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THE PERSONAL TAMBURA
®
There is a kind of music
The all-important, ephemeral, mantra-like sound we are so accustomed to
hear filling and ‘charging’ the air when we listen to the classical music of
India is produced by a deceptively simple stringed instrument:
the Tambura (also spelled Tanpura).
which is like the wind in the trees,
the rolling surf,
a waterfall or running stream.
Historically there are two classifications of tambura: ‘vocal’ (usually large
and cumbersome, built with the traditional gourd resonator), and ‘instrumental’ (usually smaller, made with a wood body, tuned higher and less
resonant than the vocal instrument).
It charges the air around you
and within you.
• We build the instrument for this music •
Our shop builds what we call the Personal Tambura®, a bass instrument
with the superior acoustic resonance of a ‘vocal’ tambura and the
portability of an ‘instrumental’ tambura.
The Personal Tambura® has the look of a traditional instrument, but is
actually unique. Through years of research, and with uncompromising
attention to detail, craftsmanship and the selection of fine tonewoods we
have developed an instrument which is structurally very different from
conventional tamburas, and acoustically superior, yet still maintaining a
traditional aesthetic.
All the materials used are carefully chosen. The finest quarter-sawn
coastal Red Cedar is from managed / renewable forests. Though tested on
animals, we use no animal parts in its construction.
The builder of these instruments, Jay Scott Hackleman, learned classical
musical instrument building through an apprenticeship in India, and has
repaired, restored and built these instruments for more than 20 years.
We call our instrument the Personal Tambura® because it is ideal for not
only music accompaniment but also, because of its portability and resonance, for personal meditation use. (You need not be a trained musician to
play one or benefit from its soothing tones!). It is designed as a bass instrument to take advantage of the rich harmonics of the lower frequencies.
Feel free to contact us if you would like to know more about these fine
instruments, or a unique system of resonant relaxation using this
tambura in a technique of active meditation.
604 Calhoun Dr. • Point Roberts, WA 98281
360.945.1552 • [email protected]
© 2006 Jay Scott Hackleman
•
THE PERSONAL TAMBURA
®
•
...while he
tunes his
Tambura
he tunes
his own
soul...
c
c
C
G
ON
PLAYING
TA M B U R A
• Tune your Tambura (the Personal Tambura is a bass instrument, so the diagram shows
tuning for octave below middle C).
•Loosen the fine-tuners, then tune as close as possible using the
main tuning pegs. Stretch the string a little to equalize the tension.
•When satisfied with the basic tuning, while playing a string slip the thread under
it on the jawari until the sound just begins to ring out. Repeat for each string.
•Use the fine tuners for final tuning and to adjust while playing if need be.
• Sit comfortably...on a meditation cushion, the floor, or a chair.
• With the instrument on your lap, close your eyes for a minute or two
and watch your breath gently.
• With your back straight, arms and shoulders relaxed, pick up your Tambura.
•Put the neck over your left shoulder.
•Nestle the bowl of the instrument in your upturned left hand.
•To best position your fingers, hold the neck between the thumb and third finger of
your right hand. This will position your fingers over and almost parallel to the
strings, just above the center of the string length (across from your heart)
•When you start to play you will lift your third finger and keep your thumb in place.
• Play the strings by pressing down toward the face of the neck and letting the string roll
off the right side of your finger tip.
•Note that the Tambura is not “plucked” (in plucking, the string is pulled and
released). Using the “rolling” motion is gentler and creates more resonance.
•Use your second finger on the first string and your index finger on the
remaining strings.
•The 4th string (lowest pitch) will have a little more emphasis, 1st string a little less
and 2nd & 3rd blend together. It’s helpful at first to imagine six beats or pulses:
1st string (2 beats), 2nd string (1 beat), 3rd string (1 beat), 4th string (2 beats) total=6.
or 1st string (3 beats), 2nd string (1 beat), 3rd string (1 beat), 4th string (1 beats) total=6.
We don’t play the Personal Tambura to any particular rhythm. Eventually a blending of
the resonance of the instrument and the pulse of your own heart and breath will lead you
to create one continuous sound...the resonating tone of AUM.
®
Hazrat Inayat Khan
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®
© 2006 Jay Scott Hackleman
YOUR