Misr veena
| String instrument | |
|---|---|
| Classification | String instruments |
| Inventor(s) | Suvir Misra |
| Related instruments | |
| Musicians | |
| Suvir Misra | |
Misr Veena,(pronunciation:[miɕrə ʋiː ɳ ə] मिश्र वीणा), is a plucked stringed musical instrument of Indian Origin. It was invented by veena maestro Suvir Misra and is used in Indian classical music.[1]
Etymology and history
The tradition of veena playing was becoming extinct in hindustani music except for dhrupad, where too rudra veena was being used. Misr veena was created by Suvir Misra to re-introduce veena in to Hindustani classical music concert scene. But molding saraswati veena into hindustani style was not an easy task. After years of experimentation, he came up a new version of veena, which is a hybrid of Saraswati veena and Rudra veena. He called it Misr Veena which means hybrid veena or mixed veena. Misr Veena can be tuned to dhrupad, khayal and thumri also. The specialty of Misr Veena, according to Suvir Misra, is that, the fast tanas of khayal comes out more beautifully through it.[2]
General Layout
The bowl(tabli) of the Misr Veena is made of rosewood (tun) and its resonator (tomba) is made of gourd to reduce weight. The instrument has 20 movable bell metal frets and these helps in playing sudha and komal notes. There are seven strings, out of which five are playing string and the remaining two are chikari (drone) string. The strings are made of steel. The number of sympathetic strings (tarab) is eleven, and helps to keep the strummer in tune while playing gamak. Misr Veena comes with a medium bridge (jawari) to impart a nasal as well as a deep resonance quality to the sound.[3]
difference from saraswati veena and rudra veena
The bridge is open (khuli) in Saraswati veena and has a slight curve to inculcate a nasal quality, while Rudra veena's bridge is closed (band), so that a deep resonant sound can be gained. But Misr veena has a medium bridge to gain both nasal and deep resonant quality. Fast tanas of khayal are rendered more beautifully in Misr Veena.
Playing
Misr veena is played with three fingers. Suvir Misra has developed a unique fingering method which helps in playing fast tanas using gamakas and meends.[4]
References
- ↑ "Suvir Misra". Retrieved 2014-06-08.
- ↑ "The love of music". Retrieved 2014-06-08.
- ↑ "High-strung ideas". Retrieved 2014-06-08.
- ↑ "About Suvir". Retrieved 2014-06-08.