The Indian santoor instrument is a
trapezoid
A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides is called a trapezoid () in American and Canadian English. In British and other forms of English, it is called a trapezium ().
A trapezoid is necessarily a Convex polygon, convex quadri ...
-shaped
hammered dulcimer
The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more trad ...
, and a variation of the
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian
santur
The santur (also ''santūr'', ''santour'', ''santoor'') ( fa, سنتور), is a hammered dulcimer of Iranian origins.--- Rashid, Subhi Anwar (1989). ''Al-ʼĀlāt al-musīqīyya al-muṣāhiba lil-Maqām al-ʻIrāqī''. Baghdad: Matbaʻat al-ʻU ...
. The instrument is generally made of walnut and has 25 bridges. Each bridge has 4 strings, making for a total of 100 strings. It is a traditional instrument in
Jammu and Kashmir, and dates back to ancient times. It was called ''Shatha Tantri Veena'' in ancient Sanskrit texts.
Development
In ancient
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
texts, it has been referred to as ''shatatantri vina'' (100-stringed vina). In Kashmir the santoor was used to accompany
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
. It is played in a style of music known as the ''Sufiana Mausiqi''. Some researchers slot it as an improvised version of a primitive instrument played in the
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
n times (1600–900 B.C.)
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
mystics used it as an accompaniment to their hymns. In Indian santoor playing, the specially-shaped mallets (''mezrab'') are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers. A typical santoor has two sets of bridges, providing a range of three
octave
In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
s. The Indian santoor is more rectangular and can have more strings than its Persian counterpart, which generally has 72 strings. Musical instruments very similar to the santoor are traditionally used all over the world.
Characteristics
The trapezoid framework is generally made out of either walnut or maple wood. The top and bottom boards sometimes can be either plywood or veneer. On the top board, also known as the soundboard, wooden bridges are placed, in order to seat stretched metal strings across. The strings, grouped in units of 3 or 4, are tied on nails or pins on the left side of the instrument and are stretched over the sound board on top of the bridges to the right side. On the right side there are steel tuning pegs or tuning pins, as they are commonly known, that allows tuning each unit of strings to a desired musical note or a frequency or a pitch.
Technique
The santoor is played while sitting in an ''
asana
An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...
'' called ''ardha-padmasana'' and placing it on the lap. While being played, the broad side is closer to the waist of the musician and the shorter side is away from the musician. It is played with a pair of light wooden mallets held with both hands. The santoor is a delicate instrument and sensitive to light strokes and glides. The strokes are played always on the strings either closer to the bridges or a little away from bridges: the styles result in different tones. Strokes by one hand can be muffled by the other hand by using the face of the palm to create variety.
Notable players
*
Ulhas Bapat
Pandit Ulhas Bapat ( mr, उल्हास बापट; 31 August 1950 – 4 January 2018) was a santoor player from India.
Bapat studied under Zarin Daruwala Sharma, K. G. Ginde and Wamanrao Sadolikar. In the film industry, he made his deb ...
(1950–2018)
*
Tarun Bhattacharya
Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya (born 23 December 1957) is an Indian classical musician who plays the santoor, a type of hammered dulcimer. He studied with Ravi Shankar. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2018.
Early life
Tarun Bhat ...
(b. 1957)
*
Rahul Sharma (b. 1972)
*
Shivkumar Sharma
Pandit Shivkumar Sharma (13 January 1938 – 10 May 2022) was an Indian classical musician and santoor player who is credited with adapting the santoor for Indian classical music. As a music composer, he collaborated with Indian flautist Ha ...
(1938–2022)
*
Abhay Sopori
Abhay Rustum Sopori (born 7 June 1979) is an Indian Santoor player, music composer and conductor. He is the son of Santoor player Pandit Bhajan Sopori, known for his versatility, innovations and experimentation. Sopori has received awards in ...
*
Bhajan Sopori
Pandit Bhajan Sopori (22 June 1948 – 2 June 2022) was an Indian instrumentalist. He was a player of the santoor, an ancient stringed musical instrument.
Early life and family
Sopori was born in Srinagar to Shambhu Nath Sopori on 22 June ...
(1948-2022)
*
R. Visweswaran (1944–2007)
*
Varsha Agrawal (b. 1967)
*
Mohammad Tibet Baqal (1914–1982)
*
Harjinder Pal Singh (b. 1953)
References
External links
{{Authority control
Hammered box zithers
Hindustani musical instruments
Pakistani musical instruments