Swar Randhra - These are the finger holes. Professional quality bansuris in India are invariably of the transverse variety. Mukha Randhra - This is the embouchure, or the blowing hole. Parts of the Bansuri Dandi - The dandi is the body of the bansuri. The basic note usually describes the Indian note 'Sa' which is obtained by closing the first three finger-holes and then blowing the Bansuri. Due to the fluent movements of the fingers the typical sliding transitions between notes, typical Indian music is achieved. Such technique simplifies the playing of longer Bansuris. The holes of bansuri have to be precisely covered either fully or half by the phalanxes of the fingers and not by the fingertips.

The Indian Bansuri has a mouthpiece that is played in a similar way as the western transverse flute with either 6 or 7 finger-holes. It is basically to prevent the bamboo cane from cracking. The majority of Bansuris in India are made of an untreated piece of bamboo cane around which strings are tightly wrapped in several places. Its introduction in Indian classical music has been rather recent. For eons bansuri has been most popular in folk music. Legends narrate how the tunes of bansuri would drive the women of Braj into a frenzy.

As per the Hindu mythology, 'bansuri' is intimately linked to the love story of Krishna and Radha. It can happen that they sometimes sound slightly out of tune. Standard Indian Bansuris produce a quite beautiful sound, but their tuning is often not exactly to the western standard notes. The choice of the bamboo for manufacturing Bansuri is also an important quality factor.

The main features of a good Bansuri are quality, durabiltiy, the abiltiy to vibrate and precision of the vibration.