Jivari
Encyclopedia
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
culture and thought, refers to the overtone
Overtone
An overtone is any frequency higher than the fundamental frequency of a sound. The fundamental and the overtones together are called partials. Harmonics are partials whose frequencies are whole number multiples of the fundamental These overlapping terms are variously used when discussing the...
-rich "buzzing" sound characteristic of classical Indian string instruments such as the tanpura, sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
and veena
Veena
Veena may refer to one of several Indian plucked instruments:With frets*Rudra veena, plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music*Saraswati veena, plucked string instrument used in Carnatic musicFretless...
. Jivari can refer to the acoustic phenomenon itself and to the meticulously curved bone or ivory bridges that support the strings on the sounding board and produce this particular effect. When cotton threads are used to shift the angle of the string over the bridge, this is called "adjusting the jivari." After a substantial time of playing, the surface directly under the string will wear out through the eroding impact of the strings. The sound will become thin and sharp and tuning also becomes a problem.Then a skilled, experienced craftsman needs to redress and polish the surface, which is called "doing the jivari".
'Jiva' translates as "soul" or "live-giving essence". The 'jivari' then 'animates' the sound of each string. The rich and very much 'alive' resonant sound requires great sensitivity and experience in the tuning process. In the actual tuning, the fundamentals are of no interest as attention is drawn to the sustained harmonics.
The actual tuning is done on three levels: firstly by means of the large pegs
Tuning peg
A tuning peg is used to hold a string in the pegbox of a stringed instrument. It may be made of ebony, rosewood, boxwood or other material. Some tuning pegs are ornamented with shell, metal, or plastic inlays, beads or rings....
, secondly, by carefully shifting tuning-beads for micro-tuning and thirdly, by even more careful shifting of the cotton threads that pass between the strings and the bridge, somewhat just before the zenith of its curve.
Typical of jivari is a bridge-string setup with a very flat parabolic curve supporting the strings and sloping away from under them. When a string is plucked, it will make a periodic and regular grazing contact with the bridge's surface, which will gradually shift up the sloping surface to zero as the amplitude
Amplitude
Amplitude is the magnitude of change in the oscillating variable with each oscillation within an oscillating system. For example, sound waves in air are oscillations in atmospheric pressure and their amplitudes are proportional to the change in pressure during one oscillation...
decreases. The desired effect is that of a rainbow of sound in a single tone. In this sense, it is similar to the refraction of white light
Refraction
Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. It is essentially a surface phenomenon . The phenomenon is mainly in governance to the law of conservation of energy. The proper explanation would be that due to change of medium, the phase velocity of the wave is changed...
through a prism
Prism (optics)
In optics, a prism is a transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. The exact angles between the surfaces depend on the application. The traditional geometrical shape is that of a triangular prism with a triangular base and rectangular sides, and in colloquial use...
. The making of a perfectly sounding jivari requires a very high degree of skill and expertise.
To simply state that the tanpura supplies the drone in the tonic key of the performers is accurate insofar that it is an understatement: the tanpura-accompaniment is the "alpha et omega" of melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
, or rather, raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
s. In the hands of masters the tanpura will reveal the precise tonal shade perfectly suited for the chosen raga that will be played or sung.