Cool Stuff #4

 Hey Guys! Its so good to be back on here and to talk about some more cool stuff! Were almost there guys, just hang in there! Just think haha, a few more weeks and well be stuffing our faces with some goooooodd food, at least I will be doing that. I am not going to lie, it did take me a long time to figure out what I was going to write about today, so I just decided that I was going to dive deeper into what we have already been learning in class and try to find out some more cool things about all of this stuff. 

For my first cool thing, I wanted to dive deeper into the drone. It sounds super cool and whenever I say it I always think of an actual drone flying over someone's head getting all of these cool videos and everything. But that is no so in this case. This is actually an instrument in Indian classical music (like we didn't already know that though). Anyways, I looked up what the drone was in Indian music and it is a harmonic or monophonic effect where a note is played continuously throughout most of all of a piece. Interestingly enough, it is a vital piece needed in Indian music. There are two drones, there is one where the person is playing the drone so they are plucking its strings, and the other is making a sound without a person playing it or plucking the strings. How is this possible you may ask? Well, when you have two drones side by side and tuned at the same thing, the vibrations from the one drone being played by the player will travel to the other drone that is not being played. The sound is very gentle but you can still here the sound. Down below is a video of what a drone is and you may have to slide to about 2:30 in the video to see the drones making sound side by side.

The second cool thing that I searched about was why do Indian singers and musicians sit when they sing or play an instrument (even in a group setting). Someone in class mentioned that maybe it was because they were rooted to the ground (speaking metaphorically), but I felt like it was something than just that. Oh well, we'll just have to find out though. So when I looked it up, I could not really find anything specific but I did find something. So what I found was that is because it a posture of yoga; therefore it relaxes the body, and the nerves and mind. Not only that but it improves the body posture, blood circulation and provides a stronger heart. I also found that it is a form of exercise, the sitting down and then getting up. An interesting thing that I found is that it makes you more humble as a person... who would have ever known. Down below is a video why they sit on the floor. Even though it doesnt it say anything about singing, I still think they have a connection and the same reason as to why they sit on the floor. 

https://www.indiatimes.com/health/healthyliving/10-reasons-why-the-indian-way-of-sitting-on-the-floor-and-eating-is-good-for-health-252822.html

Lastly, I wanted to know what the tamboura was made from and how it is played. When I saw the name of this instrument I automatically assumed it was going to be like a tambourine, but it is not. It looks like a guitar... or perhaps a banjo. Anyways, it can be made in two different ways actually. In southern India it is made from the wood of a jackfruit tree called jackwood. In Northern India they prefer to make theirs out of a gourd just like the rest of every one else. It is played  by holding it vertically and by plucking its strings while sitting down behind it. Seems pretty cool to me, but it seems more like a mixture of a Quora and and a banjo, but that is just my perspective. So, down below is video of the tamboura being played, Enjoy! 

https://www.britannica.com/art/tambura