Sitar
The
sitar
(Urdu:
ستار,
Hindi:
सितार) is probably the
best-known South Asian instrument in the
West. The sitar a
Hindustani classical
stringed instrument, it utilizes
sympathetic strings
along with regular strings and a
gourd
resonating
chamber to produce a very distinctive sound.
The sitar has been ubiquitous in Hindustani
classical music since the
Middle Ages.
It became popular in the West when
The Beatles
used it in many songs, including "Norwegian
Wood (This Bird Has Flown)",
"Across
the Universe",
"Love
You To", "Tomorrow
Never Knows",
and "Within
You Without You".
Beatles lead guitarist
George Harrison
was inspired by, and later taught by, sitar
player
Ravi Shankar.
Also, in
Kingdom Hearts 2,
Demyx uses a sitar shaped like the
Organization's symbol as a weapon.
History
An older Indian instrument called the rudra veena resembles the sitar in some important respects, most notably in the use of gourd resonators. It is possible that the sitar is actually derived from this instrument. Dr. Lalmani Misra in his book, Bharatiya Sangeet Vadya traced Sitar to ancient Tri-tantri Veena which came to be popularly known as Jantra during the medieval period.
Playing
Sitar
mechanics
An etching of an Indian
man playing
a sitar,
18th century
A
distinctive feature of the sitar are the
curved
frets,
which are movable (allowing fine
variation in tuning) and raised (so that
resonant,
or
sympathetic,
strings can run underneath the frets,
giving a very lush sound). A typical
sitar has 18, 19 or 20 strings
(depending on the style) — of which 6
(in the
Vilayat Khan
style) or 7 (in the
Ravi Shankar
style) are playable strings, which are
situated over the frets. Three of these
strings (called
chikari)
provide the
drone
and the rest are used to play the
melody,
though most of the notes of the melody
are played on the first string (called
the baj tar). The sitar also has
11, 12 or 13 sympathetic strings or
tarbs
(A.K.A. "tarif" or "tarifdar" ) running
underneath the frets.
The sitar
has 2
bridges;
the main bridge (the bada goraj)
for the playing and drone strings and a
smaller, secondary bridge (the chota
goraj) for the sympathetic strings
that run beneath the main strings. The
sitar may or may not have a secondary
resonator,
the tumba, near the top of its
hollow neck. The sitar's distinctive
sound is a result of the way the strings
interact with the wide, sloping bridge.
This is in contrast to the bridge on a
guitar which resembles a knife edge. In
a sitar, as a string vibrates, its
length changes slightly as its edge
touches the bridge, promoting the
creation of
overtones
and giving the sound its distinctive,
rich tone. The maintenance of this
specific tone by shaping the bridge is
called "jawari".
Adjusting the jawari requires great
skill. Many professional musicians will
rely on professional instrumental makers
to perform this task. For years Ravi
Shankar toured the West with his sitar
maker so that the tone of his sitar was
always perfectly adjusted. Many
professional sitarists also travel with
2 bridges - one for daily wear
practising, and a fine tuned one for
performing. The materials used in
construction include
teak wood
or tun wood (Cedrela tuna)
for the neck and faceplate, and
gourds
for the kaddu (the main
resonating chamber) and the
aforementioned tumba. The
instrument's bridges are deer horn.
Tuning
The
tuning of a sitar varies depending on
sitarists school or style. Generally,
the main playing string is tuned to C#
or D, and the drone strings are tuned to
the equivalent an open major or minor
chord in Western music theory. The
specific tuning for each raga is
determined by tradition and each
artist's personal preference. The
sympathetic strings are tuned to the
notes of the raga being played, although
there is slight stylistic variance as to
the order of these. The player will
usually retune the sitar for each raga.
The strings are tuned by turning the
pegs
that hold the strings. The main playing
strings are fine-tuned by sliding a bead
fit around each string. It may be rather
difficult to tune a sitar. Not only
because of the numerous strings (a
typical
electric guitar
only has six strings) or the lack of
geared mechanical
tuners
(sitar tuning pegs are wood cylinders
that are chalked and tightened into a
hole like traditional western classical
music instruments such as the
cello),
but also because there are many
different tunings, each based on the
cadre of traditional and emerging tonal
patterns or on the music of eminently
influential sitar players.
In one or more of the more common tunings (used by Ravi Shankar among others) the strings are tuned in this fashion: The Chikari, Sa (high) Sa (middle) Pa. The Kharaj strings (bass strings) Sa (low) Pa. Then, Sa and Ma. When playing a Vilayat Khan Sitar (or "Gayaki" Sitar), the bass strings are removed and in their place is a 4th Chikari which is tuned to Ga, when playing the chikari you produce a chord (Sa, Sa, Pa, Ga). The sympathetic strings (tarif) are tuned depending on the raga, although for most purposes, they are tuned: Sa, Ni, Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Pa, Dha, Ni, Sa, Re, Ga, (last three in the upper range). If you were to tune it to rag Kafi for example you use tune as follows: Sa, ni (lower case denotes flat or, more properly, "komal") Sa, Re, ga, Ga (Shuddh ("natural"), considering that in Kafi you will come to Shuddh Ga when descending or "Avarohi"), ma, Pa, Dha, ni, Sa, Re, ga. Whereas, in ragini Yaman Kaylan you will tune the Tarifs to Sa, Ni, Sa, Re, Ga, ma (Yaman Kaylan asks for a sharp, or more properly, "tivra" Ma, but often will touch shuddh ma on the descent or "Avarohi"), Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, Sa, Re, Ga. Again, however, there is a lot of stylistic variance to these tunings. An artist will develop a particular tuning for a particular piece and it may be totally idiosyncratic. There is no guarantee that other musicians will choose the same tuning even if they perform the same raga.
Learning to play
Traditional
approaches to learning the sitar involve a long
period of apprenticeship under the tutelage of a
master during which the apprentice would
accompany the master with a
tambura,
providing a droning chord
harmony
for the sitar's
melody.
Nowadays it is possible to purchase books and
videos to assist home learning. Learning
to play the sitar is a difficult process. The
entire 4 -octave
range of the instrument is achieved by sliding
the index finger of the left hand up and down
the neck of the sitar over a single melody
string, while the mizrab on the index finger of
the right hand strikes the string. Thus it
demands a very high degree of technical mastery
to play even simple melodies with clarity and
accuracy. It is also a rather painful process
for the beginner until the hard
calluses
and black grooves on the tips of the index and
middle finger, which typify the sitar player,
begin to develop. A specialized technique called
"Meend" involves pulling the main melody string
down over the bottom portion of the sitar's
curved frets, with which the sitarist can
achieve a 7
semitone
range of
microtonal
notes. Meend gives the sitar its characteristic
fluid sound, but requires practice to achieve
fluency and precision.
Playing
The dominant hand is used to pluck the string using a metallic plectrum called the mizrab. When playing sitar, the thumb of the plucking hand should stay anchored on the top of the fretboard just above the main gourd. The instrument should be balanced between the player's left foot and right knee. The hands should move freely without having to carry any of the instrument's weight. Generally only the index and middle fingers of the left are used for fingering although a few players (like Anoushka Shankar) occasionally use the third.
Notable sitar players
See sitar players