tambura

tam·​bou·​ra tam-ˈbu̇r-ə variants or tambura. : an Asian musical instrument resembling a lute in construction but without frets and used to produce a drone accompaniment to singing.

Tambura is the name used in southern India for a long-necked string instrument similar to a sitar or a lute. In northern India, the instrument is typically called a tanpura. It has a rich, metallic droning sound that provides a looping background in support of a melody, yet does not offer a rhythm.

The Tanpura instrument plays a key role in classical Indian music by producing the adharaswara (base note) for a composition, as well as adding to the atmosphere of stage performances. The drone is made from a pattern of repeating notes from the raga, or melody.

The Tanpura gives the essential base note Sa or Aadhar Shadja, on basis of which all other instruments are tuned up. Tanpura is a constant reference for the singer and accompanists to stay in sync with each other. The Tanpura also gives the 5th note Pancham (Pa) which provides the additional support along with the Sa.

Almost exclusively made of inedible gourds grown by a small number of farmers only in the Pandharpur region of Maharashtra, the honorific term used to describe their makers is “sitarmaker.” This drone instrument, also known as a “tanpura” or “taanpura” where it originated in the northern Hindustani region, is also ...

In the world of Indian classical music, the tanpura is tuned according to the raga (mode). The most common tuning for the four-stringed tanpura is PA, sa, sa, SA. This is the only tuning necessary according to the great Dagars.

In southern India the body of the tambura is made of a hollow piece of jackwood (wood from the jackfruit tree), while in the north it is fashioned from a gourd. It is held in a vertical position, and the musician plays the instrument by plucking the strings while seated behind it.

General information on the Tanpura They are mostly stringed with 4 or 5 metal strings (rarely with 6 strings) and as keynote instruments they are an important component of classical Indian music. They are always tuned to a keynote and its fifth and octave. The strings are not fingered but plucked.

The tambura, also known as tanpura or tanpuri (for smaller variants), is a standard addition to classical Indian music ensembles dating back to the 16th century. It provides a harmonic drone, or base note (adharaswara) which acts as a backdrop to rhythm (talas) and melodies (ragas).

Origins. Tanburs have been present in Mesopotamia since the Akkadian era, or the third millennium BC. Three figurines have been found in Susa that belong to 1500 BC, and in hands of one of them is a tanbur-like instrument.

Gowrishankar Gurusawmy, Soman Pillai, Prasanna Athele, Nellai Krishnan, Indira Sheshadri and Helen Francis are some of the famous tambura players that have given the instrument a worldwide recognition.

Basic Working of a Tanpura This Tanpura is set to the key of C, with its four strings tuned as Pa - SA - SA - Sa, where Sa denotes the fundamental, Pa the fifth and SA the octave. As you can hear, the Tanpura has a very distinctive sound which is quite different from other string instruments you may have heard.