At the back of the stage on the left as seen from the audience stand the two drummers.One plays the 'chenda'(a cylindrical drum held vertically and played with sticks) and other the 'maddallam' (held horizontally and played with hands.Both the chenda and maddallam capable of remarkable range of sounds varying from the ferocity of the battle scene to the gentle patter of dripping water.The drummers accompany the action, supply the rythm and emphasise the mudras and dance steps of the actors.

The orchestra is completed with two singers who stand on the right of the stage. The main singer sings first and the assistant repeats it. The leader plays the Gong and the assistant a pair of cymbals. The singer tells the story verse by verse in sanskritised malayalam. Each couplet of the song or the line of the dialogue is repeated till the actor transcribes it in gestures. In this way the whole story is told.

  The style of singing was originally sopana reethi which is used for devotional songs such as Geetha Govinda. In Kathakali music you can find a complete understanding between the rhythm of the drum, sound of the gong the musical modes, Mood of the song and the action of the actor