Tamboura

"Tamboura'" and related words are used to describe large plucked stringed instruments of the lute family in a geographic swath running from southeastern Europe to the Indian subcontinent. Most commonly the word indicates an Indian instrument between four and five feet long, used in both classical and folk traditions. The tamboura is used in Indian music to provide a drone-- a tone or group of tones that continue resonating in the background for a long period of time while other musical events occur in the foreground. The instrument's ability to produce long-lasting drone tones results from the unique parabolic construction of its bridge (originally from an animal antler or bone) and from silk threads mounted on the strings at certain points in their courses. Perhaps the most prominent Western use of the tamboura has been in the Beatles' "Within You Without You," which provides an excellent example of its characteristic drone sonority.

Percussion Instruments