Musical Intrument-SITAR

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The sitar (Urdu: , Hindi: ?????) is probably the best-known South Asian instrument in the West. 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.

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Etymology and history

The name sitar comes from the Persian ? sehtar; ? seh meaning three and tar means string. A similar instrument, the setar, is used to this day in Iran and Afghanistan, and the original Persian name is still used. Both instruments are most likely derived from the Turkish tanbr, which is a long, lute-like instrument with no gourd resonating chamber. Both the tembr and sehtar were used in pre-Islamic Persia and also used in Turkey today. Alternatively, 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, or that the modern sitar is an amalgamation of the two. 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 instrument 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 were formerly made of ivory, but today are made of camel bone or 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 of 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 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 mezrab 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 specialised 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 mezrab. 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.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An electric sitar is in fact a kind of electric guitar designed to mimic the sound of the traditional South Asian instrument, the sitar. Depending on the manufacturer and model, these instruments bear varying degrees of resemblance to the traditional sitar. Most, in fact, resemble the electric guitar in the style of the body and headstock, though some have a body shaped to resemble that of the sitar (such as a model made by Danelectro).

The instrument was developed in the late 1960's, when many western musical groups began to use the sitar. The sitar is generally considered a difficult instrument to learn.^[1] By contrast, the electric sitar, with its standard guitar fretboard and tuning, is easy for a guitarist to get to grips with.

In addition to the six playing strings, most electric sitars have sympathetic strings, typically located on the left side of the instrument (though some do not have these). These strings have their own pickups (typically lipstick pickups are used for both sets of strings), and are usually tuned with a harp wrench (a difficult process). A unique type of bridge, a "buzz bridge" (developed by session musician Vincent Bell), helps give the instrument its distinctive sound. Some electric sitars have drone strings in lieu of sympathetic strings. A few models, such as the Jerry Jones "Baby" sitar, lack both sympathetic and drone strings, while still retaining the distinctive feature of the buzz bridge.

Vincent Bell used the instrument on several songs, including "Green Tambourine" by the Lemon Pipers, "Band of Gold" by Freda Payne, and "Heartbreaker" by Gene Pitney.^[2]

Because the tone quality and playing technique differ significantly from that of the sitar, it is not used by classical musicians, but typically by rock, jazz, fusion, and other pop music groups. Notably, B.J. Thomas featured its sound on "Hooked on a Feeling" in 1969 and The Stylistics made frequent use of it in the 1970's. It was also used by Yes, R.E.M, Metallica, Steely Dan, Santana, and Steve Vai.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Beginning in the 1960s, various pop artists began experimenting with the using the sitar in their music.

Early use of the sitar

Its first known use in a western pop song was in 1965, when The Yardbirds hired a sitar player to provide the main riff of their "Heart Full Of Soul" single. That version and the band's original take of "Shapes Of Things" also featuring the sitar, were however not released at the time.

The Rolling Stones' guitarist Brian Jones used the sitar in "Paint It Black", and "Mother's Little Helper"; he also played the tambura on "Street Fighting Man". The sitar was used by The Beatles in "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)", "Love You To", "Within You Without You", "The Inner Light", "Tomorrow Never Knows", and "Across The Universe" (with Ravi Shankar). Prior to this however, the sitar did appear on the American release of Help!, on an instrumental track called "Another Hard Day's Night" (a medley of "A Hard Day's Night", "Can't Buy Me Love", and "I Should Have Known Better"). This track has not been included on modern releases of the album. George Harrison was introduced to the sitar by The Byrds, though this group never featured the instrument on records; guitarist Roger McGuinn used a retuned 12-string guitar to recreate the harmonies of Ravi Shankar (as did Brian Jones on some occasions). Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers used the sitar in their single "Don't Come Around Here No More". A fad for sitars in pop songs soon developed. The late 1960s saw the release of The Monkees' "This Just Doesn't Seem To Be My Day", The Box Tops' "Cry Like A Baby" (electric sitar), The Lemon Pipers' "Green Tambourine" (electric sitar), Traffic's "Paper Sun" and The Kinks' "Fancy". Though the craze had died down by 1970, the sound of the sitar had become an indelible part of pop music.

