Electronic tanpura

The electronic tanpura was first invented by Mr. G. Raj Narayan in 1979,[1] an engineer-flautist from Bangalore, India, and demonstrated at the annual conference of the Music Academy Chennai in December that year.

In the late 1990s, these gave way to models using sampled recordings of the traditional tanpura on a chip.

In 2016, a mathematical model of a tanpura was developed at the Sonic Arts Research Center of Queen's University Belfast.

[2] In 2018, Pocket Shruti Box, an Android app that implemented this model, was released.

consider the electronic tanpura a poor substitute when compared to a good tanpura in expert hands, as the tones it creates lack the dynamics of a live musician, producing a mechanical, repetitive sound.

An electronic tanpura
An electronic tanpura in action. Changing some of the settings shown. However, setup is done before performance. During practice, just like traditional-tanpura , it produces a repeating phrase that help the musician or student to maintain scale.