Bansuri, Professional Flute in D#, 33"
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Professional Bansuri flute in
D#/Eb, approximately 33 inches in length.
The Professional Bansuri has a
mouthpiece that is played in a similar way as the western transverse
flute. It is made from a single piece of bamboo with seven holes. The pitch indicated for the bansuri means the flute will
play that pitch with the first 3 holes covered. The dominate hand plays
the lower three holes. The seventh hole is optional and rarely played.
Its main purpose is to give greater accuracy in the upper octaves. It
may be played on the rare occasion when you need to play the Ni in the
lower octave.
The bansuri is a
transverse flute from India, literally from the words bans (bamboo) and
suri. It is one of the oldest musical instruments. All half notes,
accidentals and microtones are produced by a unique fingering system.
The finger holes 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. 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 to the western ear.
The professional Bansuri flutes are made from only one type of bamboo,
called cinchor. This bamboo only grows in the interior forests of
Assam. Only Bamboo of 3 to 4 years old and of the proper diameter can be
used. The cut bamboo is then treated, dried and stored for years until
it is properly seasoned. The longer it is seasoned the better the flute.
The correct notes are achieved by piercing the seasoned bamboo with hot
iron rods in precise positions along the length. There may be some
curvature in these flutes, however it will not affect the sound quality.
