1. What Movie Did You Watch Today? : Post Here
    Dismiss Notice

Buy Beginner Tampura Online (for Anyone Who Plays Bansuri, Venu, Table, Harmonuim, Etc)

Discussion in 'Music and Dance' started by SuiDhaaga, Mar 13, 2022.

  1. SuiDhaaga

    SuiDhaaga IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    2,892
    Likes Received:
    2,011
    Trophy Points:
    308
    Gender:
    Female
    Where can I buy beginner Tampura online?

    Amazon is too expensive, ie $100

    Apos have poor quality software Tampura.

    Plz guide
     
    Loading...

  2. Thoughtful

    Thoughtful Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    624
    Likes Received:
    679
    Trophy Points:
    190
    Gender:
    Male
    I don't think $100 is expensive, but do you have a link from amazon. I can see that google images show me something like this. Is this the correct instrument:

    [​IMG]
     
  3. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,211
    Likes Received:
    13,034
    Trophy Points:
    445
    Gender:
    Female
    What's your use case?

    $100 seems awfully low for a good quality instrument. They would be cheaper in India for sure but in the US the average price is closer to $400-500. A good instrument can cost between $800-$1500. One of the best places to buy in the US is Musician's Mall formerly the Ali Akbar College Store in Berkeley. I bought mine from them but in person. They do ship around the country but shipping costs are likely to be murderous.

    Since you mentioned software Tanpura, check out at the iTabla pro and iLehra bundle for Ipad. It costs $35 and is worth every penny. Both apps have free versions (iTabla lite and iLehra lite) that you can try before you spend your money. I use iTabla for my vocal training. It allows me to preset the pitch, raag, taal, and tempo among numerous other parameters. It will play the tabla, two tanpuras, even harmonium, and manjire in the background. It's like having your own group of concert musicians to perform with. My son plays the tabla and he uses the iLehra app for accompanying instruments like harmonium, flute and violin. I should add that these apps were designed for use with Hindustani classical music. I am not sure about Carnatic music.
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2022
    SuiDhaaga and Thyagarajan like this.
  4. SuiDhaaga

    SuiDhaaga IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    2,892
    Likes Received:
    2,011
    Trophy Points:
    308
    Gender:
    Female
  5. SuiDhaaga

    SuiDhaaga IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    2,892
    Likes Received:
    2,011
    Trophy Points:
    308
    Gender:
    Female


    I am teaching myself Bansuri, a bamboo flute to play Hindustani music.

    Video by Harsh Dave says that it is a must to have Tampura in background.

    My Bansuri is A scale, hence Tampura must be set to A scale.

    I shall try free version of iTabla and iLehra.

     
  6. SuiDhaaga

    SuiDhaaga IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    2,892
    Likes Received:
    2,011
    Trophy Points:
    308
    Gender:
    Female

    @Gauri03

    What do you think of this online tanpura, at least for beginners?

    Virtual Tanpura by anubodh
     
  7. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,211
    Likes Received:
    13,034
    Trophy Points:
    445
    Gender:
    Female
    iTabla was designed exactly for this. You can set the pitch to A and play only the tanpura in the background. It does offer many other customizations but you probably don't need those right now.

    It sounds pretty good! It's simple and serves the purpose. Focus on getting your bansuri's pitch to match the tanpura to the point where the two frequencies blend into each other. Practice with this until you start learning raagas and have to play with the taal (beats). Then you will need a tabla in the background along with the tanpura. At that point you should switch to iTabla. Good luck!
     
    SuiDhaaga likes this.
  8. SuiDhaaga

    SuiDhaaga IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    2,892
    Likes Received:
    2,011
    Trophy Points:
    308
    Gender:
    Female

    This is great advice

    I am still practicing saptak, ie Sa Re Ga Ma Pha Dha Ni SA

    Then I’ll progress onto alankars and raagas.

    Beautiful stuff!
     
    Gauri03 likes this.
  9. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,211
    Likes Received:
    13,034
    Trophy Points:
    445
    Gender:
    Female
    All beginners in Indian classical music, whether they are vocalists or instrumentalists, spend weeks if not months perfecting each shuddh swara (pure notes of the saptak/octave). The goal is to be able to recall the correct swar on demand without starting from Sa. That's where the tanpura comes in. It provides a reference to the pure notes. My teacher made me spend weeks tuning my throat to the frequencies of the tanpura to perfect the Sa Re Ga... Keep going! It really is beautiful stuff! : )
     
    SuiDhaaga likes this.
  10. SuiDhaaga

    SuiDhaaga IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    2,892
    Likes Received:
    2,011
    Trophy Points:
    308
    Gender:
    Female

    I feel fixated in practicing SAPTAK simply because the finger and blowing is not smooth yet.

    At this point I am far far from being in tune to those frequencies. Yet to recall swar on demand without starting from Sa.

    Gonna keep practicing!
     

Share This Page