How do I get a first sound on the bansuri?

On Foundation bansuri you get a first sound by directing a steady air stream across the blowing hole until a clear tone sounds. Your teacher shows you the hold first. The topic closes when you sound a clear tone on three attempts out of four, each lasting 4 seconds without breath noise covering it. You then hold Sa with the top three holes closed.

Which bansuri should a beginner buy?

On the KalaSudha Bansuri (Flute) course your teacher names the flute key and length before you buy a bansuri. A second flute comes in only as an elective or at Advanced. Your teacher shows you the care routine before you practise on your own. To buy a bansuri from KalaSudha, see the flute page.

How do I play komal swaras on the bansuri?

Komal swaras on the bansuri are played by half-holing, part-covering a hole, and Foundation bansuri teaches it in module 1B for komal Re, Ga, Dha and Ni. Your teacher shows you the tivra Ma fingering for your flute. The topic closes when you play each altered swara in tune beside its shuddha form and identify four of five played by your teacher.

How is the Foundation level of the Bansuri (Flute) course assessed?

The Foundation level of the Bansuri (Flute) course is assessed through playing, listening and oral questions. Your teacher closes each topic when its completion check is met, and the level ends with a 4-minute prepared set. In the set you play without losing the cycle, explain one choice and recover from any slip. A listening check asks you to match excerpts of the three teaching lines to supplied labels.

Bansuri (Flute)Prepared by KalaSudha

Foundation Bansuri (Flute)

Foundation bansuri, prepared by KalaSudha: hold, breath and a first clear tone, Sa and the swaras, half-holing, alankars, a first raga and a first gat.

Talk to an Advisor See the modules

Módulos: 1A–1C
Lessons: One-to-one or in a group
Ends in: A KalaSudha certificate

Bamboo bansuri flutes on an embroidered cloth

Vista general

About Foundation

Foundation bansuri takes you from a first clear tone to a 4-minute prepared set, with no music or flute background needed. It is the first level of the Bansuri (Flute) course prepared by KalaSudha, taught in live online lessons. Your teacher names the key and length of your flute before you buy. You hear each phrase and play it back before you read it.

Module 1A covers hold, posture and a first sound at the blowing hole. You hold Sa with the top three holes closed, play long notes for breath and learn the middle octave swaras. Module 1B adds alankars, swara patterns played up and down, and half-holing for the komal, or flat, swaras. You learn sargam notation and mark the cycle: sam, the first beat, the clapped tali, the waved khali and the vibhag sections. Then you keep Keherwa and Dadra.

Read the full overviewMostrar menos

Module 1C brings your first raga, such as the suggested Yaman, through its aroh, avaroh and pakad, the ascent, descent and catch phrase. You move into the upper octave, play a short alap and learn a first gat, an instrumental composition, in Teentaal. You also hear the bansuri's three teaching lines through labelled excerpts. Meend across two holes and live tabla come at Intermediate.

Each module has 14 topics, eight core and six electives, and your path is 12 of them. As a typical guide, Foundation takes 9–12 months, and you agree the pace with your teacher. In a cohort, you hear other learners play the same phrases, and each guided rehearsal and review becomes a short performance for the group. Foundation leads to a KalaSudha award (see certificates). Ask about Foundation in the Academy.

What you will be able to do

Sound a clear tone at the blowing hole on three attempts out of four.
Hold Sa for 6 seconds, three times, in tune and with no hole leaking.
Play each komal swara by half-holing, in tune beside its shuddha form.
Mark four cycles of the suggested Teentaal and name its divisions without losing the pulse.
Play a first gat from memory for four cycles with the mukhda landing on sam.

Before you start

You need no previous music or flute experience to begin Foundation bansuri.
You need a bansuri your teacher approves, a drone reference, a notebook and a recording device.

Ask about placement

Módulos

The three Foundation modules

Foundation starts with tone and breath, then the swaras and the cycle, then your first raga and gat. Each module ends with a guided rehearsal and a review, and the last one closes with a 4-minute prepared set.

