Indian String Instruments
The veena is one of the three principal musical instruments mentioned in vedic literature - the
other two are the venu (flute) and the mridanga (drum). This makes it a divine instrument.
The veena, like the perhaps better known sitar, is a stringed instrument. The sitar is used to
play Hindustani (North Indian classical) music, whereas the veena is used for Carnatic (South
Indian classical) music. Not that each can't be used to play the other kind of music - it's just
tradition; however, the instruments have evolved to suit the particular nuances of these
respective schools of music. A major difference is that the veena has fixed frets, while the sitar
frets can be re-positioned; if you observe a sitar artiste, he/she adjusts the position of the frets
between pieces in a recital, to effect a change in the raga or mode / scale in which he/she is
playing.
There are several other string instruments in use in Indian music. The violin and mandolin have
been imported into Carnatic music from the west. The guitar has been modified for Hindustani
music by Vishwamohan Bhat - it is softer and more liquid than the sitar, and you will not imagine
it is a guitar when you first hear it.
String instruments used for maintaining the pitch (to accompany a vocalist) are the thambura
and ektara. The thambura has four strings, tuned to suit the vocalist's pitch. The ektara (ek =
one, tara = string) has only one string, defining the base pitch. It is traditionally depicted as
being carried by wandering minstrels and singing savants.
Traditional solo instruments include the gottuvadyam, a South Indian instrument. It is like the
veena, except that is has no frets - just a moveable bridge which the artiste moves to define the
appropriate note as he/she plays - the result is extremely fluid music. An intriguing instrument is
the santoor, which has many strings that are struck rather than plucked. It is delightful to watch
the santoor being played. This is a North Indian instrument. The sarod - again a North Indian
instrument - is like a lute, only larger. The sarangi is kin to the violin in that it is a bowed
instrument, but it is rectangular, bulkier, has more strings, and is used to play mourning music.
These are the instruments predominantly in use today. And there are variations on these
themes. For example, there are three types of veenas - Thanjavur (Tanjore), Mysore and
Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), named after the places where they are crafted. The one I'm
playing in the picture is a Thanjavur veena; these are heavily ornamented, which makes them
relatively heavy. Mysore veenas are less ornate, and the 'bowl' in front tends to be larger. My
own veena (still in India) is a Thiruvananthapuram veena - these are longer and lighter and are
said to produce a finer sound as a result. My guru (teacher) has his own set of modified veenas
- he has one with 18 strings (as opposed to the usual 7); the extra strings set up sympathetic
vibrations which impart a richer, more vibrant quality to the music.
The veena has evolved from its traditional form - in which there were two symmetric resonance
boxes, usually gourds, at either end of the neck (read the story behind the form of the
instrument). The veena as we know it has a single resonance box, and the gourd at the other
end which rests on the artiste's thigh, is only for support.
The frets of the veena define two complete octaves each of twelve notes. There are four strings
across the bridge of the veena, so that, in theory, it can be used to play music over three and a
half octaves. In practice, most veena artistes use only the first three strings, and of those, the
third (bass) one only rarely. I have heard it said that the fourth string is included to balance the
bridge, and to have an even number of strings. Be that as it may, it is nevertheless always tuned
appropriately, and can indeed be used in playing the instrument.
The three strings at the side (not visible in the photograph) are the tala strings, used to define
the beat or tempo of the piece being played.
The major strings are plucked with the index and middle fingers of the right hand, while the tala
strings are simultaneously strummed with the little finger of the same hand. The left hand
traverses the frets.
Meena
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