Meend

In Hindustani music, meend (Hindi: मींडْ ْ, Urdu: میند‎) refers to a glide from one note to another.^[1] It is an essential performance practice, and is used often in vocal and instrumental music. On the veena, sitar, sarangi 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 and finger vibrato. This can be done on wind instruments like the bansuri 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 often used in musical concerts. For this reason, traditionalists singing khyal prefer an accompaniment on an instrument such as a sarangi that can perform meend.^[2]

References

1. ↑ Introduction to Meend at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.
2. ↑ Encyclopaedic Dictionary of World Musical Instruments. Global Vision Pub House. pp. 273–. Retrieved 13 July 2013. 

Indian musical instruments
Wind (Sushir)	Bansuri Harmonium Kombu Nadaswaram Pungi Shankha Shehnai Shruti box Venu
Plucked Stringed (Tat)	Dotara Ektara Gottuvadhyam Mohan veena Pena Rudra veena Santoor Saraswati veena Sarod Sitar Surbahar Swaramandal Tanpura Veena Vichitra Veena Yazh
Bowed Stringed (Vitat)	Dilruba Esraj Sarangi Sarinda Seni Rebab Taus Carnatic Violin
Membranous Percussion (Avanaddh)	Chande Chenda Damaru Dhak Duggi Dhol/Sandhal Dholak Dholki Edakka Kanjira Khamak Khol Madal Mizhav Mridangam Nagada Pakhawaj Parai Sambal Tabla Tavil
Non-Membranous Percussion (Ghan)	Chimta Ghatam Ghungroo Jaltarang Kartal Khartal Manjira Morsing
Other	Bharatiya Sangeet Vadya Gamaka Indian classical music Jivari Meend