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The tiny double-course lute can be a surprisingly capable vessel for Hindustani raga, as demonstrated by Sajjad Hussain
–Raga instruments (full list)–
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—Nasir Ahmed (Puriya Dhanashree)—
“Mandolin Srinivas was single-handedly responsible for bringing the mandolin to its prestigious status in Carnatic music – but many would be surprised to know that [Hindustani] vocalist and educator V.D. Paluskar also trained some of his students to play it, featuring them in his orchestra way back in the early 20th century – and his disciple B.R. Deodhar introduced it to his school in Bombay. There were other instances of amateurs taking to the mandolin, but it still had not reached a level of acceptance in classical music. It was Sajjad Hussain (1917-1995), a well-known music director, who gained public acknowledgement for Hindustani recitals on the mandolin. This was at a time when the electric mandolin had yet to make its entry…” (Aneesh Pradhan)
—More Info—
- Notable performers: Snehasish Mozumder (?-), Nasir Ahmed (?-), Sajjad Hussain (1917-1995)
- Sa pitch: Hindustani mandolin sizes and stringing setups can vary significantly, leading to a wide spread of Sa pitches – although Nasir Ahmed, the preeminent living master, consistently prefers C# [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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• Masterlist: 1000+ ragas profiled •
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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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