Venu

The venu is one of the oldest known bamboo flutes, used in Indian classical music traditions. It is a transverse flute, or side-blown aerophone, made typically from bamboo, and is most commonly associated with Carnatic music, the classical music of South India. The venu has been mentioned as far back as the Rigveda, where it was called nadi and tunava. The instrument was a favorite of the Hindu deity Krishna, who is often depicted playing it. In South India, the venu is also known by regional names such as pullanguḻal (Tamil Nadu), oodakuḻal or kurungu kuḻal (Kerala), and koḷalu or muraļi (Karnataka).

History of the Venu

The venu has been a significant part of Indian mythology and culture for millennia, with its history traced back to ancient Vedic texts. Alongside the veena (a stringed instrument) and the human voice, the venu was considered one of the three original instruments of music in Indian culture. The Hindu god Krishna is often depicted playing the venu, emphasizing its importance in Indian folklore. Krishna’s association with the venu, particularly in depictions as Venugopala (Krishna playing the flute), further elevated its status to a divine musical instrument.

Despite its ancient roots, the venu was not a traditional part of classical Carnatic music until the innovations of Shri Sharaba Shastri in the late 19th century and later by Shri T.R. Mahalingam (Flute Mali). The modifications they made included using thicker bamboo, adding extra finger holes, and innovating new playing techniques. These adjustments allowed for the execution of intricate gamakas (ornamental notes) and the nuances that characterize Carnatic music, making the venu a fully capable instrument for this complex art form.

Venu vs. Bansuri

The venu, also known as the Carnatic flute, is distinct from the bansuri, the flute used in North Indian Hindustani music. The bansuri has six playing holes and is typically made of lighter bamboo, while the venu has eight playing holes (and one blowing hole) and uses thicker bamboo, providing a darker, richer tone. The construction differences reflect the needs of the two classical music traditions: the bansuri supports the fluid ornamentations and long glides of Hindustani music, while the venu’s modifications cater to the complex, brisk ornamentations of Carnatic music.

Construction and Types of Venu

The venu is a simple bamboo flute, usually as thick as an adult thumb and about twelve fingers in length. Its size can vary, resulting in different tonal ranges and pitches:

• Material: The venu is made from bamboo, specifically selected for its resonant quality. Traditionally, the flute is made without any metallic or synthetic enhancements.
• Finger Holes: The venu has eight playing holes, allowing a greater range of notes compared to the bansuri, which typically has six.
• Variations: There are 22 common types of venu, each with a different length, pitch, and diameter. Longer venu flutes have deeper tones, while shorter ones produce higher pitches with more intensity. There are also Neo style venu flutes, featuring additional enhancements like a lip plate and up to nine sound holes.

The pitch of a venu depends on its length and diameter. Each flute is marked to indicate its pitch, ranging from the lower octaves (with larger diameters) to higher octaves (with smaller diameters). While some venu flutes are over a meter long, others are more compact, providing a wide variety of musical expressions. Innovative versions like the Double contrabass flute and the Anahat Venu are even longer, reaching up to 12 feet, allowing for unique, resonant tones.

Playing the Venu

To play the venu, the musician sits cross-legged on the floor, holding the flute horizontally. The sound is produced by blowing air across the blowhole, focusing the airstream against the opposite edge of the hole to create vibrations. The musician uses the fingers to open and close the eight holes, which changes the pitch. Typically, the three holes closest to the mouthpiece are played with the middle three fingers of one hand, while the other five are played with the four fingers and thumb of the opposite hand.

The range of the venu extends from approximately G4 to D7, allowing the player to achieve about two and a half octaves. A performer may use several venu flutes of varying lengths to accommodate different tonal centers for each raga or musical scale. Advanced techniques such as overblowing, cross fingering, and finger sliding are used to create the characteristic ornamentations and subtle inflections typical of Carnatic music. The gamakas, or ornamental notes, are crucial to playing Carnatic music on the venu and are traditionally learned under the guidance of a guru.

Venu Playing Techniques

The venu has a rich set of playing techniques that allow flutists to produce complex melodies, intricate scales, and expressive ornamentations:

• Overblowing: This technique raises the frequency of the air column by forcing more air through the flute, pushing the sound to a higher octave.
• Cross Fingering: Involves closing holes below an open hole to achieve non-standard pitches, allowing the musician to reach microtones and semitones that do not correspond directly with the primary holes.
• Finger Sliding: By sliding fingers on and off the holes gradually, players achieve a smoother, more connected transition between notes, which is essential for the expressive nuances of Carnatic music.
• Coordinated Breathing: Breathing is synchronized with the musical phrasing to ensure a seamless and uninterrupted melody.
• Half-Covered Notes: By partially covering holes, flutists can play notes that fall between the standard Western scale, adding a unique depth to their performance. This technique allows artists to generate more than 30 different notes on a single flute.

Musical Notes and the Role of Gamakas

The musical scale on the venu typically uses the seven notes of the Indian sargam system: Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni. In Carnatic music, these notes are represented using the Melakarta system. The transition between notes, especially from Ga to Ma, requires precise modulation of breath intensity and finger pressure. This creates smooth transitions and allows for the ornamentations, or gamakas, which are central to Carnatic music’s expressive quality. These include slight changes in pitch, bends, oscillations, and rapid flourishes between notes, creating a vocal-like quality in instrumental music.