The been or veena has
always been the instrument of Indian classical music and more precisely
dhrupad, and
was traditionally studied by all dhrupad students until the XIXth
century.
This string instrument does not look like any other. It has
been developed to follow the precision of Indian classical mucic, and the
quality of the long and slow moving (vocal type) glissandos that are so typical
of dhrupad. The duration of the note is incredibly long.
The been is made
of a body, a hollow tube made of teak wood, on which the strings are fixed at
both ends. The bridge is a flat bridge, multiplying the depth of the note's
spectrum.
Metallic frets are disposed on that tube on a slightly angled
axis. They are always movable (fixed by wax or strings) and so can be adapted
for every raga (the notes of the raga are not fixed by equal temperament). Two
resonators made out of pumkins are placed on each side of the instrument, not
far from the two ends of the body.