1A

Module 1A: Flute, breath and first sound

8 core + 4 teacher-setfrom 14 topics

Hold the flute without strain and keep a practice record. Sound a clear tone at the blowing hole, hold Sa with three holes closed and play long notes for breath. Play the middle octave swaras, hear a phrase and play it back, then present your long notes.
1. Hold, posture and a practice recordNúcleo
  
  Hold the flute without strain in the hand position your teacher sets, and start a practice log.
2. First sound at the blowing holeNúcleo
  
  Direct a steady air stream across the blowing hole until a clear tone sounds.
3. Sa with three holes closedNúcleo
  
  Close the top three holes and hold Sa steady against the drone.
4. Long notes and breathNúcleo
  
  Breathe low and spend the breath evenly across long notes on Sa, Re and Ga.
5. Middle octave swarasNúcleo
  
  Finger and sound the shuddha swaras of the middle octave in ascent and descent.
6. Hear a phrase and play it backNúcleo
  
  Listen to a short sargam phrase once and play it back with the same swaras.
7. Guided rehearsal: flute, breath and first soundNúcleo
  
  Rehearse your long-note and swara sequence and correct one fault using teacher feedback.
8. Review and presentation: flute, breath and first soundNúcleo
  
  Present your long-note and swara sequence and discuss your preparation and corrections with the assessor.
9. Flute careOptativa
  
  Learn the care routine your teacher approves for warming, drying and storing a bamboo flute.
10. Breath away from the fluteOptativa
  
  Practise a slow, counted exhale through the lips away from the instrument.
11. Recording the fluteOptativa
  
  Place a phone or microphone so your teacher can see both hands and hear the tone without wind noise.
12. The lower PaOptativa
  
  Close all six holes and sound the low Pa below Sa without forcing the breath.
13. Match a heard pitchOptativa
  
  Find on the flute single pitches sung or played by your teacher.
14. Single tonguingOptativa
  
  Start notes with a light tongue stroke and compare them with breath-started notes.
Your teacher fills 4 slots from the electives, their own topics or both.
1B

Module 1B: Swaras, alankars and the cycle

8 core + 4 teacher-setfrom 14 topics

Play alankars in the middle octave at a logged tempo. Half-hole for komal Re, Ga, Dha and Ni, and learn your teacher's tivra Ma. Mark sam, tali, khali and vibhag, keep Keherwa and Dadra, and read and write sargam notation.
1. Review tone and set a tempoNúcleo
  
  Check long notes in your log and choose a pulse you can hold for alankars.
2. Alankars in the middle octaveNúcleo
  
  Play the first teacher-selected alankars, patterned swara exercises, at a steady pulse.
3. Half-holing for komal swarasNúcleo
  
  Part-cover holes to play komal Re, Ga, Dha and Ni, and the tivra Ma fingering your teacher shows.
4. Sam, tali, khali and vibhagNúcleo
  
  Mark a cycle with hand gestures and explain matra, avartan, sam, tali, khali and vibhag.
5. Keherwa and DadraNúcleo
  
  Recite the thekas of the suggested Keherwa and Dadra and play an alankar over each.
6. Read and write sargam notationNúcleo
  
  Read swaras in sargam notation with beat numbers and write a short alankar from dictation.
7. Guided rehearsal: swaras, alankars and the cycleNúcleo
  
  Rehearse your alankar and hand-count set and correct one fault using teacher feedback.
8. Review and presentation: swaras, alankars and the cycleNúcleo
  
  Present your alankar and hand-count set and discuss your preparation and corrections with the assessor.
9. Alankars in dugunOptativa
  
  Play one alankar at single and double density while the hand-count stays the same.
10. Finger independence drillOptativa
  
  Practise lifting and closing each finger cleanly in a slow repeated pattern.
11. A sargam geetOptativa
  
  Learn a short teacher-selected composition on swara names in a simple tala.
12. Two notation conventionsOptativa
  
