Excellent discussion…wish I had more time to participate…
Rsachi wrote: gayaki describes a phrase, which would have been sung by a vocalist, with continuity, modulation, nuance, emphasis and accent etc.
Precisely. Indeed this is the crux of what is meant by gayaki ang. Vk, I think this sentence bears reading several times over. All of the elements mentioned above, not just continuity, are important.
Rsachi wrote:to decry the current Veena design as a recent usurper.
Since that picture was addressed to me, if that’s your reading of my motive to post some thoughts earlier about the historical usage of the term “vina”, then it’s quite unfortunate. Rsachi, I absolutely don’t have the time to respond to any number of complete mischaracterizations of my motives by you, in other threads too, request a little thoughtfulness.
harimau wrote:Resonant chamber? Can anyone point out to me the resonant chamber in ekanta veenas (carved out of a solid piece of wood)?
There has never been an acoustic stringed instrument in history without a resonator, i.e., a
hollow body, usually with an aperture(s) to the outside in which case it becomes a classic Helmholtz resonator. In the case of the ekantha veena too there’s a hollow body. A piece of string suspended over a solid wooden block sans hollow body will be barely audible, example, electric guitar. The construction of any lute (i.e., vina, guitar, violin, sitar, etc..) consist of a) string suspended over bridge b) bridge coupled to soundboard (what the bridge rests on) c) soundboard coupled to a hollow body or resonator.
Rsachi wrote: Use of a bow in the violin reduces closeness to that extent to the vibrating strings. Use of amplification etc. Is each a step away from closeness.
I don’t agree with this. The bow is an integral part of the instrument, just happens to be physically separate. Both bow and fingerboard are held as closely to the person as the vina. In fact, as regards extent of expressivity, bowing is the stuff of violin legend. In comparison, the pluck of a vina is limited in its scope. Rarely do people talk about the “splendid pluck” of a certain vainika or in general of any plucked string instrument player! But volumes are written about bowing techniques. It’s OK to state one’s preferences, but I am not thrilled about such “logical/ scientific” explanations rationalizing one’s preferences. A simple "I love vina above all else" would suffice. I do too
. Taking the same line, I could argue, for example, that nothing is more subtle than the bamboo flute…not only do the fingers caress it so intimately, its sound is modulated by that most primal of forces, the breath, prAna ! OMG, what could be more subtle than that?! I do believe that the bamboo flute has the highest aesthetic return for design simplicity. And Sri Krishna holds it in his hands. However, I would not therefore imply that it is "most subtle".
Rsachi wrote: (largely helped by redesign and electric pickup mic)
As far as I know there was no redesign of the "electric mandolin" which is identical in design to an electric guitar, except it has five strings instead of six. Srinivas' musical genius has made this into a popular concert instrument but one of the pioneers in electric guitar (practically identical to the electric mandolin in all respects as far as CM is concerned) was a certain Sukumar Prasad in the 70's and 80's.
). This is his attempt to get that out and reach the public at large. Great service.
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