Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
The main bridge of the sitar called ghurach is one of its vital parts. It is flat in shape, and its length, width and height are about eight centimetre, three and two centimetres respectively. The bridge used for sympathetic strings is rather small in size and fixed just before the main bridge. Both of these and the upper bridges (meru) are made of stag horn or camel bone. The point where the strings touch the main bridge is actually responsible for the tonal quality of the sitar, and thus, special care is taken to ensure that the surface does not get a mark or a groove because of the continuous pressure of the main playing strings. If this point gets abrased, the surface is filed. This filing is called javari setting, and it is a very skilled and technical task which can be performed only by an experienced person. But chances are that you have an instrument that will not need Jawari work immediately. Especially if you got the sitar new. Both your main and the sympathetic bridges should be in good playing condition. Despite the song’s popularity, Shankar wasn’t impressed when he first heard Harrison playing the sitar. Nikhil Banerjee is another artist who needs special mention as he modified his sitar further with the help of Hiren Roy, taking it to an unimaginable level of depth and tonal quality. Uma Shankar Misra, Balram Pathak, Rais Khan, Abdul Haleem Jaffar Khan, Devavrit Chaudhuri, Manilal Nag, Imrat Khan, Kartik Kumar and Shamim Ahmed are a few names from the long list of sitar players of the twentieth century. Jaya Bisbas, Manju Mehta, Kalyani Roy and Krishna Chakravorty are among the women sitar players, who earned a name for themselves in this field. Among the younger generation of artists, Shahid Parvez, Buddhaditya Mukherjee and Shujaat Khan have already made a name for themselves. A number of budding artists such as Shubhendra Rao, Niladri Kumar, Gourav Majumdar, Prateek Chaudhuri and many others, assure a bright future for this instrument.
The sitar is a modal instrument – meaning that depending on the key you are playing in you may need to re-tune the instrument. Also, to complicate matters if you are playing certain scales you will need to move certain frets to play certain notes. (note: frets are moveable on a sitar). Allyn Miner (2004). Sitar and Sarod in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp.17–24. ISBN 9788120814936. Popular books on music nearly all recount this story. Admit Khusrau's role in the creation of the sitar in India has gradually been discredited by historians, but social motivations and the tenacity of the tradition cause the idea to persist... If you watch online videos, you will notice that people prefer to talk about tuning the sitar using the Indian equivalent of Solfege called sargam. In Muslim tradition, some scholars believe the sitar was invented—or, much accurately, developed—by Indo-Persian Sufi singer Amir Khusrow (c. 1253-1325). This system is excellent, but when I first started learning, I found it too confusing, so the diagram below shows you both the note and the Sargam notes side-by-side.
In the last lesson, I left off at tuning the top 7 string of the sitar. Now let's look at the sympathetic string tuning. We call these "tarab" strings. They are tuned to the raga you are playing.
Every sitar has drone strings, called chikari, that are adjacent to the played strings. A sitar can have one or two drone strings based on the model. These strings share a bridge ( badaa gora) with the played strings, but they cannot be fretted. In Western music, it's common to tune in C, but the standard Indian tuning is in D. Here's what the tones look like: Solfege: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa When tuning a sitar first locate the middle C note on a keyboard, piano or guitar. If you have a tuned guitar, the middle C note is located on the 2nd string (B string) 1st fret. On a full sized midi keyboard (88 keys) or piano the middle C note is located in the middle of the piano. Some midi keyboard manufacturers, such as M-audio, have middle C labelled as ‘C3’ on their full sized keyboards. You will use the middle C note as a reference point to tune the sitar. The 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th main strings of your sitar will be tuned to the tonic note. Introducing Blogger Mala Chandrashekhar - a specialist academically trained in modern Western sciences, yet deeply enamored with India's timeless ethnic arts, crafts, and textiles. Her heart beats for the rich and glorious cultural and spiritual heritage of India, and she has dedicated her entire blog to spreading the immortal glories of ancient India worldwide. Through her simple yet impactful blog posts, Mala aims to reach every nook and corner of the globe, sharing India's beauty and wisdom with the world. Nettl, B.; Arnold, A.; Stone, R.M.; Porter, J.; Rice, T.; Olsen, D.A.; Miller, T.E.; Koskoff, E.; Kaeppler, A.L.; Sheehy, D.E. (1998). The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia: the Indian subcontinent. Garland Ency. World Music v.5 add to holding 304235. Garland Pub. p.178. ISBN 978-0-8240-4946-1 . Retrieved 2022-10-04.In Indian classical music, the sitar is considered a leading instrument for melodic expression. It finds its place predominantly in the Hindustani classical music tradition of North India. Accompanied by the tabla, a percussive instrument, the sitar forms the foundation of traditional ragas (melodic frameworks) and evokes a myriad of emotions, from joy and love to sorrow and contemplation. Learn to Play on Sitar, Ram Avtar ‘Vir’, Pankaj Publications, Revised Edition 1998. ISBN 81-87155-14-0
Some players wear a second mezrab on their middle fingers to assist them with playing. 13. The Sitar Takes Hours to Make As a guitar player now switching over to sitar, I still have the habit of wanting to tune my strings using a tuner. Here are the three apps I recommend to help you tune your sitar. iOS Indian scholars claim it’s of Indian origins, but Western scholars believe it’s more likely to have originated from West Asia. It was also theorized in Muslim tradition that the sitar was invented, or rather developed by Amir Khusrow ( c.1253–1325), a famous Sufi inventor, poet and pioneer of Khyal, Tarana and Qawwali, during the 13th century. [7] [9] [10] [11] However, the tradition of Amir Khusrow is considered discredited by some scholars. [12] Whatever instruments he might have played, no record exists from this period using the name "sitar". [10] This includes The Rolling Stones and The Doors. 8. The Sitar is on of the Most Expensive Musical Instruments in IndiaLearning to play the sitar is no easy feat. It requires years of rigorous training and dedication. Traditionally, students would undergo an apprenticeship under a guru, a renowned sitar maestro, passing down knowledge through the guru-shishya parampara (teacher-student tradition). Today, formal sitar education is available in music schools and universities, but the importance of personal mentorship remains.
Great Deal 
New Comment