Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, si ...

, meend (Hindi: मीण्ड, ur, ) refers to a glide from one note to another. It is an essential performance practice, and is used often in vocal and instrumental music. On the

veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps ...

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form i ...

sarangi The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It ...

and other plucked stringed instruments, it is usually done by pushing the strings across the frets to vary their effective length and tension; compare

portamento In music, portamento (plural: ''portamenti'', from old it, portamento, meaning "carriage" or "carrying") is a pitch sliding from one note to another. The term originated from the Italian expression "''portamento della voce''" ("carriage of the ...

and finger vibrato. This can be done on wind instruments like the

bansuri A bansuri is an ancient side blown flute originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an aerophone produced from bamboo and metal like material used in Hindustani classical music. It is referred to as ''nadi'' and ''tunava'' in the '' ...

by using the fingers to cover the holes in a manner that the changes between discrete pitches are imperceptible. It is considered a sort of '' alankar'', or ornament. ''Meend'' is an important part of any classical performance; however, it is a technique not possible on a

hand-held harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...

often used in musical concerts (or on the

santoor The Indian santoor instrument is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer, and a variation of the Iranian santur. The instrument is generally made of walnut and has 25 bridges. Each bridge has 4 strings, making for a total of 100 strings. It is ...

). For this reason, traditionalists singing khyal prefer an accompaniment on an instrument such as a

that can perform ''meend''.

References

Articulations (music) Ornamentation Hindustani music terminology {{India-music-stub