Flat Back Tambura (Tamburi) or Tanpura

Flat Back Tambura (Tamburi) or Tanpura

This type of tanpura is much smaller than the two other forms (Miraj and Tanjore) – only about two to three feet in length. These smaller and lighter Tamburis are ideal for the traveling musician and often preferred among string-playing vocal artists for accompanying solo performances.
Like the Tanjore, they have a wooden resonator. This resonator is very shallow, however, and the plate on it is slightly curved. Because they do not feature the larger wood or round gourd type resonators, the volume, sound and tone cannot match the levels or richness of their larger cousins.
The smaller tamburi may also differ in the number of strings used, which can vary from four to six, or even more.