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Close up of a veena being played.
Close up of a veena being played.
A portrait of Veena Dhanammal, legendary Veena player
A portrait of Veena Dhanammal, legendary Veena player

Veena (Hindi:वीणा), (Telugu: వీణ, Kannada: ವೀಣ-veena,ವೀಣೆ-veene, Tamil: வீணை-veenai, வீணா-vina, Malayalam: വീണ) is a plucked stringed instrument used in Carnatic music. Kannada (kn [[wiktಕನ್ನಡ ಕನ್ನಡ]] Kannaḍa) is one of the major Dravidian languages of India, spoken predominantly in the state Tamil (ta தமிழ்; t̪əmɨɻ is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. Not to be confused with the Malay language. Malayalam (മലയാളം malayāḷaṁ) is a Dravidian language used Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of String instruments that are played by plucking the strings Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in Carnatic music (also spelled Karnatak music or Karnatik music, and originally called Karṇāṭaka sangīta or Karṇāṭaka sangītam in India There are several variations of the veena, which in its South Indian form is a member of the lute family. Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either Fretted or unfretted and a deep round back or more specifically to an instrument from One who plays the veena is referred to as a vainika.

Contents

History

The design of the veena has evolved over the years, probably from the form seen in South Indian Medieval paintings and temple sculpture: a string instrument with two gourd resonators connected by a central shaft, possibly of bamboo, and held diagonally from lap to shoulder. Sangeet Ratnakar calls it Ektantri Veena and gives the method for its construction. The North Indian rudra veena and vichitra veena, technically zithers, demonstrate this genealogy. The rudra veena (also spelled rudra vina, and also called been or bin) is a large plucked String instrument used in Hindustani The Vichitra Veena is a Plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music. The zither is a musical String instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Descendents of Tansen reserved Rudra Veena for family and out of reverence began calling it Saraswati Veena. The Saraswati veena (also spelled Saraswati vina) is an Indian plucked String instrument. Veena in South India developing from Kinnari Veena in the 1600s was initially known as Tanjori Veena after hereditary makers from Thanjavur but was later called Saraswati veena. Thanjavur ( Tamil: தஞ்சாவூர் also known by its Anglicised name Tanjore, and it is the Eleventh largest city in Tamil Nadu (after Made in several regions in South India, those made by makers from Thanjavur in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu are to date considered the most sophisticated. Thanjavur ( Tamil: தஞ்சாவூர் also known by its Anglicised name Tanjore, and it is the Eleventh largest city in Tamil Nadu (after Tamil Nadu ( Tamil:, Country of the Tamils, t̪ɐmɨɻ n̪aːɽɯ is one of the 28 states of India.

Construction

Close-up of a veena's scalloped fretboard
Close-up of a veena's scalloped fretboard

About four feet in length, its design consists of a large resonator (kudam) carved and hollowed out of a log (usually of jackwood), a tapering hollow neck (dandi) topped with 24 brass or bell-metal frets set in scalloped black wax on wooden tracks, and a tuning box culminating in a downward curve and an ornamental dragon's head (yali). The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments is a part of most Stringed instruments It is a thin long strip of Wood that is The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments is a part of most Stringed instruments It is a thin long strip of Wood that is A small table-like wooden bridge (kudurai)—about 2 x 2½ x 2 inches—is topped by a convex brass plate glued in place with resin. Two rosettes, formerly of ivory, now of plastic or horn, are on the top board (palakai) of the resonator. Four main playing strings tuned to the tonic and the fifth in two octaves (for example, B flat-E flat below bass clef - B flat- E flat in bass clef) stretch from fine tuning connectors attached to the end of the resonator. across the bridge and above the fretboard to four large-headed pegs in the tuning box. Three subsidiary drone strings tuned to the tonic, fifth, and upper tonic (E flat - B flat- E flat in the tuning given above) cross a curving side bridge leaning against the main bridge, and stretch on the player's side of the neck to three pegs matching those of the main playing strings. All seven strings today are of steel, with the lower strings often wound like those of the lower strings of a guitar.

The chromatic distribution of frets (12 to the octave) points to a possible adoption of the fretting of the guitar, which had certainly been brought to India by the 17th century by the Portuguese.

