--- url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-gb/instrument/sarangi' title: Sarangi author: name: drupler url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-gb/user/1' date: '2025-06-13T22:41:54+00:00' updated: '2026-10-19T22:11:31+00:00' type: product summary: 'The sarangi is a short-necked bowed instrument of North India, close to the human voice. It has three gut strings and up to 37 sympathetic strings that ring…' tags: - Chordophones - Sarangi - 'Solid Tun Wood' - 'Goat Skin Parchment' - 'Polished Bone Bridge' - 'Rosewood Tuning Pegs' - 'Fingerboard Navigation' - 'Bowing Styles' - 'Meend (Lateral Pulling)' - 'Vibrato Mastery' - 'Gamaka (Oscillation)' - 'Zamzama (Grace Notes)' image: 'https://cloudfront.kalasudha.com/kalasudha-web-prod/s3fs-public/styles/d12_standard/public/2026-02/Sarangi-Indian-Music-Instrument.jpg?h=ec12f684&itok=S_asQFE7' published: true og: site_name: KalaSudha 'image:url': 'https://cloudfront.kalasudha.com/kalasudha-web-prod/s3fs-public/styles/d12_standard/public/2026-02/Sarangi-Indian-Music-Instrument.jpg?h=ec12f684&itok=S_asQFE7' 'image:secure_url': 'https://cloudfront.kalasudha.com/kalasudha-web-prod/s3fs-public/styles/d12_standard/public/2026-02/Sarangi-Indian-Music-Instrument.jpg?h=ec12f684&itok=S_asQFE7' 'image:type': image/jpeg 'image:width': '1200' 'image:height': '675' 'image:alt': Sarangi-Indian-Music-Instrument --- [ Instruments ](/en-gb/instruments) Sarangi 1. [ Home ](/en-gb) 2. 3. [ Instruments ](/en-gb/instruments) 4. 5. Sarangi Chordophones Bowed chordophone Advanced North India (standardised in the 17th–18th century; classical form c. 1850s, Delhi) North India Vocal accompaniment # Sarangi (सारंगी) The sarangi is a short-necked bowed instrument of North India, close to the human voice. It has three gut strings and up to 37 sympathetic strings that ring with each note. Practitioners 1 Videos 2 Price Range £400 - £8,000 Student models start around £400; mid-range sarangis cost £1,500–£3,000; master-made concert sarangis from Meerut or Delhi makers reach £4,500–£8,000. Many players favour instruments 50 to 100 years old, and a new sarangi needs about two years to settle. [ Request Quote ](/en-gb/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=80) ## Explore the discipline Meet the musical tradition, its practitioners and ways to learn. - [ Sarangi · Hindustani Classical ](/en-gb/instrumental/hindustani-classical/sarangi) ## History & Origins ### What is a sarangi? The **sarangi** is the short-necked, fretless bowed instrument of Hindustani classical music, and ours suits the accompanist and the soloist. Sarangi players call it the instrument closest to the human voice. Makers carve body, neck and head from one block of **tun** wood (Toona ciliata) and stretch skin over the belly. Three gut playing strings run over a wide, flat bridge, above 35 to 40 **sympathetic strings** of fine steel or brass that ring with every note and never meet the bow. The player sits with the sarangi upright on the lap and stops the strings with the side of the fingernail, sliding between pitches for **meend** and the exact microtones of a raga. The skin gives a warm, soft fundamental, and the sympathetic strings, retuned to each raga, ring on around the melody. This is the **gayaki ang**, the vocal style: for centuries the sarangi shadowed khayal and thumri singers as their chief accompanist in North Indian music, and carried the melody for Kathak dance. The accompanist listens and answers the singer's improvisation in the moment, often in a raga met for the first time on stage, which takes deep knowledge of raga and sharp ears, with fine control of bow and nail. Ram Narayan, born in 1927, began as an All India Radio studio accompanist and in the 1950s made the sarangi a solo concert instrument; Sultan Khan followed him onto the solo stage. The A'in-i Akbari of 1588-89 first describes the sarangi, and Mughal paintings show bowed instruments at court. Its modern form had developed by the 17th century. Older, smaller folk sarangis live in Rajasthan, where the Langa musicians' Gujaratan sarangi is the classical prototype, and in the Punjab hills; the Nepali sarangi is a separate group. By the 18th century it was the chief accompanist to khayal singers. Muslim hereditary players of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, employed by nawabs and rajas, refined it over generations; sons