  Compare Bhatkhande and Paluskar signs in a supplied line of sargam.
13. Find the cycle after silenceOptativa
  
  Keep the hand-count through a silent passage and re-enter playing on sam.
14. Play with a theka trackOptativa
  
  Play an alankar against a recorded Teentaal theka and keep your place in the cycle.
Your teacher fills 4 slots from the electives, their own topics or both.
1C

Module 1C: First ragas and a first gat

8 core + 4 teacher-setfrom 14 topics

Learn the aroh, avaroh and pakad of a first raga and move into the upper octave. Play a first gat in Teentaal and a short alap. Hear the bansuri's teaching lines through labelled excerpts, then present a 4-minute set.
1. Review swaras and cyclesNúcleo
  
  Use your log to fix one weak alankar or cycle before starting raga work.
2. Aroh, avaroh and pakad of a first ragaNúcleo
  
  Learn the ascent, descent and catch phrase of the first raga (suggested: Yaman).
3. Into the upper octaveNúcleo
  
  Raise the air speed to carry the raga's phrases into the upper octave.
4. A first gat in TeentaalNúcleo
  
  Learn the sthayi and antara of a teacher-selected composition in Teentaal with a theka track.
5. A short alapNúcleo
  
  Play a short unmetred alap in the first raga before the composition.
6. Hear the bansuri's teaching linesNúcleo
  
  Listen to attributed recordings from the Maihar, Banaras and seven-hole teaching lines and compare two by sound.
7. Guided rehearsal: first ragas and a first gatNúcleo
  
  Rehearse your four-minute Foundation set and correct one fault using teacher feedback.
8. Review and presentation: first ragas and a first gatNúcleo
  
  Present your four-minute Foundation set and discuss your preparation and corrections with the assessor.
9. A second ragaOptativa
  
  Learn the aroh, avaroh and pakad of a second raga (suggested: Bhupali) and its contrast with the first.
10. First taansOptativa
  
  Play short taans built from the raga's ascent and descent, returning to the mukhda.
11. A dhun or folk melodyOptativa
  
  Learn a short teacher-selected dhun or folk melody with a theka track.
12. Meend between neighbouring swarasOptativa
  
  Slide a finger slowly off a hole to glide between two neighbouring swaras.
13. Recover a missed samOptativa
  
  Practise recovery after a deliberate missed entry in the gat.
14. A bansuri listening logOptativa
  
  Keep a dated log of four attributed bansuri recordings and note what you hear in each.
Your teacher fills 4 slots from the electives, their own topics or both.

Why Foundation

What Foundation builds

Listen, then play

Hear each phrase and play it back before you read it. Your teacher hears whether your pitch is secure before working on the fingers.
A clear tone first

Breath and a steady first tone come before speed. The checks listen for Sa held in tune, with no hole leaking and no breath noise covering the tone.
Half-holing for komal swaras

Part-cover the holes to play komal Re, Ga, Dha and Ni, and learn the tivra Ma fingering your teacher shows you.

Lessons

Ways to learn

One-to-one

Learn at your own pace. You book online lessons through KalaSudha in your own time zone.

Register interest in 1:1 lessons

In a group

Learn in a group on a timetable.

Ask about group lessons

Teachers

Teachers for Foundation

Flute

Pandit Ajay Prasanna
<p>Pandit Ajay Prasanna es un flautista internacional de gran reconocimiento, proveniente de una distinguida familia musical. Continúa el legado de su padre, Pandit Bholanath Prasanna, uno de los mejores flautistas que ha dado la India. Entre sus discípulos se encuentra Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia.</p>
Teaches
Bansuri (Flute)
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Dr Shanish Kumar
Dr Shanish Kumar Gyawali toca la bansuri en la tradición de Banaras, discípulo de Vinod Prasanna y el Dr Prahalad Nath, doctor por BHU, artista grado ‘B High’ de All India Radio.
Teaches
Bansuri (Flute)
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