बांसुरी

A bansuri is a transverse flute cut from a single length of seasoned bamboo. It has no keys and no moving parts, only six or eight finger holes. The maker burns or drills the blow hole and the finger holes. The player controls pitch through the lips at the blow hole, breath pressure and half-holing, covering a finger hole in part, which gives the slides and bends of a raga. Until the 1940s it was not thought a concert instrument; Pannalal Ghosh made a larger bansuri for the classical stage.

KalaSudha teaches the bansuri online and in workshops, and every beginner starts at Foundation level. You begin with the embouchure, the shape of the lips at the blow hole, until a clear first tone sounds. Children learn with us as well as adults: ask us about a starting age, and about a flute size for a younger learner.

If you are taking up the bansuri again after a long break, our courses run in levels. Your teacher reviews where you stand, then you start again where you left off.

Pannalal Ghosh (1911 to 1960) is generally credited with popularising the bamboo flute, the bansuri, in modern Hindustani classical music. No Hindustani classical bansuri tradition appears to have existed in the 1930s and 1940s. Ghosh lengthened the flute, added a seventh finger hole and devised a bass flute for exploring the lower octave in ragas such as Darbari.

A Hindustani bansuri has six finger holes in line with the blow hole. Pannalal Ghosh added a seventh, played with the little finger of the lower hand, which his circle uses for tivra Ma in the lower octave. Britannica describes six or seven finger holes.

Sources give different figures for the bansuri's range. A six-hole bansuri covers about two and a half octaves and a seven-hole about three, while an enthusiast reference gives about two octaves as the working range. On the flute as Pannalal Ghosh used it, the comfortable range was just over two octaves, and the upper register projects strongly.

Tuning varies between flutes, so check the tuning of each bansuri. Hole position and diameter set each note's pitch, and wall thickness affects tone, range and octave tuning. Look for cracks too: they come mostly from extreme temperatures, humidity and knocks, and can spread along the bamboo.

A student bansuri and a professional bansuri differ in the bamboo and in how finely the holes are tuned; the key is a separate choice. Makers cut a concert bansuri from dense, even-walled bamboo, seasoned so the tube holds its pitch, and tune each hole against a reference note. Lower keys need longer flutes: a G-natural bansuri in the Horniman Museum's collection is 650 mm long. Ask your teacher which key suits your hands.

KalaSudha sells student bansuris and concert-grade flutes from established makers in India. Ours suit the learner on a first raga and the performer playing a full alap. Ask us for a quote, or for a flute made to order.

You can order a bansuri from KalaSudha wherever you live: we sell by quote or made to order and deliver worldwide. We pack every flute for international shipping; ask us about cases and insurance.

Bring us any bansuri for service or repair, wherever you bought it and wherever you live. 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 as well, on request.

A good gift for someone learning an Indian classical instrument suits the instrument they play and the stage they have reached, so ask their teacher if you are unsure. An instrument of their own, or a better one, also makes a gift: KalaSudha sells every instrument by quote or made to order. For something smaller, ask us for a case, or for strings and spare parts to suit their instrument.

Lessons make a gift as well. KalaSudha teaches online and in workshops, and beginners start at Foundation level: see our courses.

Ask us about gift vouchers.

Bamboo flutes such as the bansuri crack mostly from extreme temperatures, humidity and hard knocks, and a small crack can spread along the bamboo. Bring the flute to room temperature before playing, avoid playing outdoors in the cold, and wipe the bore dry after each session. Store a played flute upright, out of its case or bag, while it dries.

Yes, a cracked bansuri can be repaired. Work early, on a cold flute: run low-viscosity cyanoacrylate glue along the crack and press it closed for about 30 seconds. After about five minutes, wipe off the excess and rebind the section with thread. Keep the flute bound at both ends and in the middle.

Yes, the bansuri remains a folk instrument as well as a classical one. A five-hole bamboo bansuri from Rajasthan, 210 mm long and collected in 1987 for a Cambridge museum, is played at seasonal dances and at Holi. In Assam the murali serves dance and song in several communities, and a Horniman example is made of bijuli bamboo. Museums file both as side-blown flutes.

You can book a bansuri player through KalaSudha for a concert, event or recording: ask us through our page to book Indian classical musicians. KalaSudha's recordings and concert videos let you hear our artists before you choose.