Original artist & licence
All featured acoustic and electronic recordings are by Sankalp Gulati (Freesound account sankalp) and published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Attribution is provided even though the player offers free access. The contributor and Freesound do not endorse this site.
Recordings used
| Approx. original Sa | Pattern | Original recording |
|---|---|---|
| C♯3 · 138 Hz | Pa–Sa–Sa–low Sa | Acoustic Tanpura 4 |
| C♯3 · 138 Hz | Ma–Sa–Sa–low Sa | Acoustic Tanpura 5 |
| A♯3 · 233 Hz | Pa–Sa–Sa–low Sa | Acoustic Tanpura 10 |
| A♯3 · 233 Hz | Ma–Sa–Sa–low Sa | Acoustic Tanpura 12 |
| C♯3 · around 138 Hz | Optional round acoustic, Pa only | Acoustic Tanpura 8 |
Electronic Tanpura (Raagini machine)
The optional Electronic mode plays real recordings of a Raagini electronic tanpura machine, captured through its line output (mono), rather than acoustic strings. The following recordings by Sankalp Gulati are also CC BY 4.0:
- Electronic Tanpura 9 — Pa, ~130.8 Hz (C), balanced EQ.
- Electronic Tanpura 2 — Pa, ~130.8 Hz (C), high-bass EQ.
- Electronic Tanpuar 19 — Ma, ~185 Hz (F♯), balanced EQ.
These are ~33-second excerpts of HQ MP3 previews (first 750001 bytes), not the WAV source masters. The browser decoded each excerpt as mono. We select instrumental loop sections, crossfade the loops and change playback rate to fit your Sa, which also changes the original plucking pace and timbre. The original recordist and Freesound do not endorse this website.
Changes made in the player
We use licensed high-quality MP3 previews rather than original WAV masters. The app selects passages, crossfades when looping, adjusts playback rate to follow the chosen Sa, and offers optional bass EQ and level matching. Changing playback rate changes pitch, pluck pace and timbre together. These are not twelve independently recorded Tanpuras. Authentic Ni recordings and independently variable pluck speed are not included.
Speech and listening limitations
The sources were recorded during musical instrument demonstrations. Incidental speech may remain despite selecting shorter passages. We have not certified every passage as voice-free, nor completed a musician-led sound-quality evaluation. Please treat this as a preview player until that listening QA is finished.
Music theory references
For further reading on acoustic drone construction and tuning, see Tuning the Tanpura and Perceptual, Acoustical, and Musical Aspects of the Tambūrā Drone. The site offers a musical practice reference, not a replacement for individual instruction.