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Indian musical instrument
This article is about the Indian instrument. For the Persian instrument, see
Santur
.
Indian santoor musician
The Indian
santoor
instrument is a
trapezoid
-shaped
hammered dulcimer
, and a variation of the
Iranian
santur
.
[1]
The instrument is generally made of walnut and has 25 bridges. Each bridge has 4 strings, making for a total of 100 strings. It is a traditional instrument in
Jammu and Kashmir
, and dates back to ancient times. It was called
Shatha Tantri Veena
in ancient Sanskrit texts.
Development
In ancient
Sanskrit
texts, it has been referred to as
shatatantri vina
(100-stringed vina).
[2]
In Kashmir the santoor was used to accompany
folk music
. It is played in a style of music known as the
Sufiana Mausiqi
. Some researchers slot it as an improvised version of a primitive instrument played in the
Mesopotamian
times (1600?900 B.C.)
[3]
Sufi
mystics used it as an accompaniment to their hymns.
[
citation needed
]
In Indian santoor playing, the specially-shaped mallets (
mezrab
) are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers. A typical santoor has two sets of bridges, providing a range of three
octaves
. The Indian santoor is more rectangular and can have more strings than its Persian counterpart, which generally has 72 strings. Musical instruments very similar to the santoor are traditionally used all over the world.
Characteristics
The trapezoid framework is generally made out of either walnut or maple wood. The top and bottom boards sometimes can be either plywood or veneer. On the top board, also known as the soundboard, wooden bridges are placed, in order to seat stretched metal strings across. The strings, grouped in units of 3 or 4, are tied on nails or pins on the left side of the instrument and are stretched over the sound board on top of the bridges to the right side. On the right side there are steel tuning pegs or tuning pins, as they are commonly known, that allows tuning each unit of strings to a desired musical note or a frequency or a pitch.
Technique
The santoor is played while sitting in an
asana
called
ardha-padmasana
and placing it on the lap. While being played, the broad side is closer to the waist of the musician and the shorter side is away from the musician. It is played with a pair of light wooden mallets held with both hands. The santoor is a delicate instrument and sensitive to light strokes and glides. The strokes are played always on the strings either closer to the bridges or a little away from bridges: the styles result in different tones. Strokes by one hand can be muffled by the other hand by using the face of the palm to create variety.
Notable players
References
External links
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Wind (Sushir)
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Plucked Stringed (Tat)
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Bowed Stringed (Vitat)
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Membranous Percussion (Avanaddh)
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Non-Membranous Percussion (Ghan)
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Other
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Historical/possibly extinct
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By region
| East Asia
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Manufacturers
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