PureTones

Indian Tuning Systems (1) – Sama Gana Scale

In an earlier article , we looked at the historical evolution of Indian Classical music. Let us turn to the fundamental principles behind Indian Classical music and look at the role of...

Indian Tuning Systems (2) – Shadaj Gram

In part 1 of this series on Indian Tuning Systems , we reconstructed the Sama Gana scale. This scale is really old, probably dating back 3000 years , and can be regarded as the true...

Indian Tuning Systems (3) – Bharat and Sarang Dev's 22 Shrutis

In part 2 , we reconstructed the Shadaj Gram scale using two different perspectives and showed the results to be mutually consistent. Shadaj Gram is also quite old, probably dating bac...

Indian Tuning Systems (4) – 12 Note Tuning for Fretted Veena

In part 3 , we reconstructed one of the most significant tuning systems used in Indian Classical music, namely, the Shadaj Gram scale. The Shadaj Gram and (the related) Madhyam Gram sc...

Tanpura - A Prism for Harmonics

The Tanpura (also referred to as Tambura ) is a musical instrument with an intriguing and also fundamental place in today's Indian Classical music. As you may well know, it is not a le...

Tanpura - A Cornerstone of Indian Classical Music

In the previous article , we looked at the Tanpura from the perspective of sound and showed how the clever combination of the rounded bridge and the cotton thread causes each string to...