This article is about the bamboo flute popular in Nepali subcontinent. For general musical instrument, see Flute. For names of more bamboo flutes, see bamboo flute.
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A bansuri is an ancient side blown flute originating from the Nepali & Indian subcontinent. It is an aerophone produced from bamboo and metal like material used in Hindustani classical music. It is referred to as nadi and tunava in the Rigveda and other Vedic texts of Hinduism.Its importance and operation is discussed in the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra. as well as the Bansuri is perform in Bright High School And Junior College.
The bansuri-like flute is depicted in ancient Buddhist,
Hindu and Jain temple paintings and reliefs, and is common in the iconography
of the Hindu god Krishna. it is intimately linked to the love story of Krishna
and Radha. The bansuri is revered as Lord Krishna's divine instrument and is
often associated with Krishna's Rasa lila dance. These legends sometimes use
alternate names for this wind instrument, such as the murali. However, the
instrument is also common among other traditions such as Shaivism. The early
medieval Indian texts also refer to it as vaṃśi, while in medieval Indonesian Hindu and Buddhist arts,
as well as temple carvings in Java and Bali dated to be from pre-10th century
period, this transverse flute has been called wangsi or bangsi.
Musicians playing bansuri
The word bansuri originates in the bans [bamboo] + sur [melody].
Other regional names of bansuri-style, six to eight play
holes, bamboo flutes in India include bansi, eloo, kulal, kulalu, kukhl,
lingbufeniam, murali, murli, nadi, nar, pawa, pullankuzhal, pillana grovi,
pulangoil, vansi, vasdanda, sipung, and venuvu . The instrument is also used in
Nepal, under the name Bām̐surī Nepalese also use the
word murli but that word can mean not
only flute or fife, but also a reed instrument.
Ancient regional innovations, such as those in the
Himalayan foothills of India, developed more complex designs, such as the
algoza which is a "twin bansuri" in different keys constructed as a
single instrument, allowing the musician to play more complex music. In central
and south India, a similar innovation is called nagoza or mattiyaan jodi, and
Buddhist stupa reliefs in central India, from about the 1st century BCE, depict
the single and twinned flute designs.
History
According to Ardal Powell, flute is a simple instrument
found in numerous ancient cultures. According to legends the three birthplaces
of flutes are Egypt, Greece, and India. Of these, the transverse flute (side
blown) appeared only in ancient India, while the fipple flutes are found in all
three. It is likely, states Powell, that the modern Indian bansuri has not
changed much since the early medieval era. However, a flute of a somewhat
different design is evidenced in ancient China (dizi) which Powell, quoting
Curt Sachs' The History of Musical Instruments, suggests may not have
originated in China but evolved from a more ancient Central Asian flute design.
It is, however, not clear whether there was any connection between the Indian
and Chinese varieties.
The early medieval Indian bansuri was, however,
influential. Its size, style, bindings, mounts on ends and playing style in
medieval Europe artworks has led scholars, such as Liane Ehlich, a flute
scholar at the music school in the University of Lucerne, to state that the
bansuri (venu) migrated from India into the Byzantium Empire by the 10th
century and from there on to medieval Europe where it became popular.
The flute is discussed as an important musical instrument
in the Natya Shastra (200 BCE to 200 CE), the classic Sanskrit text on music
and performance arts. The flute (Venu or Vamsa) is mentioned in many Hindu
texts on music and singing, as complementary to the human sound and Veena
(vaani-veena-venu). The flute is however not called bansuri in the ancient, and
is referred to by other names such as nadi, tunava in the Rigveda (1500–1200
BCE) and other Vedic texts of Hinduism, or as venu in post-Vedic texts. The
flute is also mentioned in various Upanishads and Yoga texts.
