Benju
Encyclopedia
A benju is a type of dulcimer
fitted with a keyboard, commonly used in the music of Balochistan and Sindh. The instrument is believed to have migrated to the region from Japan
some 100 years ago.
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It is about 1 meter long, 10 –12 cm wide and the soundbox is about 5 cm high. It has 6 strings. Strings 1 & 2 and 5 & 6 are used as bordun strings and tuned to the tonic and the fifth or fourth. In relative pitch C and G or F. The middle strings 3 & 4 are tuned unison to F or G. They are fretted and can be shortened by pressing down the metal keys. The scale is chromatic from G to A, B flat or B. The right hand plays the strings by using a wooden or plastic plectron, the left hand is fingering the keys. The sound is very close to a dulcimer. The original Japanese version is called Taishōgoto
, which is a little bit smaller. The german version is known as Akkordolia.
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The best known player is Abd-ur-Rahmân Surizehi, now living in Norway.
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The benju is played mainly as a solo instrument accompanied by dholak and tamburag. Sometimes it is combined with sorud.
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In India you can find a similar instrument called Bulbul tarang
. The latter is often equipped with a piano-like keyboard.
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The Indian bulbul tarangs are often electrified as are some balooch benjus too.
Appalachian dulcimer
The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...
fitted with a keyboard, commonly used in the music of Balochistan and Sindh. The instrument is believed to have migrated to the region from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
some 100 years ago.
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It is about 1 meter long, 10 –12 cm wide and the soundbox is about 5 cm high. It has 6 strings. Strings 1 & 2 and 5 & 6 are used as bordun strings and tuned to the tonic and the fifth or fourth. In relative pitch C and G or F. The middle strings 3 & 4 are tuned unison to F or G. They are fretted and can be shortened by pressing down the metal keys. The scale is chromatic from G to A, B flat or B. The right hand plays the strings by using a wooden or plastic plectron, the left hand is fingering the keys. The sound is very close to a dulcimer. The original Japanese version is called Taishōgoto
Taishōgoto
The , or Nagoya harp, is a Japanese stringed musical instrument. The name derives from the Taishō period when the instrument first appeared.-Construction:...
, which is a little bit smaller. The german version is known as Akkordolia.
-
The best known player is Abd-ur-Rahmân Surizehi, now living in Norway.
-
The benju is played mainly as a solo instrument accompanied by dholak and tamburag. Sometimes it is combined with sorud.
-
In India you can find a similar instrument called Bulbul tarang
Bulbul tarang
A bulbul tarang literally "waves of nightingales", alternately Indian banjo is a string instrument from India and Pakistan which evolved from the Japanese Taishōgoto.The instrument employs two sets of strings, one set for drone, and one for melody...
. The latter is often equipped with a piano-like keyboard.
-
The Indian bulbul tarangs are often electrified as are some balooch benjus too.