The application and sound, Bheema Tanpura by Mukunda Haveri
© Mukunda Haveri
Welcome to "Bheema Tanpura" web site. If you love Indian Classical Music, you will love this Bheema tanpura synthesizer, now available for all the 3 major mobile operating systems, Android, iOS and Windows. It is an easy to use application, with all the controls available on a single screen.
About the Tanpura
Tanpura provides the background tonal ambiance and reference to a singer or an instrumentalist in Indian Classical music. The instrument is big and unlike many other stringed instruments, characterized by multiple resonance points. Because of this reason, it is hard to perfectly synthesize the sound of tanpura using only one or 2 matched speakers. I have made a modest attempt over the years to analyze the tonal structure and re-synthesize the tanpura sound to a reasonable perceivable resonance using a single speaker. The bheema-tanpura application provides 2 tanpuras with following features....
Properties applied to both the tanpuras..
Main pitch varying between lower A to upper G#, a complete 2 octaves
Fine pitch varying between -100 to +100 from the main base pitch.
A main volume control
Tanpura profile selection
Properties applied to individual tanpuras...
Pluck speed or tempo (in plucks per minute), varying from 60 to 150 PPM
Volume control from 0 to 100
Audio balance, to select left or right channels or a combination
Pluck-style (Basically, number of metered beats in a single cycle)
Many swaras can be fine tuned within some range based on the raaga or an user's preference. All these features can be accessed on a single user interface page.
About the developer
I am a singer trained under Kiraana tradition and was profoundly influenced by Pt Bhimsen Joshi's style of singing. This app, is a tribute to the great personality, Pt Bhimsen Joshi. I thank my mentors, Dr Nagaraja Rao Havaldar and Pt Raghavendra Gudi for their valuable support in developing this application.
I hail from a very traditional family with deep roots in spirituality, literature and music. My ancestors composed songs, taught sanskrit, built temples and my great grand father made couple of tanpuras. In this digital age, I have taken to computing. I am also an electronics engineer with a background of developing many Signal Processing algorithms for wired and wireless communications.
You can reach me here... mukunda@naada.in
OK, Here are reviews...
" Awesome, I am overwhelmed with the performance of this app. "
" Brilliant would be an understatement Guys! This is an absolutely wonderful app."
" Fantastic! The effect and satisfaction of a real Tanpura is now available on your phone thanks to this app! Cannot thank you enough for this. Especially the six-string part"
"Excellent work, I can not say in few word's.... But one word for u.......... Thanks."
"Truly fantastic!! Excellent sound quality"
"Love the sound, Great sound! "
THANK YOU