The
Sarod is an Indian lute with fretless metal finger board.
Next to the Sitar, the Sarod is the most well-known
and most important Indian stringed instrument of classical
northern Indian music. Particularly Sarod players such
as Ali Akbar Khan have made the Sarod known beyond the
borders of India in the west.
Construction
and character of the Sarod
With high-quality instruments the resonance body, the
neck and the peg box are made from one single piece
of wood. The type of wood that is used is mostly tun
or teak wood. Simpler and more inexpensive Sarods are
composed of two parts. Here, the peg box is put on separately.
The wooden body, that is covered with goatskin, has
a thin horn bridge across which the strings are running.
The fingerboard on the neck consists of a polished,
shiny steel plate and does not have any frets. The Sarod
has a second soundbox made of brass which is fixed to
the top end of the neck. It has both, playing strings
and drone strings. The playing strings are fingered
or plucked, the drone strings are vibrating at the same
time, but are not struck themselves, and produce an
echo-like effect.
Playing
technique of the Sarod
The playing strings of the Sarod are struck or plucked
with a pick made of coconut shell while the instrument
is placed on the lap, sitting cross-legged. This special
kind of pick and the striking technique that is used,
make a wide range of differentiated rhythmic striking
variations possible. The strings are not pressed onto
the fingerboard with the fingertips like in violin playing
for example, but with the tip of the fingernail. In
this way the typical metallic echoing sound of the Sarod
is produced. This is intensified by a continuous gliding
of the fingernail along the string on the fretless fingerboard.
Thus the ornaments and micro-intervals are produced
that are so typical and essential in Indian music.
