* I have read that round wound wire can be used for the bass Sa - personally I found it unsuitable  but each to their own.


Tuning:

While  sitars  are  tuned to  around  Sa = “C 3” (256 Hz)  in  western  terms  the  surbahar  is  tuned  around Sa =  “A 3” (220 Hz).  or lower. I have heard that certain styles of surbahar can be tuned to an octave below a sitar, to me this would seem impractical. If anyone can comment or clarify......


Now  here  I  will  break  with  tradition.  Got  an  iPhone ?  Get  the Cleartune  app.  with  this  one  can  tune  instruments  to very precise  values -  and  a  whole  range  of  different  temperaments (Musical Temperament ? Not going to explain here - Wikipedia !)   are  available. I  usually use Pythagorean.   From this starting point one can adjust if necessary to get to the desired ‘shruti’ , in fact as the app.  displays the frequency, one can get the precise frequency of the shruti and use it again.


  1. Bullet You may wish to place fine grained sandpaper underneath the  tuning beads to restrict slippage, a few     tiny drops of  glue will help to secure the sandpaper in place.

  2. BulletTo assist free movement of the strings across the jawari lubricate it with a very soft pencil around the           point at which the wire makes contact.

  3. Bullet To hold the pegs in place and prevent slippage rub them with chalk, (not blackboard chalk - it contains a lubricant) or rosin. 


Performance:

On the occasions I have played I found it necessary to do a basic tune up, allow the instrument to adjust to room temperature, out of its case,  for 30 mins minimum  and re-tune, adjusting  beads to their optimal positions. Play for 5 minutes, adjust tuning in the playing position.


Make sure the beads  are NOT at their lowest point  on tuning. Why ?  If  you need to adjust during a performance  it is usually to increase tension.  On certain recordings I think you can hear  Imrat Khan re-tune using the pegs, which if you are an amateur is stressful in front of an audience. One should stroke the chikcari strings whilst doing so.


I always stretch all strings, particularly the 3rd, to ensure they will  not slip, that may be particular to my instrument/string combination.  On the 3rd and 4th strings, in particular, it is often better to use the fret below the note you are aiming for. If you have difficulty hitting  komal Re on the 4th string  then you can tension the string by pressing on it from the up side of the nut. If during the exploration of the lower register in an Alap you think that the bass Sa string is dangerously out of tune  you may have to revert to the 3rd string and terminate that section on that Sa rather than play the open string.


Amplification:

As the surbahar is very resonant, with a long sustain, this can present problems in small enclosed spaces. If you are using a standard microphone place the amp well in front of you,and if there is access to the rear of the speaker itself cover it with a small curtain, or sponge.


Or you could try a contact microphone - like the K K Twin spot. It does have the disadvantage of always being attached to the instrument - but generates far less feed back. I have the Classic Twin Spot  while my mentor uses  the  larger version . Both work well. As I have only done small events to date I just use my old Marshall 30. At larger events amplification should be provided.


Recording at home:

N.B. This is largely relevant to Mac users only, sorry !


Recording yourself is useful for (1) monitoring your progress  and developing your technique (2) Getting your superb version of  Raag Marwa  on your website/YouTube  to ensure it goes viral. I have tried a number of techniques. Easiest  and not  too bad,  just use a  USB microphone such as Samson Q10 and  a basic editing  programme  such as GarageBand, WireTap Studio (Mac, very straightforward, good for listening to yourself).  Audacity (Mac & PC, free, excellent noise removal and more flexible than WireTap) If you have Logic Pro of course that’ s the ultimate but you really need to be taught how to use it  and it does a lot more than most amateurs need.  Of course the problem here is all the external noise and interruptions you get in  your lounge/spare bedroom.  So a contact microphone is good  but you will need an iMic (Griffin technologies) or similar USB audio interface to connect to your  machine.  Use the mic input not the line input  and adjust the levels in the Sound preferences. If you are using Audacity don’t forget to rescan the devices and select iMic.  


Tanpura background: I use  iTanpura  available from Apple’s  iTunes App store  for  around £5.00.This is an amazing app with 95 presets , Tuner, Swar Mandal. Take your  iPhone headphone output  connect to your machine. When using the MacBook Pro connect via the  “headphone” socket  and use the System Preferences to change output to input. Record  a couple of minutes  and create a loop track.  Other tanpura software includes:Tanpura Generator, Desktop Tanpura.  It is often best to use the higher octave tanpura as it contrasts with the surbahar. The use of two base instruments can ‘muddy’ the  sound. I also note that on several recordings while the tanpura is present at the start of the Alap it fades  and finally disappears before the Jhor section - presumably to avoid this type of effect when rhythm and speed develop.


Adding a reverb effect: This effect when used carefully can enhance the your recordings by making them sound more lifelike.  Sounds straightforward  which it is, but the AUMatrix Reverb unlike the other AU effects needs a stereo recording to act on and Audacity may generate a mono from the iMic unless the settings are correct. This caught me out for a few days !

Rudra veena

Over the years I have accumulated a number of facts,techniques and tips. Some will not be approved of by ‘purists’. Interestingly the purists often seem to be us white boys. However, if you have got this far here  I  am  going to assume a certain basic knowledge of  Indian Classical  music.



Strings:

My recommendation is to use strings sets as well as coils of  wire. Unlike the sitar as the strings are thicker they break far less often, so rather than buying vast lengths of wire  for the bass strings (wire is usually sold by weight as a consequence of which I have over a kilometre of taraf wire !) which inevitably entangle themselves over the years  buying  sets  is  a  viable  option. Good  quality  wire is German, something like  Roeslau or Pyramid; the latter company make a string set for the surbahar.