Same bansuri

Basics

Basics




1. Selection Of The Right Bansuri (Bamboo Flute)


                    If you are a beginner, then first you have to select a Bansuri (Bamboo Flute) which suits your hand. If you hands are a bit small in size you can go for any of the  C# or D# bansuri. If your hands are medium then go for A. And if your hands are big then go with G or G#. And gradually with practice we can move on to higher bansuris such as F, F# or E. 

                    Once you are comfortable with the bansuri you start with then slowly advance to the next bansuri for example say people with C can try A and people with A can try G and people with G note can try F. E noted bansuri is commonly used in concerts.



                    Bansuri is played with a cordination of both your hands and your blowing. 

2. Blowing


                    You have to put the lower end of the lower lip on the blow hole of the bansuri and blow with pointed lips. For a start just look to produce the sound. The tuning we will learn afterwards. Just try to produce the sound by keeping the blow hole below the lower lip or on the lower end which produces sound. Its same like blowing in the pen's cap in our school days.




                      If you haven't got it right, then you can visit the following sites where they have described it in very much detail. 


                       Below are some YouTube videos which will help you to get the right sound more perfectly.



3. Surs


                          There are 7 main surs in Bansuri namely:

Sa - Shadaj
Re - Rishabh
Ga - Gandhar
Ma - Madhyam
Pa - Pancham
Dha- Dhaivat 
Ni - Nishad

                         These are the seven surs in Bansuri. In addition to this there are Octaves. There are 3 types of Octaves. Lower, Medium and Higher. On this website I will use an underline for lower octaves 'pa', small letters of Medium Octaves 'sa' and capital letters for Higher octaves 'SA'. In classical music these octaves are known as:

Lower - Mandra
Medium - Madhya
Higher - Taar
                       
                        In following ways we can play the above seven surs. Below 'X' means the hole is closed and '0' means the hole is open, 'D' means the hole is half covered and O is the blowing hole

Sa -    O     XXX000
Re -    O     XX0000
Ga -    O     X00000
Ma -   O     D00000
Pa -    O     XXXXXX
Dha -  O     XXXXX0
Ni -    O     XXXX00

                       Above all the surs are to be covered fully except Ma because Madhya Ma has to be played by covering half hole only. Taar Ma has to be played by covering 1/4th of the hole. When the hole is fully opened that is known as Teevra Ma.  

                      The limitations of bansuri are that the bansuri can not play all the 7 surs in all the 3 octaves. From the below information you will understand which all surs can be played in which all octaves.

pa dha ni sa re ga ma pa dha ni SA RE GA MA PA DHA NI

                     Instruments such as Piano or Harmonium can cover all the surs in all the three octaves. 

                    From the above image please ignore all the surs(except Ma) which are shown in grey because they are komal surs which we will learn later. 

                    In case you are still not finding the right tone then please have a look at the below link it should help. 



                   For medium octaves if you are still having blowing issues try bringing your lower lip a bit front and blow normally. 

36 comments:

  1. The information you gathered is helpful. Its nice that you keep updating as you learn. Please update about the mistakes you encountered too. Good work.

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  2. Above you stated all the seven SUR cannot be played by Bansuri I didn't got the meaning of this, please clarify

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  3. i have said all the seven surs can not be played in ALL THE THREE OCTAVES. If you go back and read it properly you might understand what i am trying to say. Bansuri can play surs from mandra pa till taar ni. that means sa re ga ma can not be played in mandra octava i.e. lower octave

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    Replies
    1. good article. Want to point out that if you play the bansuri designed by Pt.Pannalal Ghosh then you can technically play till mandra Komal Ga( I can), my guru can go upto mandra Re.
      I believe if you use Pt.Keshav Ginde's bansuri then you can play even lower, I believe upto mandra Sa. Hope this helps.
      Gourang

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  4. Actually You can. I can go from Dha of ati mandra to Re of ati tar.
    I learnt it from my guru ji
    That's more than sufficient
    :P

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  5. okay.. but till now i haven't learnt about it so i didnt know..
    thank you!

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  6. Hi ! Is there any way to identify what type of bansuri I own.Whether it is C# or G# ? Thank you

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  7. How to play shudha madhyama on basuri, i am playing open the little finger, but my master say the madhyama is not perfect any tips?

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  8. How to play shudha madhyama on basuri, i am playing open the little finger, but my master say the madhyama is not perfect any tips?

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  9. How to identify a flute whether it is A or C# just by looking at it ?

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. I am not being able to play Pa Dha Ni as i have to blow it harder and i am not being able to get a clear sound from my flute. Please help me with this. And also my flute says it is DD what does it mean ?

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    Replies
    1. DD means scale or tone of your flute and for pa dha ni dnt blow hard first, just blow from your heart.deep and slow blow.

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  12. can any one tell me the tuning of G scale flute please whatsapp at +91 8866580677

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  13. Hi,
    You have written please ignore all surs except ma, below the image. Doesn't this makes the image redundant. Or it is by mistake?

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  14. Thank you. your page is really helpful.Thanks for sharing.

    For best music samples and loops
    on Indian Flutes visit mangoloops

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  15. Hello, I am over 50 and cannot play a note on the bansuri for 30 seconds. I also have asthma. I am so sad because I may not be able to play bansuri well because of that condition. I love the bansuri very much and think about it constantly and practice every day. What are your thoughts? Will I ever be able to play a raag if I cannot play a note for 30 seconds?

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    Replies
    1. yes u can..just dnt see it like, like u hv asthma...keep it simple and look at it like u r not able to play flute for 30 secs....then practice..slowly slowly time ll increase..practice makes a man perfect

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    2. Try other instruments too,like piano,harmonium,Tabla,violin or any string instrument you like to, Those are good too and you don't have to blow into them 😃...It would be very easy for someone who is really interested in music!

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    3. Thank you. I prefer the sound of the bansuri. I don't want to become vague and diffused in my study by randomly selecting other instruments like a child. I prefer the bansuri and will stick with it. I note that my blowing times have indeed increased with practice. Kindly, Matt

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  16. What is C# and D# I didn't able to understand please answer me anybody

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  17. when we close lower five holes and open ma , then its medium octave Pa or higher octave Pa ??

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    Replies
    1. medium octave pa. for higher octave pa close sa re holes and blow with a bit more pressure.

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  18. Hi, you have said that for the small hand we can select c# or d# do both have different sounds?

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    Replies
    1. yes the sound of the flute varies as per the size of the flute. as the length increases the sound gets heavier.

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  19. Can bansuri play D and N in higher octaves?

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    Replies
    1. yes, but the holes are covered in a bit differently

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  20. This is the best website for learning flute at home. I got all the alankaras, notaionn from only this website. You explained octaves clearly. What is your contact details. I will call back. Hare kKrishn. I am a doctor interested in learning flute.kindly help me. Guruji.

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  21. WHAT ARE THE NOTES OF SA RE GA MA PA IN ABCDEFG FORMAT OR DO RE MI FORMAT.

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  22. I recently started playing the bansuri using solely your website. I have a middle C bansuri. I am having a bit difficulty with the surs starting from Ma. Ma gives a little screeching sound and the higher surs I play with my right hand are virtually just wind. I think I need to change the embouchure for the higher surs. Any advice?

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  23. Best website ever seen before on net. Thankyou so much Guru Ji.

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  24. This has been a great help, keep up your good work.

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