I live in the middle of nowhere. Almost no musical scene, and jazz is not alive or kicking here. I want to learn an exotic instrument for fun, however. I am torn between a violone or viola da gamba, a surbahar, a sitar, or some other exotic/unusual instrument. Maybe even a Chapman Stick. Anyone have any reccomendations?
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Learning an Exotic Instrument
- Thread starter PRUNEFACE
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Try a tin whistle also known as penny whistle,vertical flute,and a hell of a lot of fun!Small enough to take any where you can play anything on them and to start off they dont cost much.Although a custom 2 piece one is $$$.Also look at a low d whistle but i would start on tin whistle first.
bongomania
Commercial User
One thing to be aware of with Eastern instruments like the sitar and tabla is that they are not for dabblers. I mean, you can have fun twanging away mystically, but to play them properly requires a pretty intense degree of cultural immersion and rigorous study. Most non-Indians won't actually go that far--so you end up in this place where you can impress stoned chicks by saying "I play sitar", but you better hope nobody knowledgeable is listening. 
So I would tend to steer you toward instruments that don't have quite so much cultural baggage.
So I would tend to steer you toward instruments that don't have quite so much cultural baggage.
Viola da gamba is interesting, you can try out some modern low tension steel strings and you dont even have to use the traditional bow.
Playing a bowed instrument opens up your playing options over a pizz only instrument.
Playing a bowed instrument opens up your playing options over a pizz only instrument.
I am actually wanting to learn to speak Hindi and/or Sanskrit so I am interested greatly in Indian culture (on top of enjoying their music in many situations.) I am also becoming greatly interested in Buddhism (more specifically Tibetan style Buddhism) -so are there any instruments that have an important role in Buddhism? (I don't think there are but I would like to know.)
Stick_Player
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- Nov 13, 2009
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bongomania
Commercial User
Not much for Buddhism. They have bells, drums, horns, and flutes, but those are not really for "making music with". Of course countless new-agers have made "Buddhist music" that incorporates those traditional sounds, but mostly that's played on keyboards and MIDI guitars.
i agree with what's been said about classical indian music, you either do it seriously or not at all. in any case, you'd have to learn directly from a teacher and that's probably not an option for you. but, you could learn bansuri (bamboo flute) just for your own uses. idk about buddhism, but it certainly has ties to hinduism. beautiful instrument when played well.
from japan, you could learn shakuhachi or shamisen
on the european side, there's folk harp and hammered dulcimer
last year i started playing nay, the reed flute used across the arabic region (or ney in turkey, slightly different instruments). i can't really comment on how effective any published instructional material is, again it's something you typically 'learn by example' from a teacher. you might also have fun with ud, or qanun if you can find one.
or you could learn to overtone sing. won't cost you anything...
from japan, you could learn shakuhachi or shamisen
on the european side, there's folk harp and hammered dulcimer
last year i started playing nay, the reed flute used across the arabic region (or ney in turkey, slightly different instruments). i can't really comment on how effective any published instructional material is, again it's something you typically 'learn by example' from a teacher. you might also have fun with ud, or qanun if you can find one.
or you could learn to overtone sing. won't cost you anything...
I tried shakuhachi - a japanese flute. It was really hard. You have to make the size of the 'blow hole' with your lip and the edge of the flute, and then blow at just the right speed. I was told, three years to earn to play and three years to learn to make the right tone.
It's considered a 'buddhist' instrument, because you can meditate on it's hollowness, and emptying yourself. The cheap ones on eBay are 'for meditation only' -- meaning they don't actually make western (or Japanese) intervals between notes. I heard stories about people attaching the souls of, well, demons, to particular instruments, but I think that's part of Japan's animistic religion. The man who was kind enough to let me learn to play on his spare shakuhachi actually was a reformed Buddhist who played Christian hymns. Beautiful instrument in the hands of a master. I almost passed out trying to make a sound with it, but eventually succeeded.
It's considered a 'buddhist' instrument, because you can meditate on it's hollowness, and emptying yourself. The cheap ones on eBay are 'for meditation only' -- meaning they don't actually make western (or Japanese) intervals between notes. I heard stories about people attaching the souls of, well, demons, to particular instruments, but I think that's part of Japan's animistic religion. The man who was kind enough to let me learn to play on his spare shakuhachi actually was a reformed Buddhist who played Christian hymns. Beautiful instrument in the hands of a master. I almost passed out trying to make a sound with it, but eventually succeeded.
bongomania
Commercial User
True, and those are the instruments of the Sufis, whom you may also want to study if you already hanker toward Buddhism and Hinduism.
Also true, and a lot of fun! I throat-sing, and it is a great bit to whip out at parties and jams.
to some extent yes, but the sufi associations are primarily from the mevlevi's which are a turkish group. rumi described the ney's sound as 'the heart's wailing due to separation from god.'
turkish ney's are typically larger bore, have a detachable carved mouthpiece, and have flute sizes two steps below the lowest arabic version. the playing style is very mellow and legato
arabic nay's are smaller bore and sound considerably brighter. where turkish ney's excel in the low register, arabic nays sound best in the mid to high registers
persian nay's are physically similar to the arabic ones, but the playing style is different; the end of the flute is put partway into the mouth and air is blown across the top teeth; this is the breathiest sounding version.
i'd be wary about buying a flute off amazon or whatnot, but there's some private sellers out there. you're looking at $100-200 for a decent flute. EDIT: o yea, D is the standard key for arabic, D C or Bb is good for turkish
- Jun 2, 2010
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Chapman Stick.
Buy used. Waiting for a new instrument could be near 2 years.
Actually, wait times are just 6 months or so these days, depending on what you order.
Happy Tapping,
Greg
ouds are pretty rockin'. at least you're playing it kinda like a guitar.
the same rules apply though, to do it right you need to learn non-western scales and theory, including this weird ambiguous third thing.
from what i understand, the notes we're hearing that sound "out of tune" are not, they're precisely in tune, but to a different scale.
the same rules apply though, to do it right you need to learn non-western scales and theory, including this weird ambiguous third thing.
from what i understand, the notes we're hearing that sound "out of tune" are not, they're precisely in tune, but to a different scale.
