Rabab

History

The rabab travelled from Central Asia and Khorasan into Punjab long before Guru Nanak Dev ji's time. When Guru Nanak ji set out on his udasis in the late 1400s he asked his lifelong companion Bhai Mardana ji to carry the rabab and accompany every shabad on it. That partnership — Guru and rabab — is the first sound of Sikh kirtan. After Bhai Mardana ji, his descendants formed the Rababi lineage that sang Gurbani in the Darbar Sahib for centuries, until Partition in 1947 scattered the tradition. Recent decades have seen the firandia rabab carefully revived inside the Khalsa.

The first instrument of Sikh kirtan. A short-necked plucked lute with a deep wooden body covered in skin, producing a warm, earthy resonance. Bhai Mardana ji accompanied Guru Nanak Dev ji on the rabab across his udasis, giving Gurbani its first musical voice.

Tuning & playing guide

The classical Punjabi rabab has three main playing strings tuned roughly Sa – lower Pa – lower Sa (1 – 5̱ – 1̱), plus drone and sympathetic strings. Start by tuning the middle string to a comfortable Sa for the vocalist (often C or D), then drop the lower strings a fourth/fifth below. Sympathetic strings are tuned to the notes of the raag. Play with a wooden plectrum (java), striking down on the beat and up on the off-beat.

Hear how it sounds