The Indian Bamboo Flute, one of the instruments of Indian classical music, developed independently of the Western flute. The Hindu god Krishna is traditionally considered a master of the instrument. Krishna's flute is called Bansuri.
The Indian flutes are very simple instruments when compared with their Western counterparts; they are made of bamboo and are keyless. The Indian concert flutes are available in standard pitches. In Carnatic Music, the pitches are referred by numbers such as 1(C), 1-1/2(C#), 2(D), 2-1/2(D#), 3(E), 4(F), 4-1/2(F#), 5(G), 5-1/2(G#), 6(A), 6-1/2(A#) & 7(B) (The above is assuming the tonic note is C). However, the pitch of a composition is itself not fixed and hence any of the flutes may be used for the concert (as long as the accompanying instruments, if any, are tuned appropriately) and is largely left to the personal preference of the artist.
Two main varieties of Indian flutes are currently used. The first, the Bansuri, has six finger holes and one blowing hole, and is used predominantly in Hindustani music, the music of Northern India. The second, the Venu or Pullanguzhal, has eight finger holes, and is played predominantly in Carnatic music, the music of Southern India. Presently, the 8-holed flute with cross-fingering technique, is common among many Carnatic flautists. This was introduced by the eminent flautist T. R. Mahalingam in the mid-20th Century. Prior to this, the South Indian flute had only seven finger holes, with the fingering standard developed by Sharaba Shastri of the Palladam school, at the beginning of the 20th Century.
Based on his research on Bharata Natya Shastra's Sarana Chatushtai, Avinash Balkrishna Patwardhan in 1998 developed a methodology to produce perfectly tuned flutes for the ten thatas currently present in Indian classical music.
The quality of the sound from the flute depends somewhat on the specific bamboo used to make it, and it is generally agreed that the best bamboo grows in the Nagarcoil area in South India. Flautist Ron Korb plays the following bamboo flutes: Japanese flutes, Irish whistles, and Chinese Bansuri. The North Indian bamboo flute has six to eight finger holes and can play up to three octaves. The glissandi characteristic in Indian music are produced by partially covering and uncovering the finger holes.
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