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Bansuri Flute Question?

Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2021 2:06 pm
by scottie
I see where a bansuri flute is given it's name for the Key it plays in when the top three holes are covered. Now, when playing a native American flute they are tuned in a minor pentatonic scale. Can someone simply explain to me the scale of the bansuri and is the range of a bansuri also a little over an octave in range? Thanks for any info. Considering one for playing western style music here in the U.S. The sound from the bamboo models sounds very mellow.

Re: Bansuri Flute Question?

Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2021 4:56 pm
by jimhanks
I don't play bansuri but my understanding is they are essentially diatonic and have a range over two octaves.

I do play NAF and despite the limited range, a good NAF is almost fully chromatic over its limited range. I play lots of jazz, pop, rock on NAF.

I don't know what you mean by "western style" but I'm sure either can be used for a wide variety of styles if approached correctly.

Re: Bansuri Flute Question?

Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2021 7:15 pm
by glacier
I don't play bansuri for real, but I do own one and from time to time dip into the huge wells of youtube instructional vids to learn a bit of basic raga.

Yes- they are named according to the 3-holes-down pitch.
Holes are bigger than an Irish flute, so half-holing accidentals is more of a viable option than on an Irish flute.
I can pretty comfortably get a 2 octave range from the lowest note (6 holes down, an E) on my A bansuri.
A lower-pitched bansuri might potentially be able to overblow a bit into the 3rd octave (I'm guessing here), but be forewarned if you've got small hands- the finger spread gets pretty wide as you start getting into larger flutes.
As for the scale, starting from 6-holes-down gives a diatonic (major) scale.

Re: Bansuri Flute Question?

Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2021 4:01 pm
by Geoffrey Ellis
A well made bansuri played by a capable player will go several notes into the third octave, much like a conical bore (keyless) wooden flute. And they are also capable of fully chromatic play. Joshua Geisler wrote an excellent book on that subject:http://thechromaticbansuri.com