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The yazh (Tamil: யாழ், also transliterated yāḻ, pronounced) is a harp used in ancient Tamil music. It was strung with gut strings that ran from a curved ebony neck to a boat or trough-shaped resonator, the opening of which was a covered with skin for a soundboard.
Yazh is an open-stringed polyphonous instrument with gut strings and a wooden resonator shaped like a yali, a mythical beast. Learn about its history, types, and depictions in Tamil literature and sculptures.
Nov 28, 2022 · Learn how Chennai-based Tharun Sekar recreated yazh, a lyre-like instrument with a rich cultural heritage, and made it popular among young musicians. Discover the history, design and music of yazh, and how it differs from harp and lyre.
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Apr 5, 2021 · Tharun Sekar is a luthier who builds and designs folk instruments from India, such as the yazh, a harp-like instrument played in royal courts 2,000 years ago. Learn how he researches, crafts, and sells these lost or obscure instruments, and why he is passionate about preserving Indian musical heritage.
- Radhika Iyengar
Apr 6, 2021 · Tharun Sekar, a luthier based in southern India, has painstakingly recreated the long-lost yazh, a seven-stringed instrument with a mythological origin. He used it to create a new song and video, Azhagi, with lyrics inspired by a comic book and rap.
May 30, 2024 · Learn about the yazh, a musical instrument from the Sangam era, and how Uru Custom Instruments reconstructed it with modern materials. Watch a lecture demonstration at the Indian Music Experience Museum in Bengaluru.
References to the yazh go back around 2,000 years in Tamil literature from the time known as the Sangam, the earliest period of South Indian history, typically dated between 600 BCE to 300 CE., when the yazh had its heyday.