began in childhood, as its demands and raga knowledge needed a long apprenticeship. Accompaniment kept them below singers. Around 1900 the anti-nautch movement and lost court patronage stripped players of work and standing. Ram Narayan turned soloist in the 1950s and reversed the decline: HMV recordings in the 1950s and 1960s and albums and tours from the 1970s proved it could hold a solo recital. Sultan Khan, a Rajasthani film and fusion player, reached popular audiences with Ravi Shankar; he, Sabri Khan, Harsh Narayan and Murad Ali Khan took the solo form into cross-genre work. Concert players remain far fewer than violinists or sitarists; the sarangi survives on Ram Narayan's insistence on its solo voice. ## Construction & Craftsmanship ### Materials Used Solid Tun Wood Goat Skin Parchment Polished Bone Bridge Rosewood Tuning Pegs ### Construction Process Makers carve the sarangi from a single block of **tun** (Toona ciliata), a soft, light timber from North India and Nepal whose walls flex with the strings. They hollow the belly from the front and the neck and head from the back, leaving four chambers and walls 7 to 10 mm thick to carry string tension. One piece gives rigidity and a unified tone. Goat or camel skin, dampened, stretched and dried under tension, is glued over the belly; it gives a warm fundamental and fewer high overtones than wood. Rows of sympathetic pegs sit in the sides of the neck. Five bridges carry the strings. The main bridge, the **ghoraj**, is elephant-shaped in bone, ivory, stag-horn or ebony and rests on a leather strap; a misplaced or tilted bridge wears out the skin early. The three playing strings are sheep gut, twisted and dried under tension; their texture under the bow gives the warmth of gut tone, and synthetic gut suits humid climates. The bow, the **gaz**, is a round stick of about 70 cm in ebony, shisham, rosewood, pernambuco or brazilwood, its horsehair tied over a wooden nut with a fixed frog, so pressure sets the tone. ### Maintenance & Care - **Humidity:** Keep 45–60% relative humidity, checked with a hygrometer. Dry air tightens and cracks the skin; damp slackens it. Store the sarangi in a cloth bag, not a sealed case, with a small open water bowl nearby in a dry winter. - **Skin and bridge:** Never oil or polish the skin, which changes how it vibrates, and wipe rosin dust off it after playing for the same reason. Check that the main bridge sits on its leather strap. - **Strings:** The fine sympathetic strings, the highest above all, break often: keep spares and learn to restring them. Replace gut strings when they fray at the bridge or sound dull, and check tuning every session, as gut shifts with humidity and can snap in dry air. - **Pegs:** Turn them regularly and use peg compound so they move smoothly and hold. - **Bow:** Rosin before each session with light colophony, never dark double-bass rosin. Rehair once or twice a year, or when the hair thins, breaks or stops gripping despite fresh rosin. - **Hand:** Talcum powder helps the nail slide. ## Playing Techniques ### Fingerboard Navigation Beginner Mastering vertical and horizontal positioning across the fingerboard or neck to extend the instrument's melodic range. ### Bowing Styles Beginner Mastering the primary method of sound articulation, focusing on stroke direction, pressure, and rhythmic clarity. ### Meend (Lateral Pulling) Intermediate Mastering the art of the continuous slide between notes to achieve vocal-like continuity and microtonal precision. ### Vibrato Mastery Intermediate Developing controlled oscillations of pitch to add emotional depth, resonance, and "weight" to sustained notes. ### Gamaka (Oscillation) Advance Executing traditional microtonal oscillations and ornaments essential to the authentic character of a Raga. ### Zamzama (Grace Notes) Advance Executing rapid, sharp clusters of notes in quick succession to add intricate texture and "sparkle" to a phrase. ### Quick Facts Category Chordophones Family Bowed chordophone Difficulty Advanced Origin North India (standardised in the 17th–18th century; classical form c. 1850s, Delhi) Origin North India (standardised in the 17th–18th century; classical form c. 1850s, Delhi) Primary role Vocal accompaniment and solo String type Organic gut and high-tensile steel, brass or copper Body build Carved seasoned tun wood Maintenance Strict humidity and skin-tension care, plus