Qualities of Harmonium

STANDARD HARMONIUM
Standard model we have from Paloma. This is an excellent instrument in good workmanship and good sound quality.

PREMIUM HARMONIUM
Compared to the standard model this instrument has higher-value features. Compared to the standard model of the same manufacturer this instrument has substantially better mechanics and quality of workmanship.

COMPACT TRAVEL HARMONIUM
This instrument is very well suited for mobile use. The travel model is supplied with a protective flexible carry case to protect it when transported and against dust and scratches. It has much less weight and is smaller then the other instruments, yet it is a high quality Harmonium with full sound range. .

HARMONIUM WITH COUPLER
As there is no Paloma harmonium with coupler available, only the more expensive scale changer we offer an instrument from Momoj Kumar Sardar. The possibility of using the coupler enables the player to activate the next lower octave at the same time which results in having up to six reeds resounding simultaneously. So the coupler makes it possible to produce, together with the double or triple reeds, a particularly powerful, voluminous sound.

SCALE-CHANGER-HARMONIUM
The scale-changer model is foldable and its special features are a particularly careful workmanship and a harmonious and full sound pattern. The keyboard has 42 keys and so supplies you with a tonal range of 3 1/2 octaves. 5 adjustable drones are possible. Triple or double reeds make sure that every note is provided with three/two reeds (for high, middle and low octave respectively). Three registers with different settings make various timbres possible by blowing the reeds either separately or in any number of combinations

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Harmonium

The Harmonium is an instrument that is indispensable in India and that is used in the religious field, in classical music, in folklore and for playing within the family. It owes its popularity mainly to its easy handling. The Harmonium can be compared in its functioning to the accordeon. Air is pumped into an enclosed space by means of bellows. With a keyboard it is possible to open specially defined holes, through which the pumped air is then pressed. The reeds attached to the openings (double, triple or quadruple reeds) are set vibrating and so produce the desired note.
FOLDABLE HARMONIUMS AND STAND MODELS
Many years we offered mainly the folgable harmoniums of different makers as the fact that many clients want to carry their instrument or travel with it made it obvious for us to concentrate on this models. But as this harmoniums are higher in weight and in price and because due to the more of machanical parts more problems can arise we now changed our mind and offer mainly stand models which causes less problems and which are also very good for transportation in connection with the new flexible carry bag from Paloma. As the weight of the harmonium is also less then that of the foldable ones we think that is a good decition to go on. The only foldable Harmonium we have is the scale changer from Paloma. With that instrument we had continnous good experience and we are able to recommend it highly

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Tabla

The Tabla is regarded as the queen of drums and percussion instruments and is the most popular Indian rhythm instrument. It consists of two drums, the Bayan (big bass drum) and the Dayan.The two of them are almost always played together. Both the two drums as a pair and also the Dayan on its own - as opposed to the Bayan - are called Tabla.

Both drums have a body that is closed at the bottom. The open top is mostly covered with a goat leather skin. To the edge of this basic skin, a second skin (Kani) is attached. In the centre of the skin is the so-called GAB: a black area which gives the instrument a special sound and makes the variety of sounds and modulations possible. It is a fine art to apply this GAB in the correct mixture, consistency and strength of a paste which consists mainly of rice flour and iron filings. When playing, the two drums are placed on rings (Bira) which support them. The tuning wedges that are held by leather straps at the sides are meant for tuning the instrument. Depending on whether the wedges are beaten upwards or downwards by the tuning hammer, the sound gets lower or higher. A fine tuning is done by beating with the tuning hammer on the woven ring around the skin.

The playing technique requires a differentiated fingering in connection with the complex composition of the skin membranes. The combination of the two drums produces an incredible fullness and details of different rhythm structures and this fullness of expression is unmatched by any other rhythm instrument.

The skins of the Tabla are likely to wear out and have to be changed from time to time, depending on how often the instrument is played and what kind of conditions it is exposed to. Even when the instrument is very old, it can, when the substance i.e. the wooden body is o.k., be restored to a wonderful instrument by a new skin. This task should generally be done by an expert.

