2022-02-21

VEENA - A Musical Instrument with a difference!

Music has become an inseparable part of our daily lives. It feels that in today’s world, there is no person who doesn't listen to music. In today’s world people have become more inclined towards new genres of music and have forgotten about the genre of classical music. So now let's flip back in the lane of origin of classical music and some more aspects that come in connection with music.

When we talk about classical music, the blur image of various musical instruments comes up in our minds and we go back to that era where people used to sit as a group and play various instruments and use vocals to enhance the flow of music. Today in this blog we shall try to read more about classical music and instruments associated with it.

When we talk about classical music, Veena has always been an inseparable part of it! Veena which is also spelt as Vina is a classical musical instrument which has been an inseparable part of the Indian Subcontinent. Various regions in the Indian Subcontinent call it by various names such as Rudra Veena, Saraswati Veena, Vichitra Veena and others. Veena is structured in a beautiful way with a height of 3.5 to 4 feet which has a hollow body with 2 large resonating gourds at the bottom. The veena has about 4 strings which are melodious and 3 auxiliary drone strings which when played with your fingers produces beautiful melodies.

Veena has various types. The major ones are the Rudra Veena, The Saraswati Veena, Vichitra Veena, Sitar, Bobbili Veena, Chitra Veena, Pinaki Veena and others. These Veenas have different designs and different ways to play and produce melodious tunes.

The term “VEENA” has been derived from the Sanskrit word “VANA”. In Sanskrit, the term “VANA” generally refers to a plucked string musical instrument. The term Veena is also mentioned in the Rigveda, Samveda and other Vedic literature such as the Shatapatha Brahmana and Taittiriya Samhita. A person who plays the Veena is known as a “VAINIKA”

People today get confused between the Sitar, the Veena and the Tanpura. People feel it is the same but no! Here’s the catch. All the three differ from each other in various ways. How? Well, let's find out.

The Sitar:

When we talk about the Sitar, it belongs to the music family of “LUTE”. The Lute family comprises the plucked strings musical instruments. The Lute family has musical instruments like the sitar, bass guitar, banjo,mandolin and others. Sitar is mostly a part of Indian and Carnatic Classical Music. The term sitar has originated from two terms. The first term is the Persian word “SEHTAR” which means “three strings”. The second term is the Hindi term “SAT-TAR” which means “seven strings”.

The Veena: 

When we talk about the Veena, it belongs to the Indian Classical Music. It has 2 basic types which are used in 2 different sects of music. The Rudra Veena which belongs to the ZITHER family is mostly played in Hindustani Classical Music. The Saraswati Veena that belongs to the LUTE family is mostly used in Carnatic Music.

The Tanpura:

The name of the Tanpura is derived from the term “TANA” meaning a musical phrase and pure meaning full or complete. It is also referred to as “TAMBURA”. It doesn't have an independent melody. This means that its music is also backed by the vocals of a singer to produce impactful melodies.

So, here we come to the conclusion that the Veena just is not a musical instrument but an instrument with a vast ancient history!