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An array of water-filled china bowls (‘waves of water’), tuned to the raga at hand and struck with small wooden sticks
–Raga instruments (full list)–
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—Doordarshan demo—
“Bone china bowls are precisely filled and struck with bamboo sticks, producing a sharp, clear, ringing tone. Though visually reminiscent of the tabla tarang, it sounds nothing like it. The basic concept is ancient, with variants turning up in many cultures. It once had its own corner of Hindustani music, with Shashikala Dani and Ranjana Pradhan performing dexterously on All India Radio for decades. But despite its simplicity, few play it today. The timbre is inflexible, and there are no ‘spaces between the notes’, rendering meend and other ornamental techniques impossible. The design is somewhat impractical, requiring it to be tuned from scratch for each performance. But the jaltarang is cheap and comparatively straightforward – and no instrument that resembles a childhood kitchen experiment will ever really fall from use…” (from my jaltarang overview for Darbar)
—More Info—
- Notable performers: Milind Tulankar (1968-), Shashikala Dani (1959-), Ranjana Pradhan (1931-), Shankar Kanhere (?-?), Dattopant Mangalvedhekar (?-?)
- Sa pitch: Given the instrument’s DIY design, Sa positions will vary wildly according to bowl sizes and individual preferences, with nothing in my sample to suggest much of an overall trend [see my Survey of Sa Tunings for more].
[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–
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—Riyaz-focused notations & bandish—
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—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)–
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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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