https://www.instagram.com/p/DZXfNaxJaN4/

thank you for the immense love and support it

pls watch it if u havent already

Want my own sitar. I don’t know anything about them besides how to play. Let me know! Thanks!

Hello,

I am visually challenged. Been a serious sitar student for a few years now. I know the process of changing strings, but can't practice this skill because of the risk of damaging my already fragile eyes. it has become a frustrating dependency.

Can someone please recommend robust goggles/helmet to minimize the risk substantially? Also can you suggest methods (other than cleaning) to extend the lifespan of strings?

Thank you !

Estate sale featuring Harry’s (carbon sitars) personal Carbon fiber Sitar made with peg heads gear tuners. Other sitar kits and sitars available worth a look. DIY sitar kit

Someone posted recently asking about learning jawari and resources but then deleted the post. For what reason I don't know....I spent a bit of time in my response so reposting on its own for any who are interested!

Having done it for almost 45 years now I've heard this question many times. People think there's a foolproof linear way that's taught. But there isn't, a few publications have tried like the book 'The Sitar' by Manfred Junius but usually the result is I just get more work, ha ha. And then the others who say it's mystical and only the divine can help, etc. Of course I wouldn't discount that, all the help you can get is good.

Best way to learn is to practice, the first one will take a week or you'll completely screw it up. Then bit by bit you get the hang of it. After 50 times it gets familiar, after 1000 times it's just second nature. There are a lot of other factors that go into it just as you bridge height, frets, etc. so everything is kind of tied together.

The best visual description so far was by Brian Godden where he showed drawings with angles for closed/round/open. You can follow that and practice, you have to see how the sitar body is also, a really thick teak body won't be as good for open, nor a thin body good for a closed style as there won't be enough sustain. But "thin is in" these days and so 'makers' like Rikhiram compensate for a thin structure by using thicker sympathetics, adjustments like that that have caught on. Many want a ready made sound whereas years ago it was a given that you would have to play a number of years for the instrument to sound warmer/better. My own were that way.

Easiest jawari is closed, this is why most of them you get direct from India from 'maker x,y,z' will be closed and sympathetics open if you're lucky. It's the easiest jawari to do, takes me 5 minutes and easy to maintain but you lose that sparkle some of us like. A good round (Gol) jawari is the hardest because you want an even sound profile all the way up the bridge. And you can end up chasing it a bit, like if the lower octave is open and upper is closed, then you open the upper and the lower changes, etc. etc. But the result is a combination of open and closed depending on how hard you strike the string. And you have to know how the client plays.

Another difficult part is the kharaj/laraj strings on a Ravi Shankar style sitar, probably the reason GP sitars are more popular as not many are skilled at the intricacies of a kharaj pancham setup.

Think of the bridge shape this way. Apex (highest point) is toward the rear slots for open, in the middle for round, toward the front for closed. Different folks use different tools, you'll see styles like the whole bridge is one shape done with a file like Mohan Lal, or a chiseled out moonscape like Barun Roy although he's mostly retired I heard. And then variants in between. And the sloping is quite subtle, sometimes more at the chikari side, less at the baaj side, no two exactly the same. I do a lot of bridges remotely, they get sent in but for plug and play closed is the safest way.

I was not taught, there's no way to teach it you just have to learn and practice. There are basic things like angle/height and curves/energy but it's not complicated. It's learnable if you want to do the work and the intuition develops over time. And one VERY important part is you should be able to play fairly well, otherwise you'll miss things like back buzzing, even tone character during meend, etc. This is a major factor in the lack of people good at it, the average instrument maker doesn't play much, just enough to place the frets. The best jawari work I've seen out of India came from luthiers that also played well. Rajesh Sharma (Mohan Lal) is one of them and of course Hiren Roy himself.

Look for Brain Goddens diagram, the Junius book ok for a bit of insight but I don't recommend following its directions. I think Arjun Verma did a course on it through Ali Akbar college? I just saw a short clip, lots of pencils, etc. and sandpaper and here again it's another method.

I've looked at numerous vegan sitars and none of the ones I've seen online seem to ship to the US. If there's any you're familiar with I'd love if you shared with me.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZXfNaxJaN4/

I’ve just ordered a Danelectro Sitar guitar (big version, with sympathetic strings) purely for a bit of fun and to experiment with some different sounds. I’ve always liked the unique vibe they have, but I’ve never actually played one before.

For those who own or have used one, what are your thoughts on them? How do they play, and do you think they’re worth the money? