The sitar (Hindi: सितार, Urdu: ستار, Persian: سی تار ) is a plucked stringed instrument. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The angélique (French from Italian angelica) is a plucked string instrument of the Lute family of the baroque era The archlute (Italian arciliuto, German Erzlaute, Russian Архилютня) is a European plucked String instrument developed around 1600 The balalaika (балала́йка) (also Balabaika балаба́йка - is a stringed instrument of Russian origin with a characteristic triangular body and The barbat is a Lute of ancient Persian origin History The barbat originated in Persia in ancient times and was refined during the The bağlama is a stringed Musical instrument shared by various Cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean, Near East, and Central The biwa ( 琵琶) is a Japanese short-necked fretted Lute, and a close variant of the Chinese Pipa. The bouzouki ( gr το μπουζούκι pl. τα μπουζούκια (plural sometimes transliterated as bouzoukia) is the mainstay of modern A bulbul tarang (or Indian banjo) is a String instrument from India and Pakistan. This article is about an instrument For the album by British Trip-Hop band Morcheeba, see Charango. Chitarra Italiana is a Lute -shaped plucked instrument with 4 or 5 single (sometimes double strings in a tuning similar to that of guitar The daguangxian ( literally "large wide string " is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the Huqin family of instruments The đàn tỳ bà is a Vietnamese traditional plucked String instrument. The dombra is a long-necked Stringed instrument possessing a wooden resonating chamber somewhat similar to a Banjo Not to be confused with Dombra The domra (Russian language домра is a long-necked Russian String instrument The dutar ( Persian: دو تار, Uzbek: dutor (also dotar or doutar) is a traditional long-necked two-stringed Lute The erhu ( also called nanhu ( 南[[wikt 胡|胡]] "southern fiddle" and sometimes known in the West as the "Chinese The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles The Irish bouzouki (colloquially the "zouk" is a derivative of the Greek Bouzouki. The liuqin ( 柳琴; Pinyin: liǔqín) is a four-stringed Chinese Lute with a pear-shaped body Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either Fretted or unfretted and a deep round back or more specifically to an instrument from The mandocello (mandoloncello, liuto cantabile or liuto moderno is a Plucked string instrument of the Mandolin family The mandola (US and Canada or tenor mandola (Europe Ireland and UK is a fretted stringed Musical instrument. A mandolin is a musical instrument in the Lute family (plucked or strummed The oud ( عود ʿūd, plural أعواد, a‘wād; kaban; Persian: بربط barbat; ud The pandura is an ancient String instrument from the Mediterranian basin The pipa ( is a plucked Chinese String instrument. Sometimes called the Chinese Lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body Rubab or Robab ( Rūbāb, Hindi: रुबाब is a Lute -like musical instrument from Afghanistan. Setar ( Persian: سه تار, from seh, meaning "three" and tār, meaning "string" is a Persian musical instrument The Surbahar ( Hindi: सुर बहार also known as bass sitar) is a Plucked string instrument used in the Hindustani classical music The term tanbūr ( Persian: تنبور) can refer to various long-necked Fretted Lutes originating in the Middle East Tanbur (spelled Tambur in keeping with TDK conventions is a fretted string instrument of Turkey and the former lands of the Ottoman Empire The tembûr, a Fretted String instrument, is a form of tanbūr. A theorbo (tiorba also tuorbe; tiorba Theorbe is a plucked string instrument A tiorbino, a little Theorbo ( tiorbo in Italian is a rare stringed instrument a type of long-necked Lute resembling a Theorbo but significantly The tiqin ( is a name applied to several two-stringed Chinese bowed string instruments in the Huqin family of instruments Topshur (Топшур in the Cyrillic alphabet of the Altayans) is a two-stringed plucked or strummed lute played by the Altayans. Veena (also spelled 'vina' Kannada: ವೀಣ Malayalam: വീണ Tamil: வீணா Telugu: వీణ is a Plucked stringed The zhonghu (中胡 Pinyin: zhōnghú) is a low-pitched Chinese bowed String instrument. Hindi ( Devanāgarī: hi [[wiktहिन्दी हिन्दी]] or hi [[wiktहिंदी हिंदी]] IAST:, IPA:) is Urdu ( ur '''{{Nastaliq اردو}}''' trans Urdū, historically spelled Ordu) is a Central Indo-Aryan language Urdu is a standardised Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of String instruments that are played by plucking the strings Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in It uses sympathetic strings along with a long hollow neck and a gourd resonating chamber to produce a very rich sound with complex harmonic resonance. Sympathetic strings or resonance strings are auxiliary strings found on many Indian musical instruments as well as some Western Baroque instruments and a variety This article refers to the Dried fruit shell For the alternative country musical group of a similar name see The Gourds. In Physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to Oscillate at maximum Amplitude at certain frequencies, known as the system's Predominantly used in Hindustani classical, sitar has been ubiquitous in Hindustani classical music since the Middle Ages. Hindustani Classical Music ( Hindi: हिन्दुस्तानी शास्त्रीय संगीत Urdu: ہندوستانی شاستریے سنگیت Hindustani (हिन्दुस्तानी ہندوستانی Hindustānī, hɪn̪d̪ʊst̪aːniː also known as " Hindi-Urdu," is a term covering This instrument is used throughout the Indian subcontinent. This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia For geopolitical treatments see South Asia.
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Etymology and history
The Indian sitar is derived from the long-necked lutes of western Asia and from the veena family of Indian musical instruments. Veena (also spelled 'vina' Kannada: ವೀಣ Malayalam: വീണ Tamil: வீணா Telugu: వీణ is a Plucked stringed It should not be confused with the similarly named "setar". Setar ( Persian: سه تار, from seh, meaning "three" and tār, meaning "string" is a Persian musical instrument In the Persian language, sitar (سی تار ) literally means "30 strings," while setar (سه تار ) means "3 strings. " Both names are deceptive, however. The guitar appears to be derived from earlier instruments known in ancient India and Central Asia as the Sitar or Setar. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles
Instruments of central and west Asia circulated in the South Asian subcontinent from at least the 12th century, and some were later modified and adapted to Indian uses. Instruments of this name are current in Iran and Central Asia today, but the Central Asian or Persian setar and the Indian sitar are now similar in name only. The sitar is currently one of the predominant concert instruments of Hindustani (North Indian classical) music.
The premier Indian court instrument of the 17th and 18th centuries was the rudra vina, of the stick zither family, and this became the model for some of the distinctive characteristics of the Indian sitar, most notably its raised metal frets, platform bridge, and gourd resonators. The rudra veena (also spelled rudra vina, and also called been or bin) is a large plucked String instrument used in Hindustani Some scholars attempt to identify the sitar with the medieval tri-tantri "three-stringed" vina mentioned in Sanskrit texts, but current scholarship traces the Indian sitar to eighteenth century Delhi. Since the nineteenth century, the sitar has been one of the predominant instruments of Hindustani music. It is also used in film and other light music and in accompaniment to dance. Regional versions of the sitar are found in rural north India, and Pakistan.
The sitar became widely known in the western world through the work of Pandit Ravi Shankar beginning in the late 1950s. Pandit Ravi Shankar ( রবি শংকর Devanagari: रविशंकर "Pandit" ( Sanskrit, "learned" is honorific born April It became a youth phenomenon in the 60s after Beatle George Harrison took lessons from Shankar and played sitar in songs including "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," "Love You To," and "Within You Without You. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001 was an English rock Guitarist Singer - Songwriter, Author " Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown " is a song by The Beatles which first appeared on the 1965 album Rubber Soul. " Love You To " is a song by The Beatles from the album Revolver. " Within You Without You " is a song written by George Harrison and released on The Beatles ' 1967 album Sgt " Heavy metal band, Metallica used the sitar for an intro to "Wherever I May Roam" which has a Middle Eastern like sound. Metallica is an American heavy metal band that formed in 1981 in. The Rolling Stones also used sitar in "Paint It, Black" and the legacy of sitar in pop culture was begun. " Paint It Black " is a song recorded by The Rolling Stones in 1966.
Sitar mechanics
A distinctive feature of the sitar is the curved frets, which are movable, allowing fine variation in tuning, and raised so that sympathetic strings can run underneath the frets. A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a Stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck Sympathetic strings or resonance strings are auxiliary strings found on many Indian musical instruments as well as some Western Baroque instruments and a variety A typical sitar, depending on the style, can have 21, 22 or 23 strings. Among these strings are six or seven playable strings, which are situated over the frets. A Gandhar-pancham sitar (used by Vilayat Khan and his disciples) is one which has six playable strings, whereas a Khadaj-pancham sitar has seven playable strings and was used in the Maihaar Gharana (Ravi Shankar). Ustad Vilayat Khan ( Bangla: বিলায়েত খাঁ Bilaeet Khã) (August 8 1928 –March 13 2004 was one of India 's well known Three (or four in a Khadaj-pancham sitar) 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). In music a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or Accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout much In music a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or Accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout much In Music, a melody (from Greek μελῳδία - melōidía, "singing chanting" also tune, voice, or The sitar also has 11-16 sympathetic strings or tarbs (also known as "tarif" or "tarifdar") running underneath the frets.
The instrument has two 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. A bridge is a device for supporting the strings on a Stringed instrument and transmitting the Vibration of those strings to some other structural component The sitar may or may not have a secondary resonator, the tumba, near the top of its hollow neck. A resonator is a device or system that exhibits Resonance or resonant behavior that is it naturally oscillates at some frequencies, called its resonance 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 reverberates, its length changes slightly as its edge touches the bridge, promoting the creation of overtones and giving the sound its distinctive, rich tone. An overtone is a natural resonance or vibration frequency of a system The maintenance of this specific tone by shaping the bridge is called jawari. Jivari, in Indian classical music culture and thought refers to the Overtone -rich "buzzing" sound characteristic of classical Indian string instruments Adjusting the jawari requires great skill. Many professional musicians will rely on professional instrument 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.
The materials used in construction include teak wood or tun wood (Cedrela tuna), which is a variation of mahogany, for the neck and faceplate (tabli), and gourds for the kaddu (the main resonating chamber). Teak ( Tectona) is a genus of tropical Hardwood Trees in the family Verbenaceae, native to the south and southeast of Asia This article refers to the Dried fruit shell For the alternative country musical group of a similar name see The Gourds. The instrument's bridges are made of deer horn, ebony, or very occasionally from camel bone. Synthetic material is now common as well. More insight as to the building process of modern sitars can be found here
Tuning
The tuning of a sitar varies depending on the sitarist's school or style. Generally, the main playing string is tuned to C - D# and the drone strings are tuned to the Sa note (the root of the scale) and the Pa note (the fifth degree of the scale, unless the raga being played omits the fifth degree, in which case we would tune the drone strings to the closest note below to fifth in the raga). 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 typically re-tune the sitar for each raga.
The strings are tuned by turning the tuning pegs that hold the strings. A tuning peg is used to hold a string in the Pegbox of a stringed instrument. The main playing strings are fine-tuned by sliding a bead, that is fit around each string just below the bridge. The nature of the sitar's tuning pegs and its many strings, as well as the nature of Indian music theory, make it very difficult to tune.
In one or more of the more common tunings (used by Ravi Shankar, among others, called "Kharaj Pancham" sitar) the playable strings are strung in this fashion:
- Chikari strings: Sa (high), Sa (middle), and Pa.
- Kharaj (bass) strings: Sa (low) and Pa (low).
- Jod and baaj strings, Sa and Ma.
In a "Gandhar Pancham" (Imdadkhani, school of Vilayat Khan) sitar, the bass or kharaj strings are removed and are replaced by a fourth chikari which is tuned to Ga. Ustad Vilayat Khan ( Bangla: বিলায়েত খাঁ Bilaeet Khã) (August 8 1928 –March 13 2004 was one of India 's well known By playing the chikari strings with this tuning, one produces a chord (Sa, Sa, Pa, Ga).
