Tarhui
TheTarhui is a similar size to to the kemanche tarhu, but with a neck design that is more familiar to Western fingers (narrow at the head end tapering to wider at the bridge). Like the Kemanche Tarhu, the focus of the sound is on the greatest possible range of tone colour variations.
Photographs
or high resolution (200k > 300k)
underneath each image.
MP3 Sound Samples
Tarhui played by Peter Biffin - small Indian
ensemble
Tarhui played by Peter Biffin -
solo
Construction
·
The body is turned on a lathe
from a large block of either a single piece of selected timber, or from
a block created by laminating blocks of solid timber together with contrasting
stripes in between each piece.
·
The neck is carved from one
piece, and is fitted with "pedheds" tuning pegs, which include
a geared machine head in the shaft of the peg . Depending on the aesthetic
design, the fingerboard is sometimes carved as an integral part of the
neck, sometimes as a separate piece of contrasting hardwood glued on.
·
String length is usually either
33cm (same as violin )
·
The instrument on the left
is made from silkwood, the one on the right is walnut. Other timbers that
have been used include red cedar, huon pine, blackwood and silky oak.
Stringing and tuning
Tarhuis
can be made as either 4 or 5 string instruments. The strings used are
either violin, viola or a combination of the two, depending on tuning
requirements. While a tarhui can be tuned in 5ths at violin pitch quite
successfully, the response usually has more distinctive tarhu characteristics
with lower string tension, achieved either by using a lower tension string-set,
or by tuning down. A medium tension set of violin strings can be tuned
as much as a fourth lower and still work very effectively.
The 5 string
configuration uses either a viola string-set with a violin e added on
top, or a violin string-set with a viola c added below.
Price
$4000
Playing Position
Tarhuis are played upright, held either between the knees, or with the spike on the knee, kemanche fashion.
