Veena In Me: What is a Veena?

So, you've made your way to this blog titled 'Veena In Me', but what is a Veena?

Here's the blog's first post explaining the instrument and how it works...

A Veena

A 'Veena', more specifically in this case, 'Saraswati Veena' is a string instrument.

Physically speaking, the Veena holds four main strings and three pitch strings, amounting to seven strings. It is played by plucking the strings with our right hand (index and middle fingers) and simultaneously moving our left hand (index and middle fingers, again) over the frets.

Plucking the strings using your right hand

Moving your left hand over the frets

One striking feature about a Veena is that the frets are laid on a wax frame, unlike most string instruments.

While the instrument is being made, semisolid wax is poured over the Veena and molded to hold the frets.

Frets resting on wax frame

As you pluck the string, the sound vibrates in a large, hollow spherical box, which is often decorated. It rests on a small sphere, usually made of fiber or tin.

Tin/Fiber base

Large hollow vibrating box

To play the Veena, you must sit down, preferably on the floor or any flat surface and place the small sphere on your left thigh and slant the instrument down, such that the vibrating box rests on the ground. Next, you place your left hand around the frets and right hand on the strings and let the melody come alive!

Sitting down and playing it

To tune the instrument, you have to set the first and third strings to 'E' and the second and fourth to 'B'. Tuning can be done by turning the keys manually, very similar to a guitar.

Some traditional Veenas don't come with keys and have circular, rotating objects which hold the strings around them. You basically have to turn them, like the keys.