If the closest Western equivalent to talam is a metronome, the closest Western equivalent to a shruti box is a pitch pipe. So you might wonder, why does a Carnatic musician need a shruti box to stay on key?
Well, it's not so much that they need it to stay on key. But its sound serves as a backdrop when they sing or play. And when they sing and hold a note that perfectly aligns with the shruti, it just sounds so good! And when there's a note that almost aligns with the shruti but not quite, that sounds so good too! In fact, every note that is sung or played in Carnatic music sounds so much better when it's rendered with a shruti in the background.
There's no way to explain it in words. So like I've done with my previous posts, here's a video that illustrates this.
In this case, the artists use a tambura instead of an electronic shruti box, but you can hear it constantly droning in the background. Try to listen to her singing AND the shruti simultaneously - it's amazing!
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