--- url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical/santoor' title: 'Santoor: hammered zither of Hindustani music' author: name: Anonymous updated: '2026-11-06T00:01:33+00:00' type: website summary: 'The santoor is a trapezoid box zither of Kashmir, struck with two wooden mallets called kalams. It leads Sufiana Mausiqi and plays solo in Hindustani music.' tags: - 'Hindustani Classical' image: 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg' published: true og: site_name: KalaSudha 'image:url': 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg' 'image:secure_url': 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg' 'image:type': image/svg+xml 'image:alt': KalaSudha --- Specific Discipline # Santoor संतूर Shape a raga phrase with balanced kalam strokes and clear note placement. Struck strings Kashmiri Sufiana The santoor is a Kashmiri struck-string instrument played with two wooden kalams. Study it through strike control, pitch layout and raga phrasing in Hindustani music. [ Explore Courses ](/en-fr/courses?discipline=81) [ Show interest ](/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical/santoor/show-interest) [Sign in to follow](/en-fr/user/login?flag_anon=follow_term-81&destination=/en-fr/markdownify/taxonomy/term/81) [ Share ](/en-fr/share/term/81) ## Know the instrument Explore its sound, construction and care in the instrument guide. - [ Santoor ](/en-fr/instrument/santoor) ## Overview The **santoor** (also spelled santur) is a trapezoid-shaped box zither of the hammered dulcimer family. The player strikes its metal strings with two light wooden mallets called **kalams**, one in each hand. The santoor is the principal instrument of **Sufiana Mausiqi**, the classical Sufi ensemble music of Kashmir, and a solo instrument in [Hindustani classical music](/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical). Study starts with the hands. You learn where each note sits among the string groups, and you keep both kalams even in weight and timing. That control then carries raga phrases and compositions called **gats**, set within a **taal**, a rhythmic cycle of fixed beats. A glide between struck notes needs its own technique, which the playing section below explains. Tuning, string count and bridge layout differ between instruments and schools, so ask your teacher to map the instrument you play. Some players reach the santoor after training in voice or another instrument. Shivkumar Sharma learned vocal music and tabla from his father, then took up the santoor in his early teens. Part of **Hindustani Classical**: Hindustani classical instrumental music is North Indian raga music played on instruments such as sitar, sarod, sarangi, bansuri and tabla, each with its own technique. ### Quick Facts Played in Sufiana Mausiqi and Hindustani classical music Body Hollow trapezoid wooden box Mallets Two wooden kalams Study focus Pitch layout, two-hand balance and raga phrasing ## History & Evolution **Sufiana Mausiqi** (also Sufiyana Musiqi or Sufyana Musiqi) is the classical Sufi ensemble music of Kashmir, organised by **maqam**, a mode or the composition built on it. In Shabir Ahmad Mir’s 2016 fieldwork study, an ensemble has five to seven musicians who all sing and play, and in most ensembles the leader plays the santoor, the principal instrument. The others play the **sehtar**, a Kashmiri long-necked lute, the bowed saz-e-Kashmir and the [tabla](/instrumental/hindustani-classical/tabla). Richard Widdess, reviewing Jozef Pacholczyk’s 1996 monograph, notes that the santur in this music gives a firm statement of a maqam’s melodic skeleton, with little ornament. Pacholczyk places the repertoire between the maqam traditions of West and Central Asia and the raga tradition of North India. The University of Kashmir teaches santoor in a department of the Kashmiri Sufiyana tradition. For Hindustani concert playing, Aneesh Pradhan wrote in 2018 that santoor playing had no established gharanas, which left players room to shape their own approaches. The Sopori family describes a Sufiana gharana of its own and a distinct Sopori baj, or playing style. 1955 ### Shivkumar Sharma at the Swami Haridas Sangeet Sammelan In 1955 Shivkumar Sharma performed on santoor at the Swami Haridas Sangeet Sammelan in Mumbai. On that visit he composed his own santoor part for V Shantaram’s film Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje, Aneesh Pradhan records in his 2022 retrospective. Late 1960s ### Call of the Valley Call of the Valley brought together Shivkumar Sharma on santoor, Hariprasad Chaurasia on flute and Brijbhushan Kabra on guitar. Aneesh Pradhan and Oliver Craske both date the recording to 1967. 2016 ### Mir’s study of Sufiana Mausiqi Shabir Ahmad Mir's study in the International Journal of Intangible Heritage, volume 11 (2016), drew on 2014 fieldwork for the Sangeet Natak Akademi. It covered four Sufiana gharanas of Kashmir. 