The Dutch band Shocking Blue used the sitar in many of their songs, most prominently in "Love Buzz," "Acka Raga," "Water Boy," "Hot Sand," and "I'm A Woman."

Strawberry Alarm Clock would use a sitar in their songs such as "An Angry Young Man".

Art-Rock bands such as The Moody Blues used the sitar on a few albums, particularly on the album "In Search of the Lost Chord." The Pretty Things "Defecting Grey" also had a sitar. So did Procol Harum's epic Song "In Held 'Twas In I" on the segment "Glimpses of Nirvana". Even Donovan's hit song "Hurdy Gurdy Man" used a Sitar ([Tamboura])

Other hits with prominent sitar parts include B.J. Thomas "Hooked On a Feeling" and Steve Wonder "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours"

Use of the sitar by contemporary bands

More recently, the sitar has started to regain some of its prominence in western mainstream music. The late sixties Indian inflected jazz funk track "Mathar" by the Dave Pike Set featuring sitarist Volker Kriegel latterly became a massive club hit when rediscovered in the early 90's. The metal band Metallica used the sitar on "Wherever I May Roam" as well as rival band Megadeth on the song "Secret Place" fromm the album the "Cryptic Writings". Also the Christian hard rock band Blindside on their song Shekina. The Scottish band Belle & Sebastian uses the sitar most notably in their song "Legal Man." Cornershop's album When I Was Born for the 7th Time uses it extensively. The avant-garde rock band Polvo, psychedelic rock bands Kula Shaker, The High Dials, and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and the electronica group Morcheeba all use the sitar in many of their songs. Oasis has used an electric sitar on the song "Who Feels Love?" on the album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, Incubus used a sitar on the bridge of "Nowhere Fast" on the album Make Yourself. Sitar has also been featured in No Doubt's hit album Tragic Kingdom, and Green Day has also used the instrument on the song "Extraordinary Girl" on American Idiot. System of a Down has also been noted for sometimes using the sitar in their songs, as well as the band Dream Theater in the song "Home" on Scenes from A Memory. A sitar is prominently featured in Thievery Corporation's "Lebanese Blonde". The band Ra uses the sitar in some if their songs. Jack's Mannequin used a sitar in the choruses and outtro of their song 'Kill The Messenger.' Also, metal band Disturbed uses a sitar in the beginning parts of Ten Thousand Fists. On the new album 'The Hardest Walk', the band The Soledad Brothers use the sitar in their song 'True to Zou Zou'. The last track on Pearl Jam's self-titled album, has a hidden track that appears just 4 seconds after the end of Inside Job, it is Eddie Vedder playing a melody on a sitar. The sitar features prominently in the song "Petrol and Chlorine" by Silverchair. The Cat Empire have also used a sitar in their song "Cities"

Sitarist Anoushka Shankar, daughter of sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, composes music in a worldbeat vein.

Also, on a smaller scale, it is also used as a backing synth in "Right Here, Right Now", by Fatboy Slim.

The industrial super-group Pigface also uses the sitar on a few songs.

The Japanese band Spitz used the electric sitar on their song "Kimi ga Omoede ni Naru".

The sitar is used extensively by American multi-instrumentalist and singer, Gabby La La. Her solo release, an album called Be Careful What You Wish For, features her playing the sitar along with several other instruments including the toy piano and the theremin. She has collaborated with well known funk-rock bass player, Les Claypool of Primus, on his solo album Of Whales and Woe as well as on Be Careful What You Wish For.... In the summer of 2006, Gabby La La played sitar for Les Claypool's Fancy Band at numerous jam band music festivals including Wakarusa Music & Camping Festival and Bonnaroo Music Festival. Gabby La La is signed to Les Claypool's record label, Prawn Song.

South African band Firefly made prominent and unusual use of sitar in the song Falling Rain The sitar was played by Rex van der Spuy in a style the band dubbed "Country and Eastern".