METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING A DETACHABLE VEENA

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention generally relates to a method of constructing a detachable veena. More specifically, the invention relates to a method of constructing a compact detachable veena using any material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The saraswathi veena is a south Indian lute. Veena is said to have originated from the instrument yazh which is an ancient harp. Saraswathi veena ranged from one string to one hundred and comprised of many different materials like eagle bone, bamboo and coconut shells. The current form of saraswathi veena comprising of 24 fixed frets, evolved in Thanjavur during the reign of Raghunath Nayak, TamilNadu and hence the possible reason for it to be called the Tanjore veena. The saraswathi veena comprises of a kudam or resonator, wax based amalgam on which the metal frets are set moulded onto two horizontal wooden slats (commonly referred to as the fret board) that rests on a long hollow wooden neck called the dandi, 24 frets, bridge, tail-bridge/ meru, nagapasha, string tightening area, 7 tuning pegs used for tightening the strings, 7 strings out of which 4 are main playable strings and the other 3 are strummed on for rhythm, yazhi and a surakkai or resting base. The resonator is the part of the veena from where sound emanates. The dandi is an extension of the wooden resonator using a long wooden base on which the fretboard with 24 frets are set using wax and a mixture of various other materials.

The resonator and dandi are made from jackwood. Normally the resonator and the dandi are made from a single piece of wood. In some cases the resonator and the dandi are made as two separate pieces and joined with resin or glue. The frets are made from metal. The bridge and meru are made from wood as well. The top of both the bridge and the meru where the strings come into contact have metal plates glued onto the wooden bridge and meru, The tail-bridge is made of a curved metal strip the bottom of which rests on the top-plank and the top of which rests against the main bridge. The meru is set on the extreme left (that is the fret board side) of the veena and the bridge is set on the extreme right (that is on the resonator side) of the veena. The string tightening area between the meru and the yazhi has four pegs for tightening the four main strings. There are three pegs set onto the side of the instrument at the dandi facing the player for tightening the side strings. The four main strings run from one end which is tied to the nagapasha or serpant's grip over the top of the bridge on one side across the fretboard and over the meru to the string tightening area on the other side. These four main strings are depressed, manipulated and pulled with the left hand to make contact with any of the frets that are embedded on the fretboad, to produce different musical notes while the strings are set in vibration by plucking with the right hand.

The other three strings called taalam strings located on the side of the fret board are only strummed with the right hand usually for purposes of maintaining rhythm or for musical effect. The 3 side strings run from one end tied to the nagapasha over the side-bridge to the 3 pegs on the dandi or body of the veena. The tuning of the four main strings and the three taalam strings are accomplished individually through the use of seven coarse tuning pegs and as many fine tuning sliders. The main strings and the taalam strings are individually tuned to correspond to a selected pitch by the player of the instrument. A specific fixed relationship exists between the pitch of each main string and the taalam strings. The traditional veena has been constructed in various shapes and forms. However, its basic identity is established by the presence of a wax fret board which rests on a long hollow wooden dandi, a hemispherical hollow wooden sound resonator (kudam) attached to it on one end and a conical hollow gourd shaped support (surakkai) towards the other end. The fret board consists of 24 frets, which are embedded on either end in a proprietary composition of wax, charcoal and other ingredients and set at various accurately determined positions along the length of the fretboard to produce the sequence of musical notes of Indian music.

The veena is payed by an artiste by depressing any of the strings with the left hand fingers to make contact with the frets while plucking the same string with a right hand finger over the sound resonator. Additionally, the artiste can simultaneously pull the string sideways in a transverse direction with the left hand fingers to increase the tension of the string and thereby increase the pitch of the vibrating string, the extent of this transverse deflection only being limited by the physical strength of the artiste as well as the width of the fret board. In order to achieve an optimal playing comfort as well as tonal quality of the vibrating strings, a specific gauge and tension of each string needs to be used on the instrument for a chosen sruthi of the instrument. Once selected and fitted on the instrument, the instrument cannot be tuned to any other sruthi beyond a 'semi-tone' apart in either direction without degradation in performance. It is therefore desirable to provide a solution to address at least one of the foregoing problems associated with the conventional and currently used veena.

OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION

1. The primary object of the present invention is to provide a compact, eeo-friendly, custom made and cost effective veena.

2. It is another object of the present invention to improve sound quality of the instrument.

3. It is yet another object of the present invention wherein kudam, surakkai and yazhi can be detached from the main instrument enabling it for easy transportation.