1991 ### Padma Shri under Instrumental Music, Santoor The Gazette of India notification of 26 January 1991 lists Shivkumar Sharma (as Shiv Kumar Sharma) among Padma Shri recipients under the category Instrumental Music, Santoor. A notification of 26 January 2001 lists him for the Padma Vibhushan. ## Technical Aspects ### Bridges and string groups String and bridge counts vary by maker and playing style, and no single figure fits every santoor. The strings run in groups, called **courses**, over small wooden **bridges** on a hollow trapezoid box, and each course sounds one note. A kalam strike sets a course vibrating, and the box resonates with it. Shabir Ahmad Mir describes the Sufiana santoor with 100 strings over 25 bridges. Each note has four strings: two of steel, tuned an octave above two of copper or bronze. Concert instruments changed this layout. Aneesh Pradhan reports that Shivkumar Sharma added bridges to reach more octaves and cut the number of strings to limit excess vibration. Vijay Kichlu gives his modified santoor 31 bridges and 91 strings across three octaves, and Sharma’s own account, relayed by Susheela Misra, gives other figures. David Courtney records instruments with anything from about 24 to more than 100 strings. Posture differs too. The Sufiana santoor sits on a small slanted stand. Sharma moved the instrument to his lap because the stand added unwanted resonance. ### How the kalams shape a phrase The player holds a light wooden **kalam** in each hand (some English-language pages say mezrab). Each strike starts a separate attack, and the string rings on through the hollow body. Phrase shape comes from stroke spacing, strike height and the balance between the two hands. Aneesh Pradhan notes that Shivkumar Sharma never struck from a great height, since a high strike gave an aggressive, distorted tone, and kept both hands even across the range. Because every note begins with a strike, critics called the santoor unfit for Hindustani music, arguing that **meend**, a glide from one note to another, and **gamak**, an oscillation of a note, were hard or impossible with mallets. Players found different answers. Sharma slid the kalam along the strings to glide and to lengthen notes. Ulhas Bapat fixed a metal strip to his kalams and rubbed one against the string while striking with the other. The Sopori family describes pressing on thicker strings for meend and gamak, and using heavier kalams to sustain the **alap**, the unmetred opening of a raga. ### Tuning the santoor to a raga Santoor players tune the strings to the raga, and tuning systems differ between players and schools. David Courtney reports retuning between pieces and personal tuning styles. Aneesh Pradhan writes that Shivkumar Sharma changed the tuning system to the one most santoor players now follow, without giving its details. Vijay Kichlu and Oliver Craske describe Sharma’s modified instrument as having a **chromatic tuning**. Craske says it reached every semitone, while the older Kashmiri instrument allowed no more than seven notes in each octave. Ulhas Bapat took a related path. He used a keyboard-like layout with flats and sharps, and retuned single strings to the **shrutis**, the microtonal positions, of each raga. That let him play several ragas without retuning the whole instrument. In the Sopori baj, as the family describes it, the left side of the instrument carries the natural (shuddh) notes and the right side supplies added flat (komal) notes. ## Journey to Mastery Follow this structured journey to master this discipline 1. 1 ### Hold the kalams and make a single strike Ask your teacher to show the kalam grip, then strike one string group with each hand in turn. Keep a light hold on the mallet and strike from a low height, for a clean tone. Listen to the attack and to the ringing that follows it. Compare the two hands before you change the striking position or try a faster pattern. 2. 2 ### Map the notes on your santoor Santoor layouts differ between instruments, so map three nearby notes on your own instrument with your teacher. Name or sing each note before you strike it, then play the three in order and in reverse. Keep the pattern small enough to find each string group without rushing from one bridge area to another. 3. 3 ### Balance the two hands Alternate the two kalams on one note at a steady, comfortable pulse and listen for an accent from either hand. Aim for strokes of equal weight. Once both hands match, move the alternation to a two-note pattern your teacher approves. Keep the pulse unchanged and check that both mallets reach their intended string groups. 4. 4 ### Shape a raga phrase with stroke spacing Learn a short raga phrase from your teacher and mark the note where it comes to rest. Play it with space between attempts so you can hear the strings still ringing. Compare two versions with different stroke spacing. Then return to the taught version and check that its resting note lands where your teacher placed it. 5. 