Sitar
The sitar is probably the most popular of all Indian instruments. Most people think first of the sitar when they think of Indian music. It became quite popular since the well-known sitar player Ravi Shankar introduced it to the world and then to the Beatles. Although it is very popular and there are many excellent sitar performers, it is only one of many instruments at actual concerts of Hindustani music.
Structure and Method of Playing
Sitar belongs to the family of the long-necked lutes. Most of it is made of "tuna" wood, except the resonator (tumba), which is a hollowed gourd. Often a smaller resonator made of a hollowed pumpkin is also attached to the upper end, although some schools do not use it. The finger-board is about 90cm in length and 8cm in width, and is attached to the pear-shaped gourd, which has a width of about 35cm. The total length is about 120cm and about 2.5kg in weight. Usually 16 to 20 curved metal frets are tied to the fingerboard with gut or string at places that suit the scale of the raga being played. The frets then can be moved accordingly. The sitar generally has 7 main strings made of steel that are positioned above the frets, and are tuned to:
Ma1 Sa1 Pa1 Sa2 Pa2 Sa Sa1
The last two strings, called chikari, are for drone and for playing a melodic progression called jhala. If it is played in C# as Sa, the strings are tuned to
F# C# G# C# G# C# C#.
Besides the upper 7 strings, there are an additional 13 sympathic strings (tarab or taraf) tuned according to the raga that are positioned under the frets. These give the instrument a shimmering echo when played. The sitar's sound characteristics and sustain are created with these sympathic strings and the shape of bridge. A bridge made of bone is placed in the middle of the body, and is about 3cm in width. When the strings are plucked, the vibrations move up to the wide bridge. Then the strings start to pound the surface of the bridge. The same kind of invention can be found on the Japanese shamisen and biwa; in Japanese, these are calledsawari, or "touch." On the sitar, this effect is called javali.
The 7 main strings are plucked with the index finger of the right hand. The finger is fitted tightly with a plectrum made of wire, which is called mizrab or mizraf. For the jhala, the chikari strings are plucked with the tip of the little finger of the right hand. With the tips of the index finger, the middle finger and the third finger of the left hand, the strings are pushed and pulled. The strings are so thin that it is too painful for beginners to hold the strings properly. But the tips of the fingers of the left hand become callused with time. A player put oils on the tips of their fingers to smooth their movements.
history
Some say the origins of the sitar can be traced to the triatani veena, which is believed to have been in India in pre-Islamic times, though this may not be true. The name and the structure of the instrument show a Persian influence. Another opinion holds that the famed Sufi poet Ameer Khusro (1253~1325) invented the instrument. But none of his writings refer to it. Since there is no doubt that the sitar of today is closely related to the Persian string instrument called seh-tar("three strings"), it is today believed that the sitar is the modified form of the Indian lute with frets influenced by the arabic, and Persian string instrument. Abu al-Fazl, who was Akbar's chronicler in the Mughal Empire during the 16th century, does not list a sitar player among the court musicians, in his Ain-i-Akbari. So it seems the popularity of this instrument is recent.
Performers
The most renowned and successful sitar performer is Pandit Ravi Shankar, the man who introduced Hindustani music to the world. The late Nikhil Banerjee is also very popular, even after his death. One of his disciples, Amit Roy, living in Nagoya, Japan, continues to perform in Japan and in India. Ustad Villayat Khan is recognized as another top performer. His school Shujaat Khan includes his son, Imrat Khan, his younger brother, and Imrat's sons, Nishad, Irshad and a grandson of Villayat's uncle, Shahid Parvez. Buddhaditya Mukherjee is also recognized as a mature virtuoso.
buying a sitar
Some people buy sitars as a memento of their trip to India. But it is not easy to buy an instrument. For ordinary people, it is usually very difficult to judge if the price is reasonable and the quality good. Some sitar end up as an ornament in someone's house. I'm not talking about them. Let them buy expensive one.
As the sitar, as well as other Indian instruments like tabla, sarod, tambura and so on are handmade, their quality is not always good. Expensive instruments are not always the best ones. If you want to get a very good one, you should have some knowledge of the instrument and the music. It might be safer for a beginner to ask some sincere Indian player to buy one for them. And you had should know that the better quality sitar for the professional player is made to order.
<recent price>
a sitar---RS.5,000～RS.35,000
a tabla set---RS.2,000～RS.5,000<makers and shops in India>
Calcutta
Hiren Roy & Sons (one of the best quality), Heman Sen, Naskar
Delhi
Rikhi Ram、Kartar Singh
Benares
Radha Krishna
Mumbai
Bhargava Music Shop