4. It is another object of the present invention to prevent frequent repair as the fret board is made of any material including thermoplastic or engineering plastic.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of constructing a veena particularly a detachable veena. The method comprises of yazhi, kudam and the surrakkai which can be detached from the main instrument. The detachable veena further comprises of a fret board made of thermoplastic or engineering plastic and not wax onto which the 24 metal frets are set. The method present invention further comprises of a tuning peg machine head box wherein the tuning pegs are set on the right side of the veena unlike the conventional wooden veena where it is set on the left side of the instrument. This original design innovation improves aesthetics apart from increasing structural stability, enabling compacting the overall dimensions of the instruments, besides improving the sound quality of the instrument.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS:

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described hereinafter with reference to the following drawings, in which;

Fig 1 shows the playable side of the detachable veena

Fig 2 shows the non playable side of the detachable veena

Fig 3 shows a diagonal view of the playable side of the detachable veena

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the disclosure herein, consideration or use of a particular element number in a given FIG. or corresponding descriptive material can encompass the same, an equivalent, or an analogous element number identified in another FIG. or descriptive material corresponding thereto.

Fig 1 shows the playable side of the detachable veena 100. As illustrated in Figure 1, the detachable veena 100 comprises of a removable yazhi 10, a removable surakkai 15 and a removable kudam 20, Placed above the removable yazhi 10, removable surrakai 15 and a removable kudam 20 is a single piece 25 made from any of the following: natural material such as any type of wood, Composite materials made out of Fibre and resin combinations. Fibres can be natural or synthetic - more particularly glass fibre, carbon fibre, aramid fibre, boron fibre, nylon fibre, jute fibre, sisal hemp fibre along with any of the resins including isophthallic or bisphenol or Vinyl or Vinyl superior; Polymers either thermoplastic or thermoset and more particularly from any one of U-poly vinyl chloride/ ABS, polyethylene, PET, polyoxy methylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, poly vinylidene fluorde or bakelite. Moreover, the moulding ofthe materials can be made by several methods such as handmoulding and vacuum moulding.

The single piece 25 tapers from 50 to 30 inches and comprises of the meru 30, fret 35, fret board 40, rhythm and drone tuning pegs 45, rhythm and drone tuning pegs head box 50, tuning peg/machine heads 55, tuning pegs/machine head box 60, bridge 65 and strings 70. The meru 30 is made of any metal with a length approximately between 60mm-140mm; width 65mm and thickness 2.5mm-4mm on the string entrance side and 5mm on the side over which the string passes. Two sheets of metal are welded with specific length, width and thickness as above to form the meru 30. The meru 30 is positioned on the opposite side of the bridge 65 on the fretboard 40 and above the resting base. The meru 30 has eight holes, four on top and four at the bottom on the non playing side of the detachable veena 100 intended as the anchoring points of the main strings at this end of the instrument. There are four shallow grooves cut into the top surface of the meru 30 for the main strings to pass over.

The fret 35 comprises of a rod of any kind of metal which is buffed and polished. The rod length of each fret 35 is 55mm-75mm and thickness is 2mm-6mm. The frets 35 are twenty four in number and are non-adjustable. The metal frets 35 do not need re-fretting or fret adjustments because they are set to the desired tonal positions using a permanent fixture like metal/plastic glue on thermoplastic or engineering plastic which cannot be adjusted once set. This innovative method of fixing eliminates wax used traditionally, which its inherent material characteristics of being brittle, soft and malleable, due to which the frets can easily fall out of tune more often due to changes in temperature resulting in the need for frequent adjustment of fretting and re-fretting of the instrument due to its inability to withstand drastic thermal change. This original and innovative solution lastingly solves this problem apart from improving the sound quality of the instrument.

The frets 35 are arranged on the fret board 40. The length of the fret board 40 is approximately 20 to 30 inches; width 50mm to 70 mm; height 1.5 inches. The frets 35 are fixed onto the fret board 40 as above at previously established tonal intervals and the intervals between frets are scalloped. The tuning pegs 45 for the side strings are arranged inside the side string tuning peg box 50. The tuning peg/machine heads 55 are arranged inside the tuning peg/machine head box 60. The tuning peg/machine heads 55 is placed on the side of the detachable veena 100 closer to the musician. This arrangement utilizes the full length of the veena for payability. The tuning peg/machine head 55 are radically set and the strings 70 are tightened using the tuning peg/machine head 55. The bridge 65 comprises of a thermoplastic block of 30-100mm length, 20-70mm width and height of 25-50mm on which is embedded and fixed with adhesive a metal rod of 3-10mm diameter cut into 30-100mm length. The metal rod and bridge 65 supports the main strings stretched over the frets 35. The bridge rod 65 has four grooves cut on its top surface for the strings to pass over. Fastening of the individual parts of the instrument will be accomplished by any of the following methods depending on the location, nature and material of the individual parts that are being joined,

