Post by Dick Glasgow on Jul 14, 2007 14:28:07 GMT 1
Swarmandal or Surmandal
Surmandal or Swarmandal
It is generally used for the drone to accompany vocalists.
Although it is considered a minor instrument, as a class the harps* are very old in India.
*Harp? Surely a misnomer, as this instrument is clearly a member of the Zither family, not the Harp family. (Admin)[/size]
Swarmandal[/quote]
Swarmandal - Tanpura
The Swarmandal
It is generally used for the drone to accompany vocalists.
Although it is considered a minor instrument, as a class the harps are very old in India.
There is no such thing as a standard tuning for surmandal.
Although this lack of standard tuning is discomforting to the average Western musician, it really is rather obvious.
We must not forget that:
There is no standard size for a surmandal.
There is no standard number of strings.
Different individuals will sing from different keys.
One tunes the surmandal to the rag, every one of which will be different.
Swarmandal
It is generally used for the drone to accompany vocalists.
Although it is considered a minor instrument, as a class the harps are very old in India.
There is no such thing as a standard tuning for surmandal.
Although this lack of standard tuning is discomforting to the average Western musician, it really is rather obvious.
We must not forget that:
There is no standard size for a surmandal.
There is no standard number of strings.
Different individuals will sing from different keys.
One tunes the surmandal to the rag, every one of which will be different.
SwarmandalThe Swarmandal is played by khyal singers, but with the fingers and generally for vocal accompaniment.
The Swarmandal is tuned to the 3 octaves on a specific raga.
The singers plays arpeggios of notes with its right thumb.
Swarmandal was used on The Beatles song "Strawberry Fields" to produce the chimes featured throughout.
For this it would have been plucked with a guitar pick or something similar to give a brighter tone and sounds as though delay has been added as well as ATT (Automatic Triple Tracking).
Swarmandal (AKA surmandal) also appears on George Harrison's epic Indian production: "Within You Without You".
Swarmandal - Buckingham Music
The Swarmandal is tuned to the 3 octaves on a specific raga.
The singers plays arpeggios of notes with its right thumb.
Swarmandal was used on The Beatles song "Strawberry Fields" to produce the chimes featured throughout.
For this it would have been plucked with a guitar pick or something similar to give a brighter tone and sounds as though delay has been added as well as ATT (Automatic Triple Tracking).
Swarmandal (AKA surmandal) also appears on George Harrison's epic Indian production: "Within You Without You".
Swarmandal - Buckingham MusicSurmandal or Swarmandal
It is generally used for the drone to accompany vocalists.
Although it is considered a minor instrument, as a class the harps* are very old in India.
*Harp? Surely a misnomer, as this instrument is clearly a member of the Zither family, not the Harp family. (Admin)
Swarmandal[/quote] Swarmandal - Tanpura