Indian Stringed Instrument - Sarangi

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Musical Instrument - Sarangi

The Sarangi is a well known Indian Stringed Instrument, one of the oldest of its kind. It is believed that it is the Sarangi which is able to create sounds comparable with and closest to the human voice!

Earlier, the Sarangi was used as an accompaniment instrument used by accompanying singers. However, over the years, the Sarangi has evolved and created its own special position and is used as a solo instrument.

A form of the fiddle, the Sarangi has a large and solid body, usually around two feet long and around half a foot wide carved out from a single block of wood. Its soundboard is made of goatskin and has quite a wide neck with a large peg box. Like most fiddles, the Sarangi too has a waist which is made from a scalloped front. The leather strip at the waist the bridge which in turns holds and supports about 40 strings.

The Sarangi forms an important part of Hindustani Classical Music and there are many talented Sarangi players who have contributed immensely to the world of music.

Here is a list of some of the famous Sarangi Players of India  -

• Gopal Misra

• Abdul Latif Khan

• Shakur Khan

• Pandit Ram Narayan

• Sabri Khan

• Sultan Khan

• Ghulam Sabir Khan

• Abdul Karim Khan

• Ahmed Khan

To Play The Sarangi:

The 3 thick, tight and short strings are stopped without pressing the fingerboard and not with the finger-tips. Rather, they are played with the nails and the skin above it.

The remaining sympathetic strings about 35 may be divided into 4 different "choirs".

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