percussion accompaniments often made up of long, complex, and asymmetric patterns that fit within the composition's tala.