Mysore Bani

Representative list of artists:

• Veena Seshanna

• Vainika Subbanna

• Mysore Venkatagiriappa

• Doraiswamy Iyengar

• R.S. Keshavamurthy

• R.K. Suryanarayana

• Prof Visveshwaran

Characteristics of Mysore style:

• Clear tone – more treble, less base

• Preference for straight notes

• Right hand technique is developed with liberal usage of meettus (stroke inbetween sahitya syllables for added effect)

• Usage of finger nails instead of plectrums

• Preference for sharp veena tone

• Less deflection of strings – maximum pull of two or three notes in one fret

• Increased instrumental effect to bring out the beauty of veena as an instrument (do not generally believe in playing the vocal way)

• Split fingering technique

• Veena structure: Thin top board with neck made of rosewood. Pulling along the strings can cause the weight of the strings to come on the bridge which can cause the bridge to sink in. The structure thus doesn’t allow a lot of pulling of the strings.