Bazantar

Overview

The bazantar is a hybrid acoustic instrument designed in the 1990s by the American bassist and composer Mark Deutsch. Its body and four main strings are those of a five-string double bass, but the instrument adds twenty-nine sympathetic strings running under the fingerboard plus four drone strings tuned outside the playing range. The result is an instrument that combines the deep, resonant attack of a bowed bass with the shimmering halo of overtones characteristic of South Asian instruments such as the sitar and sarangi.

Origin & History

Mark Deutsch, trained as a jazz and classical bassist, drew on his interest in Indian classical music to design the bazantar over a period of several years in the 1990s. The instrument is hand-built, and only a small number of bazantars have been made. Deutsch has performed and recorded with the instrument across solo and ensemble contexts, and it has been used by other composers and improvisers since.

How It’s Played

The performer plays the four main strings with a bow or fingers, as on a standard bass. The drone strings are tuned to fixed pitches that suit the piece being played and are sounded occasionally with bow or finger; the sympathetic strings are not played directly but vibrate in response to pitches in the air, producing a continuous resonant cushion. Tuning the sympathetic strings to a particular scale before performance shapes the harmonic atmosphere of the piece.

Cultural Significance

The bazantar is one of a small but growing family of cross-cultural acoustic instruments — alongside instruments such as the chapman stick and the various harp-guitars — that combine techniques and tunings from different musical traditions. It has a particular following in the contemporary improvisation, ambient, and world-fusion communities.

Related Instruments

• Sitar – sympathetic-string lineage in Indian music
• Sarangi – sympathetic-string bowed instrument
• Mandobass – contrast extended-range fretted bass
• Bunker Touch Guitar – contemporary US hybrid string instrument
• Bulbul Tarang – sympathetic-string folk relative

Frequently Asked Questions

How many strings does the bazantar have in total?
Four main, four drone, and twenty-nine sympathetic — thirty-seven in total.

Is it played with a bow?
The main strings are typically bowed; the drones and sympathetic strings have separate roles.

Who designed it?
Mark Deutsch, an American bassist and composer.