The Music and Musical Instruments of Southern India and the Deccan c11.261

c11.261

The Nâgasâra—the second from the right in the plate—is a reed instrument with a conical bore enlarging downwards. It is usually pierced in twelve holes, the upper seven of which alone are employed in fingering, the others being stopped or otherwise with wax at the discretion of the performer, so as to regulate the pitch of the instrument. The holes are bored at intervals roughly corresponding to those of some Indian scale, but the native players often produce other and additional intervals by allowing the fingers to only partially cover the holes.