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Tat - plucked string instruments

This class of instruments is characterized by plucked strings. In ancient times virtually all instruments of this class were referred to as vina.

Sitar
Sitar is perhaps the most well known of the Indian instruments. Artists such as Ravi Shankar have popularized this instrument around the world. Sitar is a long necked instrument with an interesting construction. It has a varying number of strings but 17 is usual. It has three to four playing strings and three to four drone strings. These strings are plucked with a wire finger plectrum called mizrab. There are also a series of sympathetic strings lying under the frets. These strings are almost never played but they vibrate whenever the corresponding note is sounded. The frets are metal rods which have been bent into crescents. The main resonator is usually made of a gourd and there is sometimes an additional resonator attached to the neck.

Sitar is used in a variety of genre. It is played in north Indian classical music (Hindustani Sangeet, film music, and western fusion music. It is not commonly found in south Indian classical performances or folk music.

Some suggest that the sitar is derived from the Saraswati vina. This is at least a possibility. Still there are uncomfortable questions raised. Where did the Saraswati vina come from? Why does this class only begin to show up in India about 800 years ago? We must be open top the distinct possibility that the lute class of chordophones is not indigenous to India but imported from outside.

Ultimately the earliest origins of these instruments are irrelivent. It is clear that the sitar as we think of it today developed in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent at the end of the Mogul era. It is also clear that it evolved from the Persian lutes that had been played in the Mogul courts for hundreds of years. Since this part is very clear let us turn to other documents to clarify the picture.





Sarod
Sarod is an instrument which is derived from the rabab. It is not an ancient instrument, probably no more than 150 to 200 years. It is essentially a bass rabab. It has a metal fingerboard with no frets. The bridge rests on a taut membrane which covers the resonator. The sarod has numerous strings, some of which are drone, some are played, and some are sympathetic. It is played with a pick made of coconut shell.





TANPURA OR TAMBURA
Tanpura is a drone instrument. It resembles a sitar except it has no frets. It has four strings tuned to the tonic. The word "tanpura" (tanpoora) is common in the north, but in south India it is called "tambura", "thamboora", "thambura", or "tamboora". The tanpura is known for its very rich sound. There are three main styles; the Miraj style, the Tanjore style and the small instrumental version sometimes called tamburi.

The Miraj style is the typical north Indian tanpura (tambura). This is the favourite of Hindustani musicians. It typically is between 3 to 5 feet in length. It is characterized by a pear shapped, well rounded tabali (resonator face) and non-tapering neck. It usually has a resonator made of a gourd, but rarely one may find resonators made of wood.

In recent decades the tamburi or instrumental tambura (tanpura) has become popular. Its most striking characteristic is its size. It averages only about 2 to 3 feet in length. It has a very shallow resonator made of wood and only a slightly curved resonator plate (tabali). It usually has four strings but may just as well have 5, 6, or even more strings. The tamburi's small size means that the playing technique is usually slightly different from the standard tambura. Although the tamburi is generally acknowledged to have an inferior sound, it is the easiest of all the tamburas to maintain. It is extremely portable, it holds its tuning well, and because it is all wood (i.e., no gourds) it is virtually indestructible. These points makes the tamburi very popular with the travelling musician.

SANTUR
Santur is an instrument indigenous to Kashmir, but nowadays played throughout the North. It is a hammered dulcimer which is struck with light wooden mallets. The number of strings may be as few as 24 or more than 100. Typical sizes tend to be around 80. It has a vibrant tone and has become very popular in the last 20 years.