This article is about the Indian fretless drone lute. The New Grove Dictionary of Music also assigns the term to the Eastern European variety of saz: for this see Tamburitza. For the general type, see Tanbur.
The tambura (Devanagari: तम्पूरा) is a long necked plucked lute, a stringed instrument found in different versions in different places. The tambura (South India), tamburo (Gujarati), or tanpura (North India) in its bodily shape somewhat rese...
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This article is about the Indian fretless drone lute. The New Grove Dictionary of Music also assigns the term to the Eastern European variety of saz: for this see Tamburitza. For the general type, see Tanbur.
The tambura (Devanagari: तम्पूरा) is a long necked plucked lute, a stringed instrument found in different versions in different places. The tambura (South India), tamburo (Gujarati), or tanpura (North India) in its bodily shape somewhat resembles the sitar, but it has no frets, as only the open strings are played as a harmonic accompaniment to the other musicians. It has four or five (rarely, six) wire strings, which are plucked one after another in a regular pattern to create a harmonic resonance on the basic note (bourdon or drone function).
Tanpuras come in different sizes and pitches: bigger "males" and smaller "females" for vocalists and yet a smaller version that is used for accompanying sitar or sarod, called tamburi or tanpuri. Male vocalists pitch their tonic note (Sa)...
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