Identify this Instrument!

[Psyre]

The box like accordian being played, does it have a specific name? Can't find anything like it!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZwzwxA-Sqs[/youtube]

Maybe a better view

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz4voHJGP_k[/youtube]

[Chankgeez]

Shruti box

[dubkitty]

Indo-Pakistani harmonium

[Psyre]

Indo-Pakistani harmonium

BOOM!



Those are equally cool though for sure Chank!

Thanks you 2

[dubkitty]

[IEatCats]

I love that album. I was wondering what that was too, but I figured it was just an Air Pump Organ.

Thanks dubkitty!

[Chankgeez]

Indo-Pakistani harmonium

Good call, I didn't bother to take close enough a look. Sorry for my shoddiness.

Probably because I prefer the instrument the harmonium is supplanting:

[bigchiefbc]

Indo-Pakistani harmonium

jrmy and I went and saw ohsojayadeva perform his kirtan set in Providence a month or two ago, and he played one of these. It sounded amazing.

[kbit]

Harmoniums are awesome. I'm trying to convince one of my music professors to give me her old one since it's slightly broken.

[bugzaney]

i've been lusting after harmoniums for too many years. if only i was a krishna.

[Psyre]

I see amazon has some blemished ones at $200, from what I gather they play in weird keys and typically are meant to be played alone because of that, I wonder how hard it is to use in a band setting, it just adds an awesome sounding ambient like filling that I totally dig.

[Thomas2508]

The Black Angels use one from time to time.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfWKguze6d0[/youtube]

very cool droning tremolo thing

[The4455]

Shruti box

I have one of these, my mom got it in India in 1986, it is a DRONE instrument for prayer. It can make up to three notes at once, and nine different notes. Each note is controlled by rolling a wheel over and covering/exposing a hole, with reeds in it that determine the pitch. You can make really melodic sounds, or reall dissonant drone noises. I recently used it in a school project to simulate the creepy sounds of a cemetery.

[dubkitty]

the shruti box is also used in some forms of Indian music as a drone instrument in the role otherwise played by the tamboura; John McLaughlin introduces (by first name only!) two women shruti players on live Shakti recordings from the 70s.

[Chankgeez]

I think in certain parts of South India having a single name is not uncommon.