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.