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 background, enhancing and supporting the flavours of the raga without taking centre stage.

It holds a unique place in the instrument family, being neither melodic or rhythmic. Simultaneously supportive, yet independent, the rhythm at which it is played need not correspond to the rhythm of the piece. The four or five strings are always played open, usually tuned to Pa-Sa-Sa-Sa and played in this order to provide a harmonic resonance on the basic or tonic note. Each string produces its own cascading range of harmonics as it is played, sometimes compared to a prism refracting white light into different colours. Though Indian music utilises many drone instruments, some blown like the ottu pipe and shankha (conch shell), or pumped like the swarpeti box, none boast the rich tonal spectrum of the tanpura. This overtone-rich, sustained buzzing is known as jivari, or life-giving essence.

Tanpuras are very carefully tuned, first with large pegs, then with smaller fine tuners at the base of the instrument, and finally with the adjustment of cotton threads that shift the placement of the string over the carved bridge, also (somewhat confusingly) called the jivari. The ultimate aim is for each string to produce a rainbow in one tone. The precise pursuit of these tonal shades relative to the subtle qualities of the raga is never ending, and forms an important part of a classical musicians sadhana or dedication. By the endless practice of tuning, the musician’s ear is sharpened and refined.

According to the ancient teachings of Indian music, the tanpura expresses the resonant sound that is eternally present throughout creation, sometimes known as om, the sacred syllable. The sustained notes found in nature have long been an inspiration for musicians who would practise in the outdoors. Modern day musicians often joke about unintentionally singing along with the drone of washing machines or electrical appliances. Next time you listen to a tanpura, get up close and see how many tones you can hear - it certainly is a wonder.