a sound bridge, skin and peg set-up ### Price Range £400 - £8,000 Student models start around £400; mid-range sarangis cost £1,500–£3,000; master-made concert sarangis from Meerut or Delhi makers reach £4,500–£8,000. Many players favour instruments 50 to 100 years old, and a new sarangi needs about two years to settle. [ Request Quote ](/en-gb/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=80) ### Statistics Practitioners 1 Videos 2 ## Technical Specifications Detailed specifications for the Sarangi Physical dimensions Material composition Acoustic characteristics Physical dimensions Physical dimensions specifications | Specification | Value | |---|---| | Overall length | 560–610mm (22–24 inches) | | Body length | 430–460mm (17–18 inches) | | Upper bout width | 130–145mm (5.1–5.7 inches) | | Lower bout width | 180–200mm (7.1–7.9 inches) | | Vibrating string length (playing) | 380–410mm (15–16 inches) | | Total string count | 38–43 (3 playing strings + 35–40 sympathetic strings) | Material composition Material composition specifications | Specification | Value | |---|---| | Body wood | Tun wood, Toona ciliata (single-block carved) | | Resonating membrane | Goat skin or camel skin, stretched and glued over the lower chamber | | Playing strings | Sheep gut or nylon synthetic (3 strings) | | Sympathetic strings | Fine steel or brass wire, gauges 0.15–0.30mm | | Bow stick | Pernambuco or brazilwood with fixed frog; also ebony, shisham or rosewood | | Bow hair | Natural horsehair (unscreened, light colophony rosin) | Acoustic characteristics Acoustic characteristics specifications | Specification | Value | |---|---| | Pitch reference | Set to vocalist's Sa; no fixed concert pitch standard | | Playing range (main strings) | Approximately C3 to C6 (two-plus octaves) | | Sympathetic resonance | Strings retuned per raga at each performance; vibrate in unison and overtone series with played notes | | Resonator type | Skin membrane: warm fundamental, less high-frequency content than a wooden soundboard | | Tonal character | Gayaki ang (vocal style): voice-like timbre with sympathetic shimmer | | Bridge | Elephant-shaped bone or ivory bridge on a leather strap over the skin; height and angle set for clearance and tone | ## Your Journey to Sarangi Mastery Follow this structured path from absolute beginner to accomplished performer 1 ### Foundation and posture Sit with the sarangi upright in front of the chest, its peg box near the left shoulder. Stop the strings with the side of the fingernail, just below the cuticle, or the skin above it, never the finger pads. This unusual stop takes years of conditioning; talcum powder helps the nail slide. 20% 2 ### Bowing fundamentals Master the pull and push of the heavy horsehair bow, held underhand with pressure set by the first two fingers. Manage its weight, speed and distance from the bridge for vocal continuity, without catching the sympathetic strings. Ram Narayan taught very slow, full-length strokes, starting each phrase with an up-bow. 40% 3 ### Pitch navigation Practise scales across the octaves against open strings tuned Sa-Pa-Sa or Sa-Ma-Sa. With no frets, muscle memory for distance and pitch is critical. Fingering systems differ between schools: old Delhi, new Delhi, Banaras and Udaipur. Ram Narayan relied on the second and third fingers. 60% 4 ### Meend and vocal ornamentation Coordinate left-hand slides with bow pressure for meend and the ornaments of the gayaki ang, the vocal manner of playing. Ram Narayan played consecutive notes with one finger so the slide stayed audible. As an accompanist, learn to track a singer's improvised line in real time and fill the spaces the voice leaves. 80% 5 ### Advanced solo art Master complex rhythmic play and fast runs, and build a full solo recital of alap, jor, jhala and gat. Retune the sympathetic set to each raga between items, or keep it chromatic to follow any singer. Learn the upkeep of the goatskin and bridge alignment, using the care list. 100% ## Media Gallery Watch performances, see details, and explore the Sarangi in action [ Live Performance 8:14 ### Ustad Akram Khan | Tabla Solo in Rupak Taal | Live in Reading | Kala Festival 2025 8 months ago ](/en-gb/video/ustad-akram-khan-tabla-solo-in-rupak-taal-live-in-reading-kala-festival-2025) [ Live Performance 7:50 ### Tabla Solo - Developing Rhythm | Ustad Akram Khan | Kala Festival 2025 10 