Cross Fingering Technique

- An In-Depth Analysis of the Revolutionary Technique

No part of this presentation, either wholly or partially be used as
references without the mention of the Vamshidwani institution. For
the propagation and promotion of the arts, conditional rights will be
given upon written requests.
All rights reserved.

Ver 1.0

Pre-requisites

To complete reading of the following lectures

Introduction to Carnatic Music

Introduction to Carnatic Flute

The above pre-requisites must be fulfilled in order to

understand some of the technical terms in this presentation
as well as to interpret the practical nature of this
presentation with ease

Objectives

To introduce commonly used techniques in flute

playing
To understand the origin of the cross fingering
technique in Carnatic flute playing
To appreciate the contribution & importance of cross
fingering in Carnatic flute playing
To highlight the importance of Nadeswaram music in
Carnatic music

Synopsis

Earlier Fingering Systems

Nageswaram Tradition

Cross Fingering Technique

Earlier Fingering Systems

1. Introduction
2. Three-Finger System
3. Parallel Fingering

Introduction

The earliest music flutes in Indian music did not

possess a sophisticated fingering system like today
due to several reasons:

Limited understanding of musical notes

Differing fingering styles based on preference

Unregulated design of flute no standard design

Three-Finger System

This method is one of the earliest traditions in Tamil

music. It was among the first accepted techniques in
South Indian flute playing

Better known as the Mundru Viral Sadhakam, this

technique allowed the flautist to reach up to the thara
sthayi dhaivatha, off-setting the tonic note by one note.
Its tonic position for Shadjam is the current Kaiski
Nishada position & the Panchama is the current Suddha
Madhyama position. By transposing, the rest of the
notes can be played in this order.

Three-Finger System

Some of its notable contributions to the evolution of

Carnatic flute playing are

Advocating the use of transposed fingering which lasted

till the introduction of the cross-fingering technique by
'Flute Mali'
Opening the avenue of playing semitone notes by its
own limitations, leading to its eventual disuse.

Parallel Fingering

Introduced by the blind flute prodigy, Sharaba Shastri,

it became the first accepted standard in performance
flute music

It involved playing the notes in a staccato manner

Covered the full range of notes in Carnatic music

Classical compositions could be played cleanly on the

flute without much difficulty

Parallel Fingering

Some of its notable contributions to the evolution of

Carnatic flute playing are

It is the first time tested technique of serious flute

playing, giving the competent flautist the status of a
soloist
Opening the avenue of playing the gamakas (joining
slides between notes) semitone notes by its own
limitations, leading to it losing popularity today

Nageswaram Tradition
1. Introduction
2. Significance
3. Playing Method
4. Influence on Carnatic Music

Introduction

Also known as the Nadeswaram, this instrument is

arguably the world's loudest non-brass aerophone
Its made of a central wood body, carved out from a solid
tree trunk with a metal slot at the top for reed placement &
a large flaring bell-shaped piece at the opposite end
The body tapers from the smallest point at the blowing point
to the largest point at the end
Its North Indian equivalent is the Shenai, a shorter
instrument

Introduction

Designed like the flute, it consists of 7 holes with 5

additional holes at the bottom side of the central body
Its range is about two & a half octaves, which is the range
of the human voice
Modulations between notes are made by controlling the
amount of air pressure blown in the instrument as the
fingering is highly complex & challenging to master
Its sheer size & loud volume calls for great stamina &
respiratory strength on the part of the performing artiste

Significance

Originally used in folk music & later on in Carnatic music,

the instrument achieved prominence as an auspicious
instrument because of its rich timbre volume & resonating
sound
In the past, temple processions in South India are
accompanied by nadeswaram music during the opening
time of the temple of each day
The full gamut of the ragas' characters are revealed in this
sacred music & till today, the world of raga alapana is ruled
by nadeswaram artistes

Significance

So great is the exposition of the raga, that great stalwarts of

yesteryears would wake up early before dawn to listen to
the nadeswaram artistes in the temple processions
Nadeswaram artistes themselves are highly regarded &
remunerated for their mastery of the challenging instrument
Both connoisseur & laymen flocked readily to listen to great
nadeswaram artistes & their performances. On the hand,
vocal music at that time was at its infancy as a public
performance & had a very selective audience

Playing Method

While the now-popular cross-fingering method is used in

the flute, its origins undoubtedly came from the
nadeswaram which aptly produced the vocal nuances of
the human voice extremely well
While partial opening & closing of the holes are used
extensively in the Carnatic flute, the nadeswaram has
finger work using the 5 additional holes is different while the
shaking of the notes to produce gamakas are used in the
flute & the nadeswaram
This method of gamaka production was later used by
Flute Mali to great success on the flute, with some changes

