A masterclass in Mumbai tells you more about a hybrid electric guitar that plays Indian classical notes
Sachin Patwardhan with Spanish veena and Amit Tare
It's an interesting energy between sight and sound as you watch a video featuring musician Sachin Patwardhan on YouTube. While he strums an instrument that looks like a guitar, Indian classical notes of Raga Hansadhwani emanate from its strings. That's because the instrument is a Spanish veena, a modified form of the electric guitar conceptualised by Patwardhan, originally a Sarod player and disciple of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. This Thursday, the artiste will introduce Mumbai's music enthusiasts to the instrument, courtesy a masterclass at The True School of Music.
Sachin Patwardhan with Spanish veena
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"The veena is a unique classical instrument, but the term is also used to denote an Indian modification to a western guitar. The instrument, for all practical purposes, is a guitar but classified as a veena in India. For instance, the Mohan veena," shares the artiste, referring to the modified slide guitar developed by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.
Amit Tare
Meanwhile, Patwardhan derived the term Spanish veena from the six-stringed Spanish classical guitar that was modified into a veena. "The instrument plays a range of Indian classical music from aalap, jod and jhalas to gamak, meends and murkis. A standard tuned electric guitar is not conducive to incorporate the whole range," he informs.
For the masterclass, Patwardhan has also collaborated with another musician, Amit Tare, who specialises in acoustic Folk Rock and Western styles of music. "He follows the Spanish format of playing the guitar, while I will be playing Indian Classical music on a Spanish veena.
So, the collaboration will focus on two different soundscapes brought together by a common Spanish thread," he adds.
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