.

---

While physically similar to its Western counterpart, the Hindustani violin utilises distinct tunings and a unique ‘sliding’ style

---

–Raga instruments (full list)–

• Home | Megalist | Search •

—Kala Ramnath (Kafi)—

---

“The violin is not alien to Indian culture. Asked about the adaptation of the ‘Western violin’ to Indian music, Kala Ramnath interjects: ‘I would not call it the ‘Western violin’. The violin, in its present form, is from the West – but its ancestor has been in India from the time of the Vedas, called the ‘Dhanurveena’. Later on, it was named ‘Ravanhattha’ after the demon king Ravanna, who was a master of the instrument’…Kala’s family has played the violin in both Carnatic and Hindustani formats. She says that ‘hearing us play should never make anyone feel that the violin is not a ‘native of India’: because of how we have mastered it according to our music and our tastes. In Western violin, you hear a lot of staccato notes, but for us the music is inbetween the notes. We created techniques for glides and gamaks, to hit the right microtones.’ Kala has innovated to create new sounds and depths, bringing down the pitch by using viola strings, ‘So that the violin is pleasing to the ears when heard as a solo instrument’…” (Aparna Sridhar)

---

—Violin Basics—

---

[COMING SOON: click here to hasten the project’s expansion, so all 365+ raga pages can eventually look more like these]

(Gagan Chandra Chatterjee / Allauddin Khan)

 

---

• Notable performers: Kala Ramnath (1967-), Sangeeta Shankar (1965-), Praveen Sheolikar (1964-), N. Rajam (1938-), D.K. Datar (1932-2018), Rabin Ghosh (1932-2010), Joi Srivastava (1930-2003), V.G. Jog (1922-2004), Gagan Chandra Chatterjee (1890-1949), Allauddin Khan (c.1862-1972)

---

—Praveen Sheolikar (Gorakh Kalyan)—

---

• Get started with learning raga! •

---

—Classifiers—

• Form: small fretless 4-string lute, played with a horsehair bow
• Origin: 16th-century Italy (first reached India in the 17th century)
• Scale length: ~330mm (~13”)
• Range: up to around 42 semitones (~3.5 oct.)
• Sa pitch: Kala Ramnath renders Sa as D – although most others prefer E, including Sangeeta Shankar, Praveen Sheolikar, & D.K. Datar (the D# inbetween is less common…) [see my Survey of Sa Tunings for more].

---

—Setup—

• Tuning: Rather than using the Western GDAE (7>7>7), Indian classical violinists of both the North and South prefer ‘narrower’ tunings such as DADA / EBEB (7>5>7) and DGDG / EAEA (5>7>5). These ‘double-double’ arrangements expand the availability of open-string drones – in keeping with the ethos of most Hindustani instruments – as well as simplifying the fingerboard’s melodic geometry (every string has another exactly an octave away). Most violinists enhance this lower-pitched environment by thickening their string gauges, with Kala Ramnath using a custom viola-style set to maximise tone and physical ease:

(as per Kala’s tuning demo)

• More Info •

• Hindustani violin:
• Kala Ramnath:

---

—Kala Ramnath: ‘singing’ demo—

---

Q

---

• 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–