How the ancient veena makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the ancient veena belongs to the harps: strings run at an angle away from the soundboard, each plucked open.
More broadly it is one of the chordophones (string instruments), where sound comes from vibrating strings, amplified by a resonating body.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
The ancient veena is an early Indian arched harp, not to be confused with the modern Indian veena which is a type of lute or stick zither. Names of specific forms of the arched harp include the chitra vīṇā with seven strings, the vipanchi vīṇā with nine strings and the mattakokila vīṇā a harp or possibly board zither with 21 strings.
The instrument is attested on a gold coin of the Gupta Empire from the mid-300s CE. The instrument was also illustrated in the oldest known Saraswati-like relief carvings, from Buddhist archaeological sites dated to 200 BCE, where she holds a harp-style veena.
Other harps
Frequently asked questions
What does an ancient veena sound like?
As one of the harps, its sound comes from the way strings run at an angle away from the soundboard, each plucked open.
What type of instrument is the ancient veena?
It is classified as harps (Hornbostel–Sachs 322.11).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q4752984 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Ancient veena – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Unknown, the museum marked the image as public domain – CC0 1.0