Playing technique

The veena is played by sitting cross-legged with the instrument held tilted slightly away from the player. The small gourd on the left rests on the player's left thigh, the left arm passing beneath the neck with the hand curving up and around so that the fingers rest upon the frets. The palm of the right hand rests on the edge of the top plank so that the fingers (usually index and middle) can pluck the strings. The drone strings are played with the little finger. The veena's large resonator is placed on the floor, beyond the the right thigh. The photo of Veena Dhanammal more accurately illustrates how the veena is held than the more fanciful Ravi Varma painting. Veenai Dhanammal (வீணா தனம்மாள் (1867-1938 was a highly accomplished Carnatic musician and the torchbearer of the school of Carnatic music that goes

Like the sitar, the left hand technique involves playing on the frets, controlled pushing on the strings to achieve higher tones and glissandi through increased tension, and finger flicks, all reflecting the characteristics of various ragas and their ornamentation (gamaka). The sitar ( Hindi: सितार Urdu: ستار Persian: سی تار) is a Plucked stringed instrument. Rāga ( Sanskrit, lit "colour" or "mood" or rāgam in Carnatic music) refers to melodic modes used Modern innovations include one or two circular sound holes (like that of the lute), substitution of machine heads for wooden pegs for easier tuning, and the widespread use of transducers for amplification in performance.

Cultural associations

The patron Hindu goddess of learning and the arts, Saraswati, is often depicted seated upon a swan or peacock playing a veena. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical Saraswati (pronounced as; Sanskrit: sa सरस्वती sarasvatī; Malay: Saraswati Thai: สุรัสวดี is the Swans are Birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and Ducks Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in The term peafowl refers to Gallinaceous Birds classified within the genera Rheinardia Argusianus Afropavoand Pavo According to the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism the demon-king Ravana and the monkey-god Hanuman were great veena players, as is the sage Narada. For other meanings see Purana (disambiguation. The Puranas ( Sanskrit: sa पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times" Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. For the South Indian film see Ravana (film. Ravanaa, also transliterated as Raavana, Ravan or Hanuman (हनुमत् sa-Latn '''Hanumat''' nominative singular sa हनुमान् sa-Latn ''Hanumān'' known also as ' Anjaneya' (son of Anjana is one of the Narad redirects here for the village in Slovakia see Ňárad. [1]

Variants

Some other variations of the veena are the Rudra veena, Mahanataka veena, Vichitra veena, and Gottuvadhyam veena (also called the Chitra veena). The rudra veena (also spelled rudra vina, and also called been or bin) is a large plucked String instrument used in Hindustani The Vichitra Veena is a Plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music. The gottuvadhyam (also known as gottuvadyam, chitravina, chitra vina, or mahanataka vina, Tamil கோடடு வாத்தியம் Like Ranjan Veena Mohan veena is the name given to a modified form of guitar, invented and pouplarised by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and often confused with ancient Indian musical instruments. Mohan veena is a stringed Musical instrument used in Indian classical music A paṇḍit or pundit ( Devanagari: पण्डित is a scholar a teacher particularly one skilled in Sanskrit and Hindu Law, Religion Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (b Rajasthan, India, 1952 is an exponent of Hindustani music (North Indian classical music Hindustani music. They are discussed in detail by Dr Lalmani Misra in his book Bharatiya Sangeet Vadkieraya.

Tone and acoustics

Nobel Prize-winning physicist C.V. Raman has described the veena as having a unique construction. The Nobel Prize (Nobelpriset (Nobelprisen is a Swedish prize established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Peace, Literature Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, FRS (சந்திரசேகர வெங்கடராமன ( 7 November 1888 &ndash 21 November The string terminations at both ends are curved and not sharp. Also, the frets have much more curvature than any other instrument. This design produces more harmonics than any other instruments.

Some believe that the beeswax beneath the frets acts as a noise filter. For the rock song by Nirvana see Beeswax (song. Beeswax is a natural Wax produced in the bee hive of Honey bees of the genus

Famous veena players

References

  1. ^ Bhag-P 1.5.1 Narada is addressed as 'Vina-panih', meaning "one who carries a vina in his hand"

External links

Video

Robert Garfias (born 1932 is a key figure in Ethnomusicology and Musicology.
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