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A lineage of Persian lutes first introduced to India many centuries ago, offering a comparatively gentle plucking timbre

–Raga instruments (full list)–

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—Saphwat Simab (Kirwani)—

“As far as we are aware, the earliest description of an instrument termed ‘rabab’ is given in the Kitab-al-Musiqi Al Kabir of Al-Farabi (AD 872-950), who says that it is similar to the ‘tanbur of Hurasan’ (a long-necked two-string lute with a small bulging body and several frets)…Rabab was introduced to India around the 14th and 15th centuries. It rose to the zenith of its fame in the 16th century, and remained there until the 18th century – but became marginalised with the emergence of the sursingar and surbahar in the 19th century. Today, all rababs played outside India are bowed, except for the ‘Afghani rabab’ which is plucked…Persian and Afghani rababs have a thin violin-type bridge, but a unique feature of Indian instruments – the wide flat bridge – is present in the ‘Senia rabab’. This was a fretless instrument…but the gut-strings suffered from certain limitations, and were more suitable for rhythmic elaborations (such as ‘lada-lapeta’, ‘lad-gunthava’, ‘kattar’, and ‘tarparan’). It was confined to the blood relatives of the Senia gharana, and, therefore, the need for another instrument was felt for the students outside the gharana. Gradually, the sarod emerged…” (Suneera Kasliwal)

—More Info—

• Sa pitch: A wide range of home tones are in operation – although D seems to be the predominant choice of most modern performers [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–

—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

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—Search the Raga Index—

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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!

• Projects & articles: full list •

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• My Music | ‘Guitaragas’ (2025) •

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