Influence on Carnatic Music

At the dawn of the 20th century, the era of performing music

called for new methods for presenting the art to the public
as opposed to the limited audience of royal patrons of the
past century
Nadeswaram music itself became the answer, with the
step-by-step delineation of a raga to the climax of sweeping
brighas appealed to one & all. The compositions remained
crisp & alluring with a madhyama kala tempo generally
Particularly all the great titans, including Semmangudi
Srinvasa Iyer, M. S. Subbulakshmi & G.N.B professed the
influenced of nadeswaram music in their renditions

Influence on Carnatic Music

Probably, the greatest phenomenon in nadeswaram music

is the legendary T. N. Rajarathnam Pillai, a celebrated
genius of the instrument as well as a competent vocalist (he
was a disciple of Thirukkodikaval Krishna Iyer)
His renditions influenced many great stalwarts to adopt his
approach. Flute Mali & T.N.R shared a special friendship,
& often practiced together exchanging musical knowledge
In the vocal arena, Semmangudi Iyer, among the many
greats, adopted T.N.R's performing approach significantly.
G.N.B completely assimilated the technique almost singing
like a nadeswaram performance with his God-given voice

Influence on Carnatic Music

Needless to mention, the trio; Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer,

M. S. Subbulakshmi & G.N.B perpetually left an indelible
influence in the performing era of Carnatic music
The many disciples of Semmangudi Srinvasa Iyer & G. N.
Balasubramaniam have over the years modified & refined
their gurus' techniques to suit the new-age audience while
retaining the core techniques of their gurus
Although nadeswaram musicians once numbered in the
hundreds because of the music's appeal, today, their
numbers dwindle & rising stars like the Injukkudi brothers &
Sembanarkovil brothers are keeping this art alive

Influence on Carnatic Music

Nadaswara Chakravarthy T. N. Rajarathnam Pillai

Source: YouTube

Cross Fingering Technique

1. Introduction
2. Explanation
3. Future
4. Conclusion

Introduction

In simple terms, cross-fingering is a method where air is

allowed through a finger hole(s) left open between closed
finger holes
In cross-fingering technique, semitones (sharp & flat notes)
& quarter-tones (altered sharp & flat notes for sruthi
specific playing) can be played appropriately
Semitones can be played alternately with different fingering

Explanation

The production of semitones of some notes will be

discussed
Assuming suddha rishaba (R1) is played with 1, 3, 4, 5, 6,
& 7 finger-holes closed, it will be the same as playing 1st
finger-hole closed & the 2nd partially closed
Playing suddha dhaivatha (D1) with 1 4, 6 & 7 fingerholes closed, leaving the 5th finger-hole open, will yield the
same note as playing 1 4 finger-holes closed & leaving
the 5th partially opened

Explanation

The production of semitones' janta svaras will be

discussed
Playing R1 with cross-fingering as discussed earlier, will
yield a double note; R, R, when the 2nd finger-hole is tapped
& released. In conventional play, R, R, is obtained by
sliding the finger to S position & back; R1, S, R1
Playing D1 with cross-fingering as discussed earlier, will
yield a double note; D, D, when the 5th finger-hole is tapped
& released. In conventional play, D, D, is obtained by
sliding the finger to S position & back; D1, P, D1

Explanation

The production of quarter-tones will be discussed

Quarter-tones are produced by altering the extent of
opening the finger-holes for the note for specific sruthi
Opening Hole

Shruthi

opened

Ekashruthi

opened

Dvishruthi

opened

Tisruthi

opened

Chautsruthi

Due to the nature of this topic, further details on the 22sruthi system will not be discussed

Future

It is therefore important to take note, that Flute Mali did not

completely assimilate the cross-fingering technique from
the nadaswaram, but adapted appropriately to certain notes
to improve the ease of playing the flute while producing the
vocal nuances of Carnatic music appropriately
The current flute prodigy Shashank further added a new
dimension to the Mali's technique by introducing
Transposed Fingering which is discussed separately from
this topic, (a link is provided on the Tutorial site)

Conclusion

The importance of cross-fingering in flute playing should

never be forgotten, for almost all avenues of Carnatic music
has witnessed the vocal capacity of the Carnatic flute
Evolution on the other hand has to progress & refine the
current techniques of flute playing. One such approach is
the Transposed Fingering introduced by Shashank, which
is a modification of the Mali's technique & also corrects
some subtle limitations of the Mali's technique

The End...