Fingering chart

Every swara

A dark hole is closed, a ring an open one, and a half-dark one half closed: slide the finger off it until the swara is true. The mouth hole is at the top.

How the fingerings go

Sa is the top three holes closed and the bottom three open. Lift a finger at a time from the bottom of those three and the swaras climb: Re, Ga, then Ma, half the top hole, and tivra Ma, all open. Close all six for Pa, and open them from the bottom for Dha and Ni. The komal swaras between are half holes.

The same fingerings, blown a little faster through closer lips, sound an octave higher: the madhya saptak from Pa, and the taar. Mandra Pa, Dha and Ni below Sa are the lower half of the flute's range, played with a gentle breath. Taar Pa, Dha and Ni are cross-fingered, and here flutes differ: try these first, then the holes your flute likes.

The flutes' sizes

A bansuri is named for its Sa: a flute "in C" plays C with its top three holes closed. The longer the flute, the lower its Sa.

Most begin on a medium flute in C, about 20 inches (51 cm): it sounds full, and its holes are in easy reach. The bass flutes, the E bass among them, which most concert players use, come once the fingers stretch over their holes without strain. Lengths differ a little from maker to maker.