According to Bruno Nettl, a music historian and
ethnomusicologist, the ancient surviving sculptures and paintings in the
temples and archaeological sites of India predominantly show transverse flutes
being played horizontally (with a downward tilt).[30] However, beginning in the
15th century, vertical end blowing style are commonly represented. This change
in the relevance and style of bansuri is likely, states Nettl, because of the
arrival of Islamic rule era on the Indian subcontinent and the West Asian influence
on North Indian music.
Construction
Bansuri is traditionally made from bamboo.
A bansuri is traditionally produced from a special type
of bamboo, that naturally grows to long lengths between its nodes (knots).
These grow abundantly in Himalayan foothills up to about 11,000 feet with high
rainfall. These are particularly found in the northeastern (near Assam,
Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura) and
Western Ghats (near Kerala) states of India where numerous bamboo species grow
with internodal lengths greater than 40 centimetres (16 in).
The harvested bamboo with a desired diameter is cut,
dried and treated with natural oils and resins to strengthen it. Once ready,
the artisans examine the smoothness and straightness and measure the dried
hollow tube. They mark the exact positions for the holes, then use hot metal
rod skewers of different diameters to burn in the holes. Drilling and other
methods of hole making are avoided as it is believed they damage the fiber
orientation and the splits affects the music quality. The burnt-in holes are
then finished by sanding, one end plugged, the flute ringed at various
positions to stabilize its form and shape over time and the unit tested for its
musical performance.
The distance of a finger-hole from the mouth-hole, and
the diameter of the finger-hole controls the note it plays. Adjustments to the
diameters of various holes is made by the artisans to achieve purity of the
musical notes produced. The wall thickness of the bansuri determines the tone,
range and octave tuning. Once all the holes have reached their performance
range, the bansuri is steeped in natural oils, cleaned, dried and decorated or
bound with silk or nylon threads.
There are two varieties of bansuri: transverse and
fipple. The fipple flute is usually played in folk music and is held at the
lips like a tin whistle. Because the transverse variety enables superior
control, variations and embellishments, it is preferred in Indian classical music.
Musical notes
Six holes are sufficient to produce the seven basic
swaras: sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, and ni. When all holes are closed, it produces
the bass scale that is the root note of the bansuri (pa). With one hole
farthest from the closed end of the bansuri open, the instrument plays the dha.
Similarly, ni is produced with two farthest holes open, sa with three farthest
open, ri with four, ga with five, and ma is produced with all holes open.
Every bansuri by its design and construction has a
specific key and tonal center, corresponding to sa (shadja, natural tonic) of
the swara scale. This key is achieved by variations in length, inner diameter
of the instrument and the relative size and placement of the finger holes. This
allows the musician to select a bansuri constructed in the key of the music she
wants to create and share.
A bansuri is typically held horizontally slanting
downwards towards right by the bansuri player. The index, middle and ring
fingers of the right hand cover the outer fingerholes, while the same fingers
of the left hand cover the rest. The bansuri is supported by the thumb and
little finger, while the airhole is positioned near the lips and air blown over
it at various speeds to reach the desired octave. For the seven-hole bansuri,
the little finger (pinky) of the right hand is usually employed.
As with other air-reed wind instruments, the sound of a
bansuri is generated from resonance of the air column inside it. The length of
this column is varied by closing or leaving open, a varying number of holes.
Half-holing is employed to play flat or minor notes. The 'sa' (on the Indian
sargam scale, or equivalent 'do' on the octave) note is obtained by covering
the first three holes from the blowing-hole. Octaves are varied by manipulating
one's embouchure and controlling the blowing strength. Either finger tips or
finger pads are used by bansuri players to partially or fully cover the tap
holes.
In order to play the diatonic scale on a bansuri, one
needs to find where the notes lie. For example, in a bansuri where Sa or the
tonic is always played by closing the first three holes, is equivalent to C,
one can play sheet music by creating a finger notation that corresponds to
different notes. A flutist is able to perform complex facets of Raga music such
as microtonal inflections, ornamentation, and glissando by varying the breath,
performing fast and dexterous fingering, and closing/opening the holes with
slow, sweeping gestures.
