The bansuri (Hindi: बांसुरी, Urdu: بانسری, Nepali: बाँसुरी, Marathi: बासरी, Assamese: বাঁহী, Bengali: বাঁশি) is a transverse flute of India made from a single hollow shaft of bamboo with six or seven finger holes. An ancient musical instrument associated with cowherds and the pastoral tradition, it is intimately linked to the love story of Krishna and Radha and is also depicted in Buddhist paintings from around 100 CE. The Bansuri is revered as Lord Krishna's divine instrument and is often associated with Krishna's Rasa lila; mythological accounts tell of the tunes of Krishna's flute having a spellbinding and enthralling effect not only on the women of the Braj, but even on the animals of the region. The North Indian bansuri, typically about 14 inches in length, was traditionally used as a soprano instrument primarily for accompaniment in lighter compositions including film music.
The word bansuri originates in the Sanskrit bans [bamboo] + sur [melody]. There are two varieties of bansuri: transverse, and fipple. The fipple flute is usually played in folk music and is held at the lips like a whistle. Because it enables superior control, variations and embellishments, the transverse variety is preferred in Indian classical music.
The sound of a bansuri is generated from resonance of the air column inside it. The length of this column is varied by closing or leaving open, a varying number of holes. Half-holing is employed to play flat or minor notes. The size of a Bansuri affects its pitch. Longer bansuris with a larger bore have a lower pitch and the slimmer and shorter ones sound higher. In order to play the diatonic scale on a bansuri, one needs to find where the notes lie. For example, in a bansuri where Sa or the tonic is always played by closing the first three holes, is equivalent to D, one can play sheet music by creating a finger notation that corresponds to different notes.
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| Transverse Bamboo Flute |
The word bansuri originates in the Sanskrit bans [bamboo] + sur [melody]. There are two varieties of bansuri: transverse, and fipple. The fipple flute is usually played in folk music and is held at the lips like a whistle. Because it enables superior control, variations and embellishments, the transverse variety is preferred in Indian classical music.
The sound of a bansuri is generated from resonance of the air column inside it. The length of this column is varied by closing or leaving open, a varying number of holes. Half-holing is employed to play flat or minor notes. The size of a Bansuri affects its pitch. Longer bansuris with a larger bore have a lower pitch and the slimmer and shorter ones sound higher. In order to play the diatonic scale on a bansuri, one needs to find where the notes lie. For example, in a bansuri where Sa or the tonic is always played by closing the first three holes, is equivalent to D, one can play sheet music by creating a finger notation that corresponds to different notes.
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