Tambura or Tanpura

Tambura is a type of a stringed instrument. It is a long-necked Indian lute, which is unfretted and round-bodied. It has derived its name from the Persian word Tanbur.

It possesses three different styles which are chosen according to the preference of the performers. This Indian musical instrument contains the vital element of music, drone. The harmonic or monophonic effect is continuously sounded throughout the piece, sustained or repeated, which establishes a tonality upon which the rest of the piece is built. 

The name `tanpura` is believed to have derived from `tana` that refers to a musical phrase and pura which means "full" or "complete". Thus the tanpura is an instrument which supports and sustains the melody by providing a dynamic harmonic resonance field based on one precise tone, the basic note or key-note. Tanpura or Tambura works on the principle of jivari. 

The Tambura is also commonly known as tanpura, whose neck is hollow, with four or five wire strings. The strings are plucked one after another in a regular pattern to create a tonic resonance field. In the Hindustani classical music, the tambura comes in different sizes: bigger "males" and smaller "females". The male instrument has an open string length of one metre; the female is sized down to 3/4. This Indian musical instrument is available with standard tuning. This instrument produces rich buzzing sound and is applied in order to attain the overtone-rich sound. 

The Tambura is designed in three different styles namely Miraj Style, Tanjore Style and Tamburi Style. Each style features different shapes as well as varied working pattern. 

The styles of Tambura are described as: 

Miraj Style :

It is the favourite form for Hindustani performers. Miraj style is usually available between three to five feet in length, with a well-rounded resonator plate (tabali) and a long, hollow straight neck. The round lower chamber to which the tabli and the neck (dandh) are fixed is actually a selected and dried gourd (tumba). 

Tanjore Style :

It is a south Indian style of tambura, which is used widely by Carnatic music performers. It has a different shape and style of decoration, but is otherwise much the same size as the Miraj style. Typically, no gourd is used, but the spherical part is gouged out of a solid block of wood. The neck is somewhat smaller in diameter. 

Tamburi Style :

This style is much more popular recently, due to its small size and portability. It is two to three feet long, with a shallow resonator and a slightly curved tabali. It has about four to six strings. The small five-string tamburi are tuned to the higher octave and are the preferred instruments for providing the drone for solo-performances by string-playing artists.