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Dholak

The Dholak is a very popular drum with double skins from the northern Indian folk music. The difference in diameter of the high skin and the bass skin is relatively small. In order to still get a powerful bass tone, the bass skin is made heavier by a special paste. Contrary to many other Indian drums, the Dholak has simple smooth skins on both sides. This makes it playable not only by using the differentiating finger techniques common in India, but also by using the whole hand like many African and South American drums. Both skins are tautened by a cotton cord that runs through movable metal rings. The Dholak has been built since about 1300 AD and has been used in folklore, opera, kawoali, for simple songs and also in film music. For instance it is used in the Punjab Village that is well-known in India, in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in folksongs; in Bengal in the opera and in poetic songs.

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Shahnai

The northern Indian Shahnai is like the southern Indian Nageshwaram a double reed instrument. It is similar to the western oboe. The sound is produced by holding two reeds, that are bound together and tautened in a special way, between the lips and blowing them with a high pressure.This then produces a distinctive sound. The double reed is put onto a metal mouthpiece which is set into a wooden body with finger-holes that widens out downwards. This body opens out into a small, still wider metal funnel.

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Construction of the Bansuri and Playing Technique

The majority of Bansuris are made of an untreated piece of bamboo cane around which strings are tightly wrapped in several places. This is to prevent the bamboo cane from cracking. The Bansuri has a mouthpiece that is played in a similar way as the western transverse flute and either 6 or 7 finger-holes. These have to be precisely covered either fully or half by the phalanxes of the fingers and not by the fingertips. This technique also simplifies the playing of longer Bansuris. By fluent movements of the fingers the typical sliding transitions between notes, so typical of Indian music, are achieved. The basic note given by us describes the Indian note "Sa" which is obtained by closing the first three finger-holes and then blowing the Bansuri. If you have experience in playing a transverse flute, this will be advantagous for learning how to play the Bansuri.

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Maintaining Tips of Bansuri

As Bansuris are made out from a natural material it is recommend to follow some instructions for longevity of the instrument and obtaining the good quality. It is recommend to avoid sudden changes in temperature (from very cold to very warm). Before playing the Bansuri let it stay and adjust to the new environment. The it is suggested to oil the inner side of the Bansuri. Please follow the following instructions:

1. The oil should be of good quality, any nutoil you can use.
2. The oil must be such in quantity that it must not be too wet
3. It is very much necessary that the Bansuris must be dried after oiling
4. If regularly playing then the bansuri should be oiled first after 1 month, then 2 months and then after 3 months
5. If not regularly playing (say for one year) then one should oil it regularly after 2 months.
6. For oiling, take a stick,thin (so that it can get inside the hole easily), about the size bigger than the Bansuri,tie a piece of cotton at its anterior end and dip it in the oil. Then with that, oil the Bansuri only from the inside.

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History and Qualities of Bansuri

HISTORY OF THE BANSURI

Up to the 20th century the Bansuri was regarded as a purely folkloristic instrument. Great Bansuri maestros such as mainly Pannalal and Hariprasad Chaurasia, further developped the playing technique of the Bansuri in such a way that the status as a classical instrument was achieved. Thanks to Hariprasad Charasia the repertoire of the instrument was extended by elements from the style of the plucked stringed instruments and by elements from the Dhrupad-Alap. Pannalal Ghosh, on the other hand, adapted the Khyal singing style and thus enriched the repertoire. As solo instruments mostly the longer Bansuris are in use whose basic note usually is D - E.

DIFFERENT QUALITIES OF BANSURIS
The main features of a goos Bansuri quality are durabiltiy, the abiltiy to vibrate and precision of the vibration. The choice of the bamboo in manufacturing is also an important quality factor. TARANG offer both, plain Bansuris from India, and also instruments for professional requirements with precise tuning, every one of which is checked by an Indian Bansuri maestro regarding quality. The standard quality of the Indian Bansuris produce a quite beautiful sound, but their tuning is often not exactly to the western standard notes. It can happen that they sometimes sound slightly out of tune. Inspite of this we have a good quality on offer which is appropriate to the price.

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