.
A huge variant of the double bass, modified by Mark Deutsch to incorporate drone strings into a powerful overtonal timbre
–Raga instruments (full list)–
• Home | Megalist | Search •
—Mark Deutsch (demo)—
“In the late 1980s, Mark Deutsch began exploring North Indian classical music. The subtlety of this style, combined with his pursuits on the sitar, inspired him to delve deeper into the study of music. He started exploring the mathematics of music’s underlying frequency structure. This search revealed nonlinear mathematical patterns [that] are found universally in the natural world, including the overtone series, fractals, the golden mean, seashells, and the Fibonacci series. In 1993, Mark began work on the first prototype of the Bazantar, an acoustic bass with additional sympathetic and drone strings. His intent was to create an instrument that would take advantage of these nonlinear patterns and make them more consciously audible. The difficulty lay in engineering a design that would be able to withstand the tension of the additional strings…After much experimentation, a finalized version was completed in October of 1997…The engineering strategy enables it to maintain more strings at higher tensions: this distinguishes its tonal character, and contributes to its powerful, complex sound…” (About the Bazantar)
—More Info—
[COMING SOON: click here to hasten the project’s expansion, so all articles & pages can eventually look more like these]
• Hindustani Instruments: Anandi | Bansuri | Bass-Veena | Bazantar | Bulbul Tarang | Cello | Chaturangi | Dilruba | Electric Guitar | Esraj | Fretless Guitar | Harmonium | Jal Tarang | Jori | Mandolin | Mohan Veena | Nal Tarang | Pakhawaj | Piano | Rabab | Rudra Veena | Sagar Veena | Santoor | Sarangi | Sarod | Saxophone | Shehnai | Sitar | Surbahar | Sursagar | Sursingar | Swarmandal | Tabla | Tabla Tarang | Tanpura | Tar Shehnai | Taus | Vichtra Veena | Violin
–Survey of Sa tunings–
• Get started with learning raga! •
Share these ragas! My site is 100% reliant on organic visitors (and none of your donations go to ad agencies…) – share this with fellow sonic searchers!
—Join my PATREON!—
Like everything on my site, the Raga Index will always remain open-access & ad-free: however, anti-corporate musicology doesn’t pay the bills! I put as much into these resources as time and finances allow – so, to hasten the project’s expansion, you can:
• Support the Raga Index! •
—Riyaz-focused notations & bandish—
—Resurrecting rare and ancient ragas—
—Further melodic & geometric analysis—
—Engaging with Hindustani performers—
—Ensuring that high-quality raga knowledge will remain open to all, at no cost: free from commercial motive!—
—Hindustani Raga Index—
An open-ended project seeking to bring North Indian raga closer to all who approach with open ears. Combines direct input from dozens of leading Hindustani artists with in-depth insights from music history, global theory, performance practice, cognitive science, and much more besides!
–Megalist (365+ ragas)–
• Search: Find your new favourite •
• Tags: Classifying the ragascape •
• Glossary: Raga jargon demystified •
• Murchanas: Swara-set rotations •
• Thaat: Bhatkhande’s base scales •
• Ragatable: Analytical connections •
• Tanpuras: Divine overtonal drones •
• Quotes: Musings from raga artists •
• Talas: Hindustani rhythm cycles •
• Instruments: Singing sculptures •
• Masterlist: 1000+ ragas profiled •
Sa | Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni
¡Random Raga!
—Search the Raga Index—
(NEW: search by swaras/varjits)
• Feedback / Contact •
George Howlett is a London-based musician, writer, and teacher (guitars, sitar, tabla, & santoor). Above all I seek to enthuse fellow sonic searchers, interconnecting fresh vibrations with the voices, cultures, and passions behind them. See Homepage for more, and hit me up for Lessons!
• Projects & articles: full list •
—Join the Patreon!—
• My Music | ‘Guitaragas’ (2025) •
(Get in touch for Zoom lessons!)
my site is ad-free, AI-free, & open-access