Sarod

From Free net encyclopedia

The sarod is an Indian classical musical instrument which probably originates from the Senya rebab, an Indio-Persian instrument played in India to the 19th century. It is a 25-stringed lute-like instrument, whose body is hand carved from a single block of tun (Indian Mahogany) or teak wood, with a steel fretless finger board. The bridge rests on the belly of the instrument which is covered in goat skin. It is played with a plectrum or jaba made of coconut. Four of the strings are melody or playing strings, three are rhythm strings, and the rest are sympathetic and jawari strings, all made of metal.

The lack of frets and the tension of the strings makes it very technically demanding to play, as the strings must be pressed hard against the finger-board. There are two schools of sarod playing, one where the tip of the finger nails are used to stop the strings, thus certain strength and stiffness of the finger nails is a prerequisite for accuracy of pitch, and the other using the fingers to stop the strings against the finger-board. The technique which uses the finger nails produces a ringing tone to the sarod as against the flatter tone produced by the finger technique.

Sarod representations have been found in carvings of the 1st century in Champa temple and also in paintings in the Ajanta caves. It is similar to the Rabab of Afghanistan and Kashmir. The instrument was modified by Amir Khusru in the 13th century. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan also changed the shape to improve the tonal quality.

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