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| SURBAHAR |
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Surbahar is essentially a bass sitar. It is substantially larger
and is tuned anywhere from four steps to an octave lower than a
regular sitar. Its technique is similar enough to sitar so that
musicians have no trouble going from one instrument to another. The surbahar has an advantage over sitar in that it has a longer sustain
and an ability to meend (glissando) up to an octave in a single
fret. Therefore it is possible to play complex melodies without
using more than a single fret. This instrument is very well suited
to long slow alaps. The instrument's main weakness is that its long
sustain causes a fast jhala to become indistinct and muddy. It is
for this reason that some artists prefer to play the alap with
surbahar but shift to sitar for gat and jhala. |
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