5 ### Place the phrase in the taal Take one phrase of a gat, an instrumental composition, and agree with your teacher where it enters the taal. Count the cycle while your teacher plays, then enter with the same phrase. Practise its ending and the next entry together, and check that your final kalam stroke leaves the pause you intended. ## Upcoming Events Performances and concerts featuring this discipline [ ](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-oxford-two-strings-one-pulse) ### [A Hundred Strings in Oxford: Two Strings, One Pulse](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-oxford-two-strings-one-pulse) Adnan Khan · Vinay Desai · Akram Khan **Holywell Music Room** WED, NOV 18 7:00 PM [ Book Tickets](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-oxford-two-strings-one-pulse/book) [ ](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-manchester-strings-of-kashmir-and-delhi) ### [A Hundred Strings in Manchester: Strings of Kashmir and Delhi](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-manchester-strings-of-kashmir-and-delhi) Adnan Khan · Vinay Desai · Akram Khan · Shahbaz Hussain **The Stoller Hall** FRI, NOV 20 7:00 PM [ Book Tickets](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-manchester-strings-of-kashmir-and-delhi/book) [ ](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-bournemouth-ragas-by-the-sea) ### [A Hundred Strings in Bournemouth: Ragas by the Sea](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-bournemouth-ragas-by-the-sea) Adnan Khan · Vinay Desai · Akram Khan **Palace Court Theatre** SAT, NOV 21 6:30 PM [ Book Tickets](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-bournemouth-ragas-by-the-sea/book) [ ](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-london-plucked-and-struck) ### [A Hundred Strings in London: Plucked and Struck](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-london-plucked-and-struck) Adnan Khan · Vinay Desai · Akram Khan **St Saviour's, Pimlico** SUN, NOV 22 5:00 PM [ Book Tickets](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-london-plucked-and-struck/book) ## Featured Artists Renowned performers of this discipline ## [Vinay Desai ](/en-fr/artist/vinay-desai) Vinay Desai plays the santoor, the hundred-stringed instrument of Kashmir, as a disciple of Padma Vibhushan Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. He is based at an ashram in New York. Santoor [ ](https://www.facebook.com/VinayDesaiSantoor "Facebook") [ ](https://www.instagram.com/vinaydesaisantoor/ "Instagram") ## Frequently Asked Questions How long does it take to learn the santoor? Learning the [santoor](/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical/santoor) moves at the pace of your practice and of your two hands, which must strike with equal weight. You play this Kashmiri struck-string instrument with two **kalams**, wooden mallets; uneven strokes show as an accent from one hand. At **Foundation**, you start with a light grip and a single clean strike from a low height. KalaSudha's [courses](/en-fr/courses) run level by level, and every award you earn records your learning hours. Lessons are live and one-to-one online; when enough learners near you sign up, we bring a workshop or summer camp to your area. How can a beginner, a child or an adult returning after a long break start learning the santoor? You can learn the [santoor](/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical/santoor) with KalaSudha online and in workshops; every beginner starts at **Foundation** level. The first stage covers seated posture and the loose grip that lets each mallet bounce off the strings. We teach children as well as adults, so ask us about the age to start a child and about a santoor size for a younger learner. Coming back to the santoor after a long break, you start again where you left off. The levels in our [courses](/en-fr/courses) make that possible, once your teacher has reviewed where you stand. How do I find a good santoor teacher? To find a good santoor teacher, or guru, look for one who can tell you who they learned from. From your first lesson, a good teacher checks that your grip stays loose, so each mallet bounces off the strings. On KalaSudha, each teacher's lineage is on their profile. Pick one yourself, or ask us to match you. Lessons are live and online, from £30 / $30 an hour, set by each teacher. If you have played before, your teacher first reviews where you stand. Where enough learners sign up, we also bring workshops and summer camps near them. [Ask about santoor lessons in the Academy](/en-fr/academy). How much do santoor lessons cost? Santoor lessons with KalaSudha are from **£30 / $30 an hour, set by each teacher**, and shown in your currency on the teacher's booking page. Every lesson is live and one-to-one, online, booked in your own time zone. Each teacher's lineage is on their profile: pick a teacher, or ask KalaSudha to match you, then choose a length and a time and pay at checkout. Have more questions? Contact our support team and we'll be happy to help! Stay close ## Keep KalaSudha close. Receive news of concerts, learning opportunities, recordings and the work taking shape at KalaSudha. - Concert news - ·Learning opportunities - ·Recordings and stories We respect your privacy. 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