Three types of individual joining are proposed in the instrument

• Metal to metal part

• Metal to Non-metal part

• Non-metal to Non-metal part

Metal to metal fastening is normally achieved by screw joints, rivets, simple folding or welding. Metal to non-metal attachments will be carried out by screw joints, adhesive bonding, clinching and clamping as appropriate Non-metal to non-metal parts is joined by adhesive bonding, clinching, clamping and Force locking or form-locking joints. In certain parts direct bonding leading to permanent fastening are also employed, Clamping arrangements are employed for easy detachment and several types of clamps have been tested and used. Most common being polyaxial ball and socket types (Poppit, Snaploc etc [Registered Brands], tongue and groove, press fit types or any other self clinching fasteners. To increase the life of the joint, suitable metal covers may be provided to non-metallic parts where holes are drilled for the sake of fastening. Fig 2 shows the non playable side of the detachable veena 200. Figure 2 gives a clear illustration of the detachable veena 200 comprising of a removable yazhi 210, a removable surrakai 215 and a removable kudam 220, Fig 3 shows a diagonal view of the detachable veena 300. As illustrated in Figure 3, the detachable veena 300 comprises of seven strings 310 wherein four strings are main strings 315 and the other three are taalam strings 320, The main strings 315 are stretched over the frets supported over the meru and bridge. The main strings 315 allow the player to select various notes of the instrument. The taalam strings 320 are arranged as previously described on the instrument.

The above described detachable veena are only exemplary and the method of constructing a detachable veena can be applied to any material or metal of different forms, shapes and sizes. The materials used as described above can be any one of the following: natural material such as any type of wood, any form of metal, Composite materials made out of Fibre and resin combinations. Fibres can be natural or syntheitc - more particularly glass fibre, carbon fibre, aramid fibre, boron fibre, nylon fibre, jute fibre, sisal hemp fibre along with any of the resins including isophthallic or bisphenol or Vinyl or Vinyl superior; Polymers either thermoplastic or thermoset and more particularly from any one of U-poly vinyl chloride, ABS, polyethylene, PET, polyoxy methylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, poly vinylidene fluorde or bakelite. Moreover, the moulding ofthe materials can be made by several methods such as handmoulding and vacuum moulding The detachable veena is unique for its durability and the weight factor. It is fully detachable and portable and independent of any repair. The fretting is permanent and unaffected by thermal changes. The rearrangement of the machine heads or pegs from the left side of the instrument (near the yazhi) to the right side (on the resonator or kudam) helps structural stability and reduces unusable areas of the instrument. This veena is mainly designed for portability and ease of transport without sacrificing aesthetics or tonal qualities. The examples described above in association with the figures are only exemplary and the method of constructing a detachable veena can be custom made. The method of constructing a detachable veena can be applied to designs and sizes differing from what are shown in the figures.

I Claim:

1. A method of constructing a detachable veena in any material like wood, any form of metal and/or thermoplastic or engineering plastic or thermoset, comprising:

- bonding of acrylic block with a metal rod leading to the formation of the bridge;

- welding together a plurality of sheets of any metal or metals leading to the formation of meru;

- buffing and polishing of material comprising of various length, width and thickness leading to the formation of frets, and forming of scalloped fret board of thermoplastic or engineering plastic wherein the frets are permanently affixed with metal/plastic paste or glue; and

- positioning of the tuning pegs/machine head box wherein the said tuning pegs/machine head box comprises of the tuning pegs on the extreme right end of the playable side veena;

2. A method of constructing a detachable veena as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said veena comprises of detachable part of the kudam, surakkai and yazhi.

3. A method of constructing a detachable veena as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said fret boards comprises of 24 permanently set frets, wherein no periodic re-setting or adjustment due to thermal changes or continuous use is required.

4. A method of constructing a detachable veena as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said fret boards are detachable and are made of any materials such as natural material, glass fiber, carbon fiber, aramid fiber, boron fiber, nylon fiber, jute fiber, sisal hemp fiber along with any resin and polymers comprising of thermoplastic or engineering plastic.

5. A method of constructing a detachable veena as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said bridge incorporates the anchoring points for the rhythm or talam strings obviating and rendering unnecessary a separate tail-bridge.

6. A method of constructing a detachable veena as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said tuning pegs increases structural stability and reduces the total length of the instrument.

7. A method of constructing a detachable veena as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said parts of the veena comprises of any material or metal.

8. A method of constructing a detachable veena as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said veena is fully detachable and portable.

9. A method of constructing a detachable veena as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said veena is crafted in wood, any form of metal or moulded by hand or vacuum moulded or other type of moulding in any thermoset.

10. A method of constructing a detachable veena as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said veena is custom made or mass produced.