Learning the bansuri

The bansuri is a simple length of bamboo with a blowing hole and six finger holes, and one of the most expressive instruments in Indian classical music. Here is how to choose one, what its key means, and how to start.

Choosing a flute

Buy from a maker who tunes their flutes for Indian classical music, so that the notes of the lower and middle octaves are in tune with each other. A good flute speaks easily on every note when blown gently, and its Sa holds steady.

The lower a flute's key, the longer it is and the wider apart its holes. A long flute has a deep, rich sound, but stretching the fingers over its holes is hard at first. Many learners start on a shorter flute, and move to a longer one once their fingers are used to covering the holes.

A flute with Sa on E is the size most often played in Hindustani music. The flute in a G or an A is shorter and easier for small hands. Whichever you choose, ask your teacher, if you have one, which size they play: copying them is far easier on the same flute.

How a flute's size sets its Sa

A bansuri is named by its Sa: the note it plays with the top three holes closed. With all six closed it plays Pa of the octave below. So an “E bansuri” plays Sa on E, and every other note of the raga follows from there.

Big bass flutes sit an octave lower, and small flutes an octave higher. The names are the same; only the octave changes.

Every phrase here is recorded with its own Sa. On most plans, play phrases in the key they were recorded in. With Sadhana you can set your flute's Sa on your profile, or just play it and let the site find it: every phrase then plays and is scored in your key.

First exercises

1. Long notes on Sa. Blow gently and hold Sa for as long as it stays steady, then rest and repeat. A steady, clear Sa matters more than anything else at the start.

2. Small steps. Move from Sa to Re and Ga and back, slowly, lifting one finger at a time and keeping each note steady.

3. A raga's ascent and descent. Play the aroha and avaroha of Raga Yaman, slowly, with a tanpura or drone sounding Sa.

4. Copy phrases. Listen to a short phrase and play it back, the way students have always learnt from their guru. The free lesson below starts with a few notes at a time.