Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Something about the VEENA

As you might have read in my description, I play the Veena. For those of you who don't know what it is, Veena is an Indian musical instrument, used particularly in the carnatic classical genre.

Veena is a plucked string instrument. It consists of 4 main strings and 3 of which are strum using the little finger.
Each of these strings are tuned according to their respective octaves of a particular pitch.

These wooden pegs are used to tune the strings.


Veena is made of wood that comes from the bark of a Jackfruit tree. The making involves a very complex procedure.

Making of a Veena:

1. The Jackfruit wood is produced and seasoned. 

2. A circular resonator is carved and scooped out to make it hollow



3.  The resonator is covered with a wooden sheet and carvings are done on it to enhance its look

4. Metal rings are placed on one side and strings are attached to it.

5. A mixture of beewax and charcoal is placed on the finger board and 24 frets made of brass are fixed on the wax mixture.

6.  Pegs and knobs are made of rose wood and fitted on the body of the instrument with the help of beewax.

7. Finally. a curved graceful structure is carved out on the side of the veena, where the strings meet the pegs.

8. The Veena is polished in lac and sent to the market. 



Playing of the Veena-

Veena is played by placing the middle and index fingers of the left hand on the frets and simultaneously plucking the respective strings using the index and middle fingers of the right hand.
The smaller circular base is placed on the left lap and one is to sit cross legged while playing. 





Hope this post was informative and to know more about the Veena, contact me at-
sriranjani.kalimani@gmail.com
 

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