months ago ](/en-gb/video/tabla-solo-developing-rhythm-ustad-akram-khan-kala-festival-2025) ## Featured Artists Renowned Sarangi players and performers ## [Satwinder Pal Singh ](/en-gb/artist/satwinder-pal-singh) Satwinder Pal Singh is a London-based sarangi player from Moga, Punjab. He and his father are the first father-son Top Grade sarangi players in the Sikh Panth. Sarangi Senia-Maihar Gharana [ ](https://www.facebook.com/Sardarsatwinderpalsingh "Facebook") [ ](https://www.instagram.com/sardarsatwinderpalsingh "Instagram") [ ](https://x.com/sardarsatwinder "Twitter") ## Past Events Browse our archive of past performances [ ](/en-gb/event/echoes-of-tradition-indian-slide-guitar-tabla-instrumental-duet) ### [ Echoes of Tradition: Indian Slide Guitar, Tabla & Instrumental Duet ](/en-gb/event/echoes-of-tradition-indian-slide-guitar-tabla-instrumental-duet) Date FRI, SEP 12 Time 6:30 PM - SS [Sanju Sahai](/en-gb/artist/sanju-sahai) • - AK [Akram Khan](/en-gb/artist/akram-khan) • - DC [Debasis Chakroborty](/en-gb/artist/debasis-chakroborty) • - HK [Hanif Khan](/en-gb/artist/hanif-khan) • - SP [Satwinder Pal Singh](/en-gb/artist/satwinder-pal-singh) **The Bhavan** Early Bird [ View Details ](/en-gb/event/echoes-of-tradition-indian-slide-guitar-tabla-instrumental-duet) [ ](/en-gb/event/reading-raga-resonance-slide-guitar-piano-tabla-solo-splendour) ### [ Reading Raga Resonance: Slide Guitar, Piano & Tabla Solo Splendour ](/en-gb/event/reading-raga-resonance-slide-guitar-piano-tabla-solo-splendour) Date SUN, SEP 14 Time 5:30 PM - AK [Akram Khan](/en-gb/artist/akram-khan) • - DC [Debasis Chakroborty](/en-gb/artist/debasis-chakroborty) • - DS [Deepak Shah](/en-gb/artist/deepak-shah) • - HK [Hanif Khan](/en-gb/artist/hanif-khan) • - SP [Satwinder Pal Singh](/en-gb/artist/satwinder-pal-singh) **The Great Hall, Reading** Early Bird [ View Details ](/en-gb/event/reading-raga-resonance-slide-guitar-piano-tabla-solo-splendour) [ ](/en-gb/event/dartington-ragas-festival-strings-voices-rhythms) ### [ Dartington Ragas Festival: Strings, Voices & Rhythms ](/en-gb/event/dartington-ragas-festival-strings-voices-rhythms) Date SAT, SEP 27 Time 11:00 AM - AK [Akram Khan](/en-gb/artist/akram-khan) • - SS [Sanju Sahai](/en-gb/artist/sanju-sahai) • - TK [Tommy Khosla](/en-gb/artist/tommy-khosla) • - DC [Debasis Chakroborty](/en-gb/artist/debasis-chakroborty) • - DS [Deepak Shah](/en-gb/artist/deepak-shah) • - JM [Jonathan Mayer](/en-gb/artist/jonathan-mayer) • - JS [Jaymini Sahai](/en-gb/artist/jaymini-sahai) • - AS [Amit Sharma](/en-gb/artist/amit-sharma) • - ID [Ishtar Dobler](/en-gb/artist/ishtar-dobler) • - SP [Satwinder Pal Singh](/en-gb/artist/satwinder-pal-singh) **Dartington Trust Hall** Early Bird [ View Details ](/en-gb/event/dartington-ragas-festival-strings-voices-rhythms) [ ](/en-gb/event/leicester-raga-rhythms-kathak-indian-slide-guitar-tabla-duet) ### [ Leicester Raga Rhythms: Kathak, Indian Slide Guitar & Tabla Duet ](/en-gb/event/leicester-raga-rhythms-kathak-indian-slide-guitar-tabla-duet) Date SUN, SEP 28 Time 7:00 PM - AK [Akram Khan](/en-gb/artist/akram-khan) • - SS [Sanju Sahai](/en-gb/artist/sanju-sahai) • - DC [Debasis Chakroborty](/en-gb/artist/debasis-chakroborty) • - JS [Jaymini Sahai](/en-gb/artist/jaymini-sahai) • - SP [Satwinder Pal Singh](/en-gb/artist/satwinder-pal-singh) **Sue Townsend Theatre** Early Bird [ View Details ](/en-gb/event/leicester-raga-rhythms-kathak-indian-slide-guitar-tabla-duet) [ ](/en-gb/event/reading-raga-resonance-bow-beat-and-breath) ### [ Reading Raga Resonance: Bow, Beat, and Breath ](/en-gb/event/reading-raga-resonance-bow-beat-and-breath) Date SAT, SEP 12 Time 12:00 PM - SP [Satwinder Pal Singh](/en-gb/artist/satwinder-pal-singh) • - SH [Shahbaz Hussain](/en-gb/artist/shahbaz-hussain) **The Great Hall, Reading** Early Bird [ View Details ](/en-gb/event/reading-raga-resonance-bow-beat-and-breath) [ ](/en-gb/event/norwich-ragas-tabla-solo-by-ustad-akram-khan) ### [ Norwich Ragas: Tabla Solo by Ustad Akram Khan ](/en-gb/event/norwich-ragas-tabla-solo-by-ustad-akram-khan) Date SAT, SEP 19 Time 12:00 PM - AK [Akram Khan](/en-gb/artist/akram-khan) • - SP [Satwinder Pal Singh](/en-gb/artist/satwinder-pal-singh) **St Andrew's Hall, Norwich** Early Bird [ View Details ](/en-gb/event/norwich-ragas-tabla-solo-by-ustad-akram-khan) ## Frequently Asked Questions What is a sarangi? The [**sarangi**](/instrument/sarangi) is