Benju

A benju (Balochi: بینجو) is a type of zither fitted with a keyboard, commonly used in the music of Balochistan.

Not to be confused with Banjo.

Construction and play

It is about 1 meter long, 10 –12 cm wide and the soundbox is about 5 cm high, with six strings. Strings 1 and 2, 5 and 6 are used as bordun (drone) strings and tuned to the tonic and the fifth or fourth. In relative pitch C and G or F. The middle strings 3 and 4 are tuned unison to F or G, and they are fretted and can be shortened by pressing down the metal keys. The scale is chromatic from G to A, B flat or B. The right hand plays the strings by using a wooden or plastic plectron, the left hand is fingering the keys.

The benju is played mainly as a solo instrument accompanied by dholak and tamburag. Sometimes it is combined with sorud.

Benju and Abdulrahman Surizehi Archived 2011-12-11 at the Wayback Machine

Players
  • Ustad Noor Bakhsh,[2] born in Pakistani Balochistan, has played the benju since the age of 12. Although he spent most of his career playing at weddings and other small gatherings, his work has found an international audience late in his life. An album, Jingul, was released in 2022.[3] He appeared on the first Boiler Room show in Karachi on June 20, 2022. In 2023 embarked on a 10-country European tour, including a performance at the Roskilde Festival.[4]


References
  1. "Projects - TrAP". trap.no. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  2. "Ustad Noor Bakhsh". Retrieved 19 Jul 2023.
  3. "Ustad Noor Bakhsh: Jingul Album Review". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 19 Jul 2023.
  4. "'Totally full of spiritual energy': Ustad Noor Bakhsh, the Pakistani musician discovered on the side of a road". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 19 Jul 2023.


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