Tampura
also known as: tanpura · tambura
Long-necked four- (sometimes five- or six-) stringed lute, played open-string only, plucked in slow continuous rotation. The jīvāḷi cotton thread under each string at the bridge produces the characteristic shimmering overtone (jīvā) that gives the drone its sustain and colour.
Family
Drone string
Role
Drone
Exponents listed
0
Origin
Pan-Indian classical instrument; nearly identical forms used in Hindustani and Carnatic traditions
History & significance
The tampura is the silent foundation of Indian classical music — the reference against which every note in the rāga is heard. Concert tradition assigns the tampura to a junior accompanist or, increasingly, to an electronic drone box (śruti peṭṭi); but the acoustic tampura remains the reference instrument and is still preferred for serious work.
The jīvāḷi (literally 'life-thread') under each string at the bridge is what distinguishes the tampura from a simple drone instrument. By disrupting the normal vibration mode, it introduces a rich set of inharmonic overtones whose beating with each other creates the famous 'living' character of the Indian drone.
In a Carnatic concert
Sets the tonic. The four strings are tuned Pa-Sa-Sa-sa (high-mid-mid-low octave Sa) or, for Sa-Ma ragas, Ma-Sa-Sa-sa. Played throughout the concert without interruption.
Exponents
The tampura is traditionally an ensemble instrument rather than a soloist's vehicle, and the concert canon does not centre on named exponents in the same way the lead melodic instruments do.