Indian musical instrument
One side of the shruti box
Playing the shruti box
Playing the shruti box
A shruti box and a
nadaswaram
An electronic shruti box
A
shruti box
(
sruti box
,
shrutibox
,
srutibox
or
surpeti
) is a
musical instrument
, originating from the
Indian subcontinent
, that traditionally works on a system of
bellows
. It is similar to a
harmonium
and is used to provide a
drone
in a practice session or
concert
of
Indian classical music
.
[1]
It is used as an accompaniment to other instruments and notably the flute. The shruti box is also used in classical singing. In classical singing, the shruti box is used to help tune the voice. The use of the shruti box has widened with the cross-cultural influences of
world music
and
new-age music
to provide a drone for many other instruments as well as vocalists and mantra singing.
Adjustable buttons allow tuning. Nowadays,
electronic shruti boxes
are commonly used, which are called
shruthi pettige
in
Kannada
,
shruti petti
in
Tamil
,
Malayalam
, and
Telugu
, and
sur peti
in
Hindi
.
[2]
[3]
Recent versions also allow for changes to be made in the tempo, and the notes such as Madhyamam, Nishadam to be played in place of the usual three notes (i.e., Lower shadjam, panchamam, and the upper shadjam).
History
[
edit
]
Before the arrival of the
harmonium
in the
Indian subcontinent
, musicians used either a
tambura
or a specific
pitch
reference instrument, such as the
nadaswaram
, to produce the drone. Some forms of music such as
Yakshagana
used the
pungi
reed pipe as drone. After the Western small pump harmonium became popular, musicians would modify the harmonium to automatically produce the reference pitch. Typically, one would open up the cover and adjust the
stop
of the harmonium to produce a drone.
[
citation needed
]
Later, a keyless version of the harmonium was invented for the specific purpose of producing the drone sound. It was given the name shruti box or sruti box. These types of instruments had controls on the top or on the side of the box for controlling the pitch.
[
citation needed
]
The shruti box is enjoying a renaissance in the West among traditional and contemporary musicians, who are using it for a range of different styles. In the early nineties, traditional Irish singer
Noirin Ni Riain
brought the shruti box to Ireland, giving it a minor place in traditional Irish music. More recently Scottish folk artists
Karine Polwart
and
Julie Fowlis
used the instrument on some of their songs.
[4]
[5]
Singers find it very useful as an accompaniment and instrumentalists enjoy the drone reference it gives to play along with.
[
citation needed
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Shruti box
.
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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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