Instrument Making

The work in Musical Instrument Making and Design is based upon rethinking the instrumentsfor South Asian Classical music on the basis of the understanding of music being developed in musicology, combined with the knowledge of sound, materials and acoustics. In fact the work of understanding musical sound has really been a product of developing and upgrading an understanding of the philosophical concepts relating to music and musical sound in South Asian Classical Music. In the light of which it has become possible to identify and explore in detail the different components which go into the  making of musical sounds, such as compound or layered resonances as perceived by the human ear, timbre, and other subjective as well as objective factors that pool into the making of these components. Combining this knowledge, which is continuously being upgraded, with the knowledge of materials, new discoveries are being made about the manner in which these materials should be used and put together to produce musical sounds that are able to connect with, activate and evoke complex and subtle human emotional and mental processes.

The objective has been to achieve a much greater musicality, and a capacity for producing complex and dynamic resonances, and micro tones, along with a greater variety of sonic timbers than is already available in the existing Indian Classical Instruments. So that the artist while trying to express and communicate his/her dynamic sensitivity processes, is not hampered by the limitations of the sound an instrument can produce. The work on improving the quality of this instrument is ongoing, in view of the constant upgrading of the perceptions and understanding of musical sound. Work on the same foundations and with the same objective has been carried out on the Sur Bahar (the redesigned version of which we have named Shruti Bahar) and Sitar. The sound of these instruments is critically monitored through listening to their recordings on ‘Bhulley’ sound reproduction systems, developed and constructed in the Institute on the same foundations as our musical instruments. More importantly these instruments are continuously tested with reference to their objective through the feedback of the musicians exploring ‘Sanjan Sangeet’.