Resonance of original acoustic Saraswati Veena comes from pure Jackwood, the grains of which absorb the prana shakthi (life-force energy) transmitted by the player.
Electric 'Veena' used by magnetic mike depends on mike system for its sound (due to the magnetic mike's inablity and incompetence in picking up Jackwood which absorbs the life-force energy of the player) and that too only in terms of volume while failing to convey the true tone of Veena.
Smaller size electric Veenas are used (the veena dandi is so small that the frets are narrowed down offering scope for super-fast left hand movements) for gimmickry. The player exploits the abnormalities provided by the smaller size Veena in playing crazy speeds very easily (which is restricted on the normal sized Saraswathi Veena).
In the absence of integrity in clearly distinguishing between acoustic and electric Veenas ( like in the case of electric and acoustic guitars), today,it has become the responsibilty of a Veena lover to distinguish between an acoustic and electric Veena. An electric 'Veena' player uses the abnormal facilties provided by an electric 'Veena' to his/her advantage for example by a)producing sound through left hand alone and without plucking with right hand or b) rendering incredibly speed/fast/jump notes on a small sized electric Veena. Such perks are offered by the electric 'Veena' and often misinterpreted as player's expertise in instrumental technique.
Similarly an acoustic Veena's lack of artificial smoothness like that of an electric Veena apart from certain natural imperfections like external noises and hand movements (fret noises) are purely instrumental features and not to be considered as flaws in the rendition of the acoustic Veena player.
The above artifacts belong to the period of Mahabharatha. Likewise the original Saraswathi Veena is from the ancient era and vedic times. They are meant to look and sound rustic. They are not processed.
In simplified terms it's pulihara/puliyodarai versus pizza.
(About tantriks to be continued in Saraswati Veena-18)
No comments:
Post a Comment