- Bulbul tarang
A bulbul tarang (or Indian banjo) is a
string instrument fromIndia andPakistan . Its name literally means "waves of nightingales".The instrument employs two sets of strings, one set for drone, and one for melody. The melody strings run under a key plate with keys similar to those of a
piano or, more often,typewriter . Depressing the keys as the strings are plucked or strummed activates stops on the key plate which shorten the strings and changes their pitch.The melody strings are commonly tuned to the same note, or in octaves, while the drone strings are tuned to the 1st and 5th of the melody strings. Tuned in this manner, the instrument is uni-tonic, or unable to modulate to new keys. The melody strings may be tuned to different pitches if desired, however, rendering it multi-tonic, but more difficult to play. The bulbul tarang is most commonly played as accompaniment to singing.
The Indian version is sometimes known as the "Indian Banjo" or "Japan Banjo"; in Japan it is known as the "Taisho Koto".
The instrument has found its way into western music, including recordings by
Hala Strana , Henry Threadgill and Air, and in the Brooklyn experimental band Polygraph Lounge. It is featured on two recordings by the seminal post-modern jug band Washboard Jungle: "Old Joe Clark" and "Boutros Boutros-Ghali".
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