Tanpura: The instrument with four strings What is a tanpura? What is its significance? Does it create a whole new aura in music? In music, we need a tuning instrument before we start playing the rest of the instruments or even before the vocalist begins his/her song. In Indian Classical Music the most important musical instrument used before anything to set your scale is the Tanpura which is also called the drone and it consists of four strings. In a performance of Indian classical music, the drone is usually the first and last sound to be heard. It is created by the Tanpura , a long necked, fretless lute whose open strings are plucked in a continuous loop throughout both performance and practice. No traditional concert musician would play without it, just as a good chef would very rarely cook without salt. Like salt, it remains in the ...