.
A smaller, lighter variant of the dilruba, with perhaps the most vocalistic timbre of all Subcontinental instruments
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—Arshad Khan (Bhairavi)—
“The esraj is a bowed instrument played in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Tripura, and Bangladesh. In Bihar and Bengal, it was popular around 100-200 years ago, but had become almost extinct by the 1980s. Known as the ‘Voice of the Sikhs’, the esraj is generally used as an accompanying instrument, and is also performed as a solo instrument in the Bishnupur tradition. Having a strong resemblance to the dilruba, it is originally from Afghanistan, and is said to have made its appearance in North India during Pashtun rule. Apart from the sarangi, there were no other bowed instruments on the classical music scene during [this era] – and moreover, the sarangi, having no frets, was difficult to play, and was also associated with artists of lower social status, being used to accompany tawaifs (dancing girls and courtesans). The esraj is divided into two parts: the ‘dand’ (fingerboard) and the ‘pyala’ (soundbox), which is cut from the sides to facilitate bowing. There are 17 to 20 metal frets, which are movable like those of the sitar, and the solid wooden body is covered with leather made from parched goatskin. It is played with a bow called ‘gaz’, which resembles that of the violin.” (M. Lalitha/M. Nandini)
—More Info—
- Sa pitch: Around a semitone lower than the dilruba, averaging around C#, although there are few professional recordings to sample beyond those of Arshad Khan (n.b. the ‘boro esraj‘ can also be tuned to C#) [see my Survey of Sa Tunings for more].
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• 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–
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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!
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