Tanpura

Tanpura (Tambura) are in the lute family. Tambura is the southern Indian pronunciation while Tanpura is the name commonly used in northern India. Tamburas (Tanpura) are the classical drone lute of Indian music. While they look somewhat like a single toomba sitar, they differ in significant ways. Compared to the sitar, tamburas have fewer strings, no sympathetic strings, no frets, and a moveable bridge used to adjust the pitch. These instruments look as exotic as they sound.