The sympathetic strings (taraf) 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, with the last three in the upper range. Rāga ( Sanskrit, lit "colour" or "mood" or rāgam in Carnatic music) refers to melodic modes used
If you were to tune it to raga Kafi for example you use tune as follows: Sa, ni (lower case denotes flat or, more properly, komal) Sa, Re, ga, Ga (Shuddh or natural), considering that in Kafi you will come to Shuddh Ga when descending or "Avarohi"), ma, Pa, Dha, ni, Sa, Re, ga. In Music, flat means "lower in pitch" More specifically in Music notation, flat means "lower in pitch by a Semitone for the town in Nepal see Swara Nepal The notes or swaras, of Indian music are shadja rishabh gandhar madhyam pancham dhaivat and nishad In Musical notation, a natural sign ( is an accidental sign used to cancel a flat or sharp from either a preceding note or the Key signature In the raga Yaman Kaylan you will tune the tarif strings to Sa, Ni, Sa, Re, Ga, ma (Yaman Kaylan asks for a sharp, or tivra) Ma, but often will touch shuddh ma on the descent or "Avarohi"), La, Da, Dna, Pi, Rho, Sig, Ja. In Music, sharp means higher in pitch More specifically in Musical notation, sharp means "higher in pitch by a Semitone (half step" for the town in Nepal see Swara Nepal The notes or swaras, of Indian music are shadja rishabh gandhar madhyam pancham dhaivat and nishad Once more, however, there is a lot of stylistic variance within these tunings. An artist will develop a particular tuning for a particular piece and it may be idiosyncratic. There is no guarantee that other musicians will choose the same tuning even if they perform an identical raga.
Playing
The dominant hand is used to pluck the string using a metallic pick or plectrum called the mezrab. Often called a pick or plec, a plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. mizrabfingerjpeg|thumb|A mizrab as worn on the index finger]] A Mezrāb ( also spelled mizrab) or zakhmeh ( also spelled as zakhma) is a Plectrum When playing sitar, the thumb of the plucking hand should stay anchored on the top part 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 occasionally use the third.
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 drone for the sitar's melody. The tambura ( Hindi: तानपूरा is a type of Stringed instrument found in different versions in different places around the world most are plucked In Music, a melody (from Greek μελῳδία - melōidía, "singing chanting" also tune, voice, or Nowadays it is possible to purchase books and videos to assist home learning.
The Batish Institute of Indian Music and Fine Arts in Santa Cruz, California, USA, has produced a number of video tutors for the sitar. The reader is directed to a link on the Batish site for a growing bibliography of some of these videos and books. Also available are advanced training videos through Rain City Music.
Learning to play the sitar is a difficult process. The entire 3-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. In Music, an octave ( is the the use of which is "common in most musical systems 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 callus (or Callosity) is an especially toughened area of Skin which has become relatively thick and hard as a response to repeated contact or pressure 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. In Hindustani music meend refers to the bending or deflecting of pitches A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest Musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music and it is considered the Microtonal music is Music using microtones — intervals of less than an equally spaced Semitone.
Variants
Surbahar is a larger Sitar with broader fret-board and thicker strings. The Surbahar ( Hindi: सुर बहार also known as bass sitar) is a Plucked string instrument used in the Hindustani classical music It has a deeper tonal quality and the agile finger work characteristic of Sitar is not possible on this. A recent variant is Ranjan Veena which tries to emulate the sound of sitar but uses the technique of slide guitar.
Digital representations
Patch number 105 in the General MIDI Level 1 Instrument Patch Map[1] is specified as a sitar. General MIDI or GM is a specification for Synthesizers which imposes several requirements beyond the more abstract MIDI standard The accuracy of the sound produced by a General MIDI tone generator will vary from model to model. Also, due to additional frequencies generated by the interaction between the main strings and drone strings on the acoustic instrument, any accurately synthesized model would have to be extremely complex.
References
See also
External links
- International sitar learning and information website (sitar.co.za)
- Hindustani Music Resources
- Sitar and Classical Music Resource with Rich Internet Content
- More about Sitar
- Maintaining and repairing a sitar
- Vimoksha.com - Information on Indian classical music, stringed instruments and Indian classical dance
- Sitar FAQ
Dictionary
sitar
-noun
- (music) A Hindustani/Indian stringed classical musical instrument, typically having a gourd as its resonating chamber.
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