a short bowed instrument with three gut playing strings and around 35 **sympathetic strings** that resonate beneath them. Players stop the strings from the side with the backs of their **fingernails**. Many musicians hold that, of all Indian instruments, the sarangi sits closest to the human voice. What is a sarangi made of? A classical **[sarangi](/instrument/sarangi)**'s body, neck and head are carved from a single block of wood, usually tun (Toona ciliata), and the belly is covered with the thin skin of a young goat. The arched main bridge, carved as an elephant, is ivory, stag-horn, ebony or bone and carries three gut playing strings. Sympathetic strings were traditionally copper or brass, and steel had become common by the 1980s. How many strings does a sarangi have? A classical **[sarangi](/instrument/sarangi)** usually has three gut playing strings and about 35 sympathetic strings; some carry 39, and smaller ones 24 or fewer. Classical sarangis have never been standardised, so sizes and string counts vary. The bow never touches the sympathetic strings, which sound only by resonance with the bowed strings. How is a sarangi tuned? A **[sarangi](/instrument/sarangi)** can be tuned from C sharp to F sharp, sounding best with the first string at D sharp or E, but accompanists tune to the singer's pitch. The main strings take Sa-Pa-Sa or Sa-Ma-Sa, and the main sympathetic set is tuned chromatically. A full tuning, repeated several times, takes a skilled player 5 to 10 minutes. Why do sarangi players stop the strings with their fingernails? **[Sarangi](/instrument/sarangi)** players stop the strings with the fingernails pressed sideways, mostly with the part of the nail just below the cuticle; the pads of the fingers are not used. Talcum powder lubricates the left hand, and practice brings heavy callousing and grooves in the nails. The Cretan lyra and the Bulgarian gadulka also use nail-side stopping. How old is the sarangi? The word **[sarangi](/instrument/sarangi)** names a stringed instrument in Jain texts from 1052, but no early text describes it. The first descriptions come from Akbar's period: the A'in-i Akbari of 1588 to 1589 calls it smaller than the rabab. The earliest painting of a sarangi player dates from the early 17th century, and the large classical form developed in or around Delhi in about the mid-19th century. How does the sarangi differ from the violin? A **[sarangi](/instrument/sarangi)** has a skin table where the violin has a wooden top, and its player stops the strings with the side of the nail rather than the fingertip. It is held upright in front of the chest by a seated player. It also carries about 35 sympathetic strings that sound only by resonance with its three bowed gut strings. Is the Nepali sarangi the same as the classical sarangi? No: the Nepali **[sarangi](/instrument/sarangi)** belongs structurally to the sarinda group of the wider sarangi family. It has four playing strings of metal and gut and is played by the Gaine (Gandharva) community; modern instruments often use nylon or steel strings. The classical Hindustani sarangi usually has three gut playing strings and about 35 sympathetic strings. Should I buy a new or an old sarangi? Most players use **[sarangi](/instrument/sarangi)s** 50 to 100 years old, often inherited, and a new instrument needs about two years to settle. Joep Bor warned that new sarangis made for export or tourists were usually of very poor quality, and that good old instruments and skilled repairers were scarce. Either way, tone depends on set-up: bridge, skin fitting, string height and peg fit. What should I check before buying a sarangi? Check the back of a **[sarangi](/instrument/sarangi)** behind the string holder, where most old sarangis are bent or cracked. Check the set-up too: bridge placement and contour, skin fitting, string thickness and height, and peg fit. Sizes vary, because players ordered larger sarangis to accompany male singers and smaller ones for women singers. Instruments by the Meerut makers Masita and Abdul Aziz Behra were the most prized. Have more questions? Contact our support team and we'll be happy to help! Ready to start learning Sarangi? Get personalized quotes and explore courses [Request Quote](/en-gb/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=80) 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. Unsubscribe at any time.