Taking the Sarod to New Depths
Paula: What are some of the challenges of learning and playing the sarod?
Rajeev Taranath: Most of the plucked instruments of India have frets.
The bowed instruments, some of them, do not have
frets.
This has a logic when you consider that the short
sound duration of each plucking is compensated by the
presence of the fret - the fingers need not feel lost
in the silence between plucking and plucking. The
sustained sound of the bowed instrument allows the
fingers to achieve precision on the finger board even
if it is fretless.
The sarod is plucked with a plectrum, but it has no
frets. To get a pure note on this instrument is a
considerable achievement.
There are other difficulties.
The nails of the left-hand fingers are required to be
used in order get glides and glidelike movements - and
Indian music is replete with them. Indeed, they are
typical.
The sarod is capable of a rich tonality. To produce
relevant tones is part of a difficult and continuing
exploration.
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