Venuवेणु

Sarabha Sastri of Kumbakonam (1872 to 1904) developed a fingering system that brought the venu from folk use into Carnatic concerts. His disciple Palladam Sanjiva Rao made it a successful concert instrument. T. R. Mahalingam, known as Mali, then established it as a solo instrument, and his nephew and pupil N. Ramani founded the Ramani Academy of Flute in 1983. Later concert flautists include Shashank Subramanyam.

The venu, also called the Carnatic flute or pullanguzhal, is the eight-hole flute of South Indian Carnatic music. Sa is fingered with the first two holes covered, and the eighth hole stays open except in special fingerings; the Horniman Museum catalogues it on one venu as a hole for tuning. The Music Academy traces how the flute grew from a folk and dance instrument into one that carries the ragas and gamakas of Carnatic music.

Unlike the Western concert flute, which closes its tone holes with keys, the venu is a keyless bamboo flute, so every note and gamaka comes from the fingers and the breath.

You can learn the Carnatic flute, the venu, with KalaSudha online and in workshops, and beginners start at Foundation level. Foundation builds the lip angle and breath support for a clear, centred tone. We teach children as well as adults; ask us about a starting age and about a flute size for a younger learner.

If you are returning after a long break, start again where you left off. Our courses run in levels, so your teacher first hears where you stand.

Dry the bore of a bamboo venu after each session, and never put it in a case or bag while it is drying, which can lead to mould. Bring the flute to room temperature before playing, avoid playing outdoors in the cold and never leave it in a hot car. Keep the thread bindings intact, and rebind them promptly.

Tuning varies between Carnatic flutes, so check the tuning of each venu. Each flute is made and tuned by hand, one at a time. Decide too between the traditional fingering and the Shashank style, which closes six holes for ma, and between the standard flute and a modern design with a lip plate.

KalaSudha sells the Carnatic flute, the venu, to players outside India, by quote or made to order, and delivers worldwide. We pack every flute for international shipping; ask us about cases and insurance.

We also service and repair any venu, wherever you bought it, in any country. Ask us for spare parts too. For help with your flute once it arrives, use the chat on any page or email [email protected]. Gift vouchers, class sets for schools and flight cases for travel are available on request.

Oil the bore of a bamboo venu with mustard or walnut oil, only up to the blow-hole and only when the bore is dry. Oil a new flute after about 15 days of moderate play, then about every couple of months. Wipe the bore dry after each session, and keep the thread bindings intact.

On the venu, Sa is fingered with the first two holes covered. In the traditional style, ma takes six and a half holes or a cross-fingering, while the Shashank style closes six holes for ma. The eighth hole stays open except in special fingerings, in which the fingers of both hands cover all eight.

The flute behind the venu is one of the most ancient wind instruments, and in Indian culture it is associated with Krishna. A Music Academy lecture abstract notes that ancient flutes had fewer finger holes and limited ranges, and accompanied folk music, theatre and dance. The Silappatikaram, the Natyasastra, sculpture and painting record its history. It grew into an instrument for the ragas and gamakas of Carnatic music.

Yes, KalaSudha can book a Carnatic flute (venu) player for your concert, event or recording. Send your request through our page to book Indian classical musicians. To hear our artists before you decide, listen to KalaSudha's recordings and watch our concert videos.

The bansuri of Hindustani music has six finger holes, or seven in Pannalal Ghosh's style, while the venu, the Carnatic flute, has eight. Both are keyless bamboo flutes, so pitch comes from the fingers, hole coverage and breath.

The fingering differs too: a venu player sounds Sa with the top two holes closed, a bansuri player with the top three. Pannalal Ghosh brought the bansuri to the Hindustani stage in the 1940s, and T. R. Mahalingam made the venu a solo Carnatic instrument.

The venu, the Carnatic flute, is cut from a single internode of bamboo, with one blow hole, eight finger holes and no keys. The Western concert flute uses keys.

Theobald Boehm's cylindrical flute of 1847, made of silver, German silver or wood, shows why. Its tone holes are too large for the fingers to cover, so every hole has a key, and a mechanism lets one finger close several keys. A venu player covers each hole with the finger pads and shades part of a hole for microtones and gamaka.

Well-known Carnatic flute players include T. R. Mahalingam (1926 to 1986), known as Mali, who made the venu a solo concert instrument, and his nephew and disciple N. Ramani (1934 to 2015). Before them, Sarabha Sastri brought the flute into Carnatic concerts.

Shashank Subramanyam, born in 1978, received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2017.