Gottuvadhyam

Gottuvadyam (Tamil கோடடு வாத்தியம் ) gōṭṭu vādyam, also chitravina, mahanataka vina, is a South Indian, played in a horizontal position long-necked lute with 21 strings and a separate, attached to the neck resonator. It belongs to the group of vinas and is the only stringed instrument in South India, which has similar to the North Indian sitar in addition to the melody strings drone strings. Your fretless strings are shortened as the Hawaiian guitar with a sliding rod in his hand.

Origin

The first literary evidence for vina -called stringed instruments have been handed down from the Vedic period before the middle of the 1st millennium BC. According to the description of an instrument with seven strings, one covered with animal skin body and a neck in the Brahmanas (c. 800-500 BC) vinas were at this time bow harps. During the 1st millennium AD bar zithers appear in pictures as to the bow harps disappear gradually in parallel in India. In music theory work Natyashastra the neunsaitige, played with a plectrum bow harp - vina vipanci of the seven-, plucked with the fingers citra - vina ( chitravina ) is distinguished.

Simple zithers consist of a straight rod through which a string is stretched, and an attached gourd that serves as a musical bow as a resonator. The in Indian folk music played in Odisha one-stringed zither rod Tuila has such a fixed to a rod resonator and corresponds in shape to the Vedic alapina vina, thus differs from the now more common single-stringed lutes spit on the type of ektara.

Should not be confused with the ektara the eka Tantric ( ekatantrika ), although both names with " a string " translate. The mentioned since the 11th century eka Tantric seems to have enjoyed a high esteem, for it was known as Brahma vina and has been associated with the Hindu goddess of music and the arts, Saraswati, in conjunction. The seated player held the eka Tantric right oblique leaning against the chest like a rudra vina, plucking the string with one hand while with the other hand he held a bamboo tube ( kamrika ), which was moved about the string. This Gleittechnik may be much older and can already be seen on a wall relief in cave temple in Ellora No. 21 from the 6th century. The eka Tantric had two special features for sound design: The string ran along the pier on a piece of bamboo, making the sound somewhat noise -like overtones and was. The sonic effect of such a bridge widening ( jivari ) can be heard today, especially in the tanpura. The bamboo tube was on the other model for the sliding rod today. During gottuvadyam and its North Indian counterpart, which is used Vichitra vina

The gottuvadyam probably still with the sirbin from the 16th century with the addition eka Tantric is related. The Telugu poem written by King Raghunatha Nayak Sringara Savitri, who ruled Thanjavur from 1614 to 1635, first mentioned in a Gothic vadyam. The Tamil word is derived from gotu kodu, " rod ", in Tamil and Malayalam means kottu " beat ", which refers particularly to the beating of the drum. Vadyam is generally called " musical instrument ". Gottuvadyam is therefore equipped with a slide bar ( bar at the Hawaiian guitar in the guitar bottleneck ) played a musical instrument. Gottuvadyam and Vichitra vina are relatively modern instruments, which have maintained their shape until the 19th or early 20th century.

The gottuvadyam should not be confused with the rare gettuvadyam (also getchu vadyam ). This long-necked lute is smaller and has two for double wire strings, which are struck rhythmically with two sticks.

Design

The gottuvadyam corresponds in its design of the more popular South Indian Saraswati vina. Sound box ( Kudam, koda ) and neck ( dandi ) usually consist of several parts glued wood from jackfruit tree, rare and expensive are the hollowed out from a piece of wood instruments. The neck is a hollow with a diameter of ten centimeters to about a meter overall length. The slightly arched top is glued. About the fretless bar run five rare six melody strings, there are also three high-sounding drone for the rhythmic accompaniment and more 11-14 sympathetic strings ( tarab ) under the melody strings that terminate at small vortices at the side of the neck. The melody strings, two of which are in pairs tuned in octaves, leading to large wooden pegs on a downward curved pegbox. The gottuvadyam is the only South Indian stringed instrument with sympathetic strings. The second resonator ( svarakai ) is a large calabash, which is attached to underside of neck near the pegbox, so - along with the sound structure - the gottuvadyam horizontal may lie on the ground. It is plucked with two to three picks on the fingers of the right hand. The rod with which the strings are shortened with the left hand ( gottu, kodu or batta ) is made of hard wood, stone, ivory, or water buffalo horn. The latter is now replaced by a better sliding Teflon rod.

The musicians Srinivasa Rao and his son Sakharama Rao (1881-1930) from Thanjavur is credited with having contributed to have gottuvadyam introduced under this name in South India. Sakharama Rao constructed a modified of the tanpura vina with four melody strings and three rhythm, which still had no sympathetic strings. Meanwhile, students Narayana Iyengar (1903-1959) added three more melody strings and twelve sympathetic strings added in an underlying level. He changed the mood by introducing the octave of the first two, with the background color (Sat ) pitched melody strings and the next two strings a fifth higher (degree Pa) also voted in octave steps. The twelve sympathetic strings he put on the web under a jivari to approximate the sound of the tanpura and to make them richer. Developed by Iyengar instrument with 22 strings is now virtually standard, only one melody string is omitted, so gottuvadyams usually have 21 strings.

The musicians N. Ravikiran developed 2001 navachitravina named instrument with electromagnetic pickups and 20 strings, which consists of a flat body with neck and requires no additional resonant body. It produces in the higher elevations clearer sound and is for Jugalbandis (concerts with two or more melody instruments) may be more suitable.

Play

The musician sits cross-legged with the gottuvadyam cross in front of him on the floor. The lack of frets and the rod - Gleittechnik make the instrument difficult to play because the strings already influenced the slightest change in pressure of the rod pitch. Quick melodies are barely playable, the characteristic sound of gottuvadyam caused by elongated vibrating glissandi in slow melodic lines. Be played with a slide bar and the North Indian Vichitra vina and the mohan vina, called by Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, modified by added sympathetic strings, indian guitar.

The gottuvadyam is used in South India as Saraswati vina in classical music for raga compositions. Narayana Iyengar's son, Narasimhan, continued the tradition and made for a further spread in South India. The best known today gottuvadyam player is his son N. Ravikiran (born 1967 ). He claims to a time in Vedic tradition going back line for his instrument and renames it chitravina accordingly. A cousin of his is the gottuvadyam player and singer P. Ganesh. Other known names in South India are Duraiyappa Bhagvatar ( from Thanjavur ), Budalur Krishnamurthy Shastrigal ( 1894-1978/79, who emerged as a singer ), Mannargudi Savithri Ammal ( the first known gottuvadyam - player ), A. Narayana Iyer, MV Varahaswami Gayatri cash tree, Madhavachar and Allam Koteswara Rao ( born 1933 ).