[The author is a renowned Indian classical music artist and a pioneer of electronic musical instruments in India . After spending ten years as a designer of aerospace systems, he utilised his knowledge and skills acquired in this high-tech field to set up Radel Electronics Pvt. Ltd to manufacture electronic musical instruments that are widely used all over the world.]

Abstract

Advances in technology have revolutionized all spheres of our lives - the way we work, plan our lives, travel, etc. So, it should not be surprising to hear that Information Technology has also transformed the field of traditional Indian classical music and the perception of artists! Indian classical music, which is divided into two traditional genres, Hindustani and Carnatic^[i], is amongst the oldest forms of music today. But the instruments^[ii] aiding this music form have been evolving and changing through the ages. The fusion of electronics with music has brought us to this exciting new era where electronic musical instruments are becoming preferred aids to assist musicians in their daily practice and performance. Artists, who once considered it below their dignity to take the support of an electronic item instead of relying on their senses, have accepted electronic instruments as tools for enhancing their talents as well as performances. The primary reason for the wide scale acceptance of electronic music instruments into mainstream Indian classical music is because of its tonal quality along with other features like maintenance, convenience, ease of use and value for money. Another major positive point for electronic music instruments vis-à-vis traditional instruments is its uniformity when it comes to quality.

The saying goes “practice makes man perfect” and these electronic instruments allow musicians to practise at their own convenience without having to wait for another person to accompany them as used to happen in the past. Also, having a high-quality instrument as an aid immensely improves the quality and confidence of a performer.

Background

The application of high technology has only recently begun in India . Today there is an environment which is ripe for the spread of electronics into the field of music and music education. Applications as diverse as desktop publishing, electronically assisted education (through audio / video cassettes), radio and television programs, and a host of electronic gadgets are already used as educational aids.

Radel Electronics Pvt. Ltd., situated right in the heart of India's Silicon Valley - the electronics city of Bangalore - has revolutionised the lives of Indian classical musicians through its pioneering work in the past 25 years. Radel has been pioneering the design and manufacture of electronic versions of traditional Indian musical instruments like the electronic tanpura (Saarang)^[iii], electronic surpeti (Dhruva)^[iv], electronic tabla (Taalmala)^[v], electronic lehera (Sunadamala)^[vi], electronic veena^[vii] and now, even a digital veena^[viii]. The design of these products is done completely in-house and the instruments are extremely simple to operate. These products cater to the very precise and artistic needs of a musician and are suitable for use in concerts as well as practice sessions. Highly sophisticated technology used in their design, continuous research and development, and rigorous testing of the products have resulted in the production of sound almost identical to that of the conventional instruments that they simulate.

Electronic instruments manufactured by Radel^[ix]

Saarang Micro IV

 

Digital Veena^[x]

 

Melamala- A unique product in the shape of a clock that displays audio-visually, all the 72 melakarts ragas of Carnatic music

Problems Faced by Musicians which Raised the Need for Electronic Instruments

Instrumental music, along with vocal music and dance, is an important aspect of Indian music. Instruments such as the tanpura, surpeti and tabla were produced by highly skilled artisans using hand tools and labour-intensive techniques. Hence the number of instruments that could be produced in a month was extremely limited. There were no scientific methods of either production or quality control and trained eyes and ears assessed quality and workmanship. A well designed electronic instrument on the other hand allows for mass production using well established machines and processes that also ensure a reasonably uniform quality of performance that is measurable.

Musicians were dependent on the traditional versions of the musical instruments and therefore were also dependent on another person to play them (in the case of tanpura, surpeti and tabla). They were therefore handicapped by not being able to practice at any time of the day or night and for as long as they wished to. Professional musicians rely on the skilled use of their muscles, nerves and bones. Playing an instrument requires finely controlled repetitive motions and often involves working in unnatural postures for extended periods of practice and performance. These demands on the body can result in health problems, while adverse working conditions, such as excessive sound exposure levels, prolonged periods of performance without rest, and inadequate preparation for new and difficult repertoire or instruments may affect the health of musicians of all ages and levels of ability. Studies suggest that around sixty percent of musicians will face career-threatening injuries during their working life.

Electronic versions of the instruments completely eliminated the handicaps of the musicians as well as allowed mass production at affordable costs. Also, the number of electronic surpetis, tanpuras and tablas sold in the last 25 years of their existence could never have been manufactured in their traditional versions. This also goes on to prove that these electronic instruments have prompted more people to learn and perform music.

Evolution of Electronic Instruments

The use of electronics for synthesizing music has not been new. In fact, it started almost four decades ago. However, the progress made in this field in recent times has been phenomenal. This has been possible due to the rapid and revolutionary advances in the field of micro-electronics that has made available the power of ‘micro-computers on a chip’ and digital signal processors at affordable prices. It was natural therefore that the introduction of electronics into Indian classical music did not lag too far behind. Though this has not resulted in the proliferation of a wide range of electronic instruments threatening to push the conventional instruments into oblivion, Indian electronic instruments have just helped our musicians in their practice sessions.

Role of IT in Manufacturing the Instruments

What makes these products unique is the fact that they employ embedded software loaded into advanced state of the art micro-controllers that enables users to even modify or alter some of the features. For instance, the software running inside the Taalmala tabla allows the user to either modify an existing rhythm or create an entirely new one and store it in memory for later use. What is even more fascinating is the fact that improvements in the embedded software can also be reloaded into older instruments thereby upgrading the older versions to new ones with better features. At Radel, the R&D team designs not only the embedded software and hardware, but also the PCBs^[xi], the plastic cabinets and the tunes for production testing.

Micro-controllers are literally computers on a chip with embedded software (referred to as 'firmware') programmed into it by the manufacturer of a product. This software is specially developed to suit a particular application. Hence, it is possible for the same micro-controller to be used as part of a security system or a washing machine or even a musical instrument. It is primarily the embedded software that makes it operate in a particular manner in each of these applications. In the case of a musical instrument, the same micro-controller generates various musical notes of a tanpura or tabla, as the case may be, at various pitch and tempo settings. These digital instruments employ Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) techniques to generate an exact replica of the sounds of the real instrument that they simulate. The development of the embedded software is a time consuming and elaborate process that can sometimes take more than a year or two, since the software has to be developed alongside the hardware.

Improvements in Technology and Products

The major changes in technology over the years were:
1. Use of microprocessors in 1987 involving use of embedded software
2. Use of plastic moulded cabinets in 1995
3. Use of Wave soldering machine and other production jigs and machines in 1995
4. Use of Micro controllers in 1996
5. Use of sampled sound (PCM technology) in 1999 to produce a realistic sound
6. Use of DSP and allied technologies in 2000
7. Change over to key-based controls ( electronics based) rather than potentiometer-based controls ( electro-mechanical based)
8. Change over to SMPS from a transformer-based technology

The resultant improvements in the products were:
1. The creation of the electronic tabla using microprocessors
2. Possibility of programming or editing patterns using micro controllers
3. Capturing and reproducing the sound of the traditional instrument using sampled sound (PCM technology)
4. Increased production due to wave soldering and moulded cabinets - from a monthly production of around 500-700 a month in 1993-94, to about 3000 a month today
5. Better quality and reliability due to advanced technology used in manufacture and quality checks.
6. Drastic improvement in reliability due to change from electro-mechanical controls to key based controls.
7. SMPS made possible the use of these products at any voltage, thus enabling use all over the world without a change-over switch or adaptor. This also made the products much lighter in weight.

Advantages Offered by Electronic Instruments

There are many senior artists who use Radel’s digital tanpuras - Pt Ravi Shankar, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt Jasraj, Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Begum Parveen Sultana, Pt Rajan-Sajan Mishra, Ustad Rashid Khan, Dr M Balamuralikrishna – to name just a few. They not only use Radel products for their practice and concerts but also recommend these products to their students. The traditional instrument was created at a time in history when the technology available was different. Today, the tanpura is difficult to transport, is fragile, requires special skills to pluck it effectively, needs frequent re-tuning and change of strings; and for a pitch that is not close to the optimized one, the entire set of strings need to be changed. In all these respects, the Radel electronic tanpura scores: it is a compact, easy-to-carry box, never needs re-tuning, can be tuned to any pitch and does not need a person to play it. Similarly, the electronic tabla is being used by every musician as an essential part of his daily practice. The obvious advantages are that the musician does not depend on the tabla player's whims and can practice at any time of the day or night for as long as he likes; and even carry it on while traveling and practice wherever he is. The Sunadamala is a boon for tabla artists as they do not have to depend on the harmonium player for practice sessions.

Disadvantages of Electronic Instruments

Electronic replacements for tanpura and tabla have been commercially available for about two decades. The early models could only be accepted with a lot of understanding from the artist, but the more recent models produce sound quite similar to the real things. Both are a great boon for the artist for practice purposes. Electronic tanpuras are also being used in concerts. However, in addition to sound, original acoustic instruments offer much more to the artist. The process of tuning the tanpura is an important subject of observation. It offers the artist a few moments in which to draw within himself, and concentrate only on the sound. This is an essential form of meditation for an artist so that his music may retain its contemplative character.  Also, electronic tanpuras do not need players and hence lack the ‘stage presence’ of the large traditional tanpura.

The case of the tabla is also very interesting. Even a plain rhythm played by a human tabla player is very different from that of an electronic tabla. A tabla player responds to the melody of the performance that he is accompanying by subtle variation of stress, volume and timing. But the electronic tabla cannot respond in this manner by playing such creative interludes.

Application of Electronic Instruments in Other Fields

Apart from the fact that self-playing electronic musical instruments simulate and reproduce the sounds of some of the existing instruments, they can also be used very effectively for teaching and improvement of musical standards. Being very precise in their performance, they provide a very good reference of pitch or tempo depending on the instrument used. This is particularly useful for young students of music and dance since a good foundation in these two aspects would help them in their formative years. These instruments can operate by themselves, allowing students (as well as professionals) to practice for longer hours and at their own convenience. Electronic tanpuras are also being very effectively used for meditation and yogic healing sessions. Some doctors have been advising their patients to meditate with the electronic tanpura in the background to relieve them from mental stress.

The electronic tablas can not only aid vocalists and instrumental artists, but can also be used by students of tabla as a reference for the various tabla rhythms. The taalmala used in conjunction with the electronic lehera enables kathak dancers to achieve the complete ambience required for their practice. The sunadamala is also very useful to composers as it allows them to compose their music piece by piece and re-play it to hear what it would sound like.

The wide use of Indian electronic musical instruments and their frequent usage in concerts has proved that they have established their role in the Indian music scene. The rapid advance in the field of electronics in recent times has opened up many exciting possibilities for new products at affordable prices that were unimaginable until a few years ago.