| This is the instrument popularized by Ustad Ali
Akbar Khan. Commonly written as "sarod", we prefer to spell it as
"sarode" to avoid the common mispronunciation of "sarod" rhyming with
"rod". It should be "sarode" rhyming with
"ode".
The sarode is carved from a block of wood. The bridge sits on a goat skin belly. The
fingerboard is a smooth, polished steel plate. A fretless instrument, the notes are
produced by the fingernails of the player. Long, sustained slide notes are characteristic.
The right hand plectrum is called a "jaba" and is made from a piece of coconut
shell. Of the 25 strings, 4 are melody strings and the rest are rhythm and sympathetic
strings.
By far the best sarodes in the world are made by
Hemen and Co. in Calcutta. We carry Hemen sarodes as well as less
expensive instruments by less well- known makers (like Musikrafts)
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