How do I move from beginner to intermediate bansuri?

You move to Intermediate bansuri when you have closed the Foundation topics or shown the same skills in a placement session. Your teacher checks that you hold Sa in tune, half-hole the komal swaras and play a first gat with a short alap. Intermediate then adds meend, slow gats, tongued taans and playing with tabla.

How do I play meend on the bansuri?

Meend on the bansuri, a glide between swaras, comes in module 2A of Intermediate bansuri. You glide across two holes in a raga phrase without breaking the tone. The topic closes when you play four meends between named swaras two steps apart, each arriving in tune. Meend between neighbouring swaras is a Foundation elective.

How do I learn to play the bansuri with a tabla player?

Playing the bansuri with tabla comes in module 2C of Intermediate bansuri. You play a slow and a fast gat with a tabla player, keep tempo, cues and balance, then give the ending cue and finish together on sam. Before 2C a theka track keeps the cycle, and a 2B elective lets you play with a tabla player earlier.

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

The Intermediate level of the Bansuri (Flute) course ends with a 12-minute set with tabla. You play without losing the cycle, explain one choice and recover from any slip, and you submit a written notation and theory portfolio. Completion needs all 16 Intermediate skills, not only the presentation.

Bansuri (Flute)Prepared by KalaSudha

Intermediate Bansuri (Flute)

Intermediate bansuri, prepared by KalaSudha: meend and ornament, the register break, slow and fast gats, tongued taans, alap and jod, and playing with tabla.

Talk to an Advisor See the modules

Módulos: 2A–2C
Lessons: One-to-one or in a group
Ends in: A KalaSudha certificate

Bamboo bansuri flutes on an embroidered cloth

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About Intermediate

Intermediate bansuri adds meend, ornament and playing with tabla, once you can hold a clear tone and play a first gat. You enter after Foundation or a placement session that shows the same skills. It is the second level of the Bansuri (Flute) course prepared by KalaSudha.

Module 2A brings meend, the glide between swaras, across two holes, then kan, murki and andolan and the chalan of a third raga. You phrase an alap by the breath and cross from the middle to the upper octave without a bump in the tone. Module 2B adds the suggested Rupak and Jhaptal, a slow gat, taans with tonguing and a tihai to sam.

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Module 2C puts you with a tabla player for a slow and a fast gat, keeping tempo, cues and balance. You join alap and jod, build breath stamina for a 12-minute set and compare the bansuri's teaching lines through examples. Electives add a thumri or dhun, folk melody, jhala and duet playing.

Each module has 14 topics, eight core and six electives, and your path is 12 topics per module. As a typical guide, Intermediate takes 9–15 months, and you agree the pace with your teacher. In a cohort, learners hear how each one plays the same gat with the tabla player. The level ends with a 12-minute set with tabla and leads to a KalaSudha award (see certificates). Ask about Intermediate in the Academy.

What you will be able to do

Play four meends between swaras two steps apart, each arriving in tune.
Cross from the middle to the upper octave three times with an even tone.
Play a 3-minute alap in the raga with every phrase ending cleanly.
Play a gat's sthayi and antara from memory for four cycles with the mukhda on sam.
Play slow and fast gats with a tabla player and finish together on sam.

Before you start

Complete Foundation bansuri or show the same skills in a placement session with your teacher.
Be able to hold Sa in tune, half-hole the komal swaras and play a first gat with a short alap.

Ask about placement

Módulos

The three Intermediate modules

Intermediate widens your phrasing, your compositions and your partners. The first two modules develop ornament and gats, and the third applies them with a tabla player and the 12-minute review.

2A

Module 2A: Meend, ornament and the singing line

8 core + 4 teacher-setfrom 14 topics

Agree a practice plan and review your tone. Play meend across two holes, then kan, murki and andolan. Learn the chalan of a third raga, phrase an alap by the breath and cross the register break without a bump in the tone.
1. Review tone and agree a practice planCore
  
  Review your Foundation recordings with your teacher and agree a practice plan for the module.
2. Meend across two holesCore
  
  Glide across two holes in a raga phrase without breaking the tone.
3. Kan, murki and andolanCore
  
  Play kan, murki and a finger-rocked andolan in raga phrases.
4. Chalan of a third ragaCore
  
  Learn the chalan, the characteristic movement, of a third raga (suggested: Bhimpalasi).
5. Alap phrased by the breathCore
  
  Shape a slow alap in phrases that end before the breath does.
6. Across the register breakCore
  
  Practise phrases that cross from the middle to the upper octave without a bump in the tone.
7. Guided rehearsal: meend, ornament and the singing lineCore
  
  Rehearse your meend and alap set and correct one fault using teacher feedback.
8. Review and presentation: meend, ornament and the singing lineCore
  
  Present your meend and alap set and discuss your preparation and corrections with the assessor.
9. Gamak on the fluteEletiva
  
  Play a gamak, a strong oscillation, with breath or finger movement on two swaras.
10. A fourth ragaEletiva
  
  Learn the chalan and a composition in a fourth raga (suggested: Bihag).
11. Sight-read a sargam lineEletiva
  
  Play an unfamiliar line of sargam notation after a short preparation.
12. Breath vibratoEletiva
  
  Add a slow breath vibrato to a long note and remove it on cue.
13. A second fluteEletiva
  
  Play known phrases on a second, teacher-approved flute of a different length and Sa.
14. Ornament listening studyEletiva
  
  Compare how two attributed recordings use meend and murki in the same raga.
Your teacher fills 4 slots from the electives, their own topics or both.
2B

Module 2B: Gats, taans and laya

8 core + 4 teacher-setfrom 14 topics

Learn the suggested Rupak and Jhaptal and a slow gat with its mukhda on sam. Play taans with tonguing and a tihai to sam, and notate a full composition. Electives add Ektal, double tonguing and a fast gat.
1. Review the gat and the cycleCore
  
  Play your Foundation gat with hand-count and correct one rhythmic fault from a recording.
2. Rupak and JhaptalCore
  
  Recite and keep the suggested Rupak and Jhaptal, then play a sargam passage in each.
3. A slow gatCore
  
  Learn a teacher-selected slow composition in the suggested Rupak or Teentaal.
4. Taans with tonguingCore
  
  Play taans in the raga, using tonguing where your teacher's line uses it to separate notes.
5. A tihai to samCore
  
  Play a three-part tihai from a phrase of the composition that lands on sam.
6. Notate a full compositionCore
  
  Write the composition in sargam notation with beats and divisions.
7. Guided rehearsal: gats, taans and layaCore
  
  Rehearse your gat and taan set and correct one fault using teacher feedback.
8. Review and presentation: gats, taans and layaCore
  
  Present your gat and taan set and discuss your preparation and corrections with the assessor.
9. EktalEletiva
  
  Keep the suggested Ektal and play a composition phrase in it.
10. Dugun and chaugunEletiva
  
  Play a phrase at single, double and four-fold density over a steady hand-count.
11. Double tonguingEletiva
  
  Practise double tonguing on a repeated swara, then in a short taan.
12. A fast gatEletiva
  
  Learn a fast composition in Teentaal in the same raga as the slow gat.
13. A jhala-style passageEletiva
  
  Play a fast passage that alternates a melody swara with a returning note.
14. Play with a tabla playerEletiva
  
  Play your gat with a live or online tabla player and agree tempo and ending.
Your teacher fills 4 slots from the electives, their own topics or both.
2C

Module 2C: Raga development and the teaching lines

8 core + 4 teacher-setfrom 14 topics

Play a slow and a fast gat with tabla and join alap and jod. Recognise the taught ragas, compare the teaching lines through examples and build breath stamina for the 12-minute set.
1. Plan practice for accompanied playingCore
  
  Plan a week of practice that includes tempo, ending and cue rehearsal with a tabla player.
2. Play with tablaCore
  
  Play a slow and a fast gat with a tabla player, keeping tempo, cues and balance.
3. Alap and jorCore
  
  Develop the raga in an unmetred alap, then in jor with a steady pulse and no drum.
4. Recognise the taught ragasCore
  
  Identify each taught raga from short phrases sung or played by your teacher.
5. Compare the teaching lines through examplesCore
  
  Compare attributed excerpts from the three teaching lines in hold, ornament and form.
6. Breath stamina for a twelve-minute setCore
  
  Plan warm-up and breathing so the tone holds through a twelve-minute set.
7. Guided rehearsal: raga development and the teaching linesCore
  
  Rehearse your twelve-minute Intermediate set and correct one fault using teacher feedback.
8. Review and presentation: raga development and the teaching linesCore
  
  Present your twelve-minute Intermediate set and discuss your preparation and corrections with the assessor.
9. A thumri or dhunEletiva
  
  Learn a light classical thumri or dhun in a raga such as Pilu or Khamaj (suggested) with tabla.
10. Folk melody and the folk fluteEletiva
  
  Learn a teacher-selected folk melody and place it beside the concert bansuri in listening.
11. JhalaEletiva
  
  Develop the jhala-style passage into a short closing section after jor.
12. A sung bandish on the fluteEletiva
  
  Learn a sung bandish and shape it on the flute with the phrasing of its words.
13. Duet playingEletiva
  
  Play a composition in unison and in alternating phrases with a second flute or melodic player.
14. Transcribe a recorded gatEletiva
  
  Transcribe the sthayi of a gat from an attributed recording.
Your teacher fills 4 slots from the electives, their own topics or both.

Why Intermediate

What Intermediate builds

Meend on a flute with holes

Glide across two holes in a raga phrase without breaking the tone. Each meend is checked for arriving in tune on the named swara.
Gats in two tempos

Learn a slow gat and develop it with tongued taans and a tihai, then play slow and fast gats with a tabla player.
Breath for a longer set

Phrase the alap by the breath, with no gasped breath, and build the stamina that a 12-minute set with tabla needs.

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 Intermediate

Flute

Pandit Ajay Prasanna
<p>Pandit Ajay Prasanna é um flautista internacionalmente aclamado, vindo de uma distinta família musical. Ele carrega o legado de seu pai, Pandit Bholanath Prasanna, um dos melhores flautistas que a Índia já produziu. Entre seus discípulos está Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia.</p>
Teaches
Bansuri (Flute)
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Dr Shanish Kumar
Dr. Shanish Kumar Gyawali toca bansuri na tradição de Banaras, aluno de Vinod Prasanna e Dr. Prahalad Nath, doutor pela BHU, grau AIR 'B High', Bolsa para Jovens Artistas.
Teaches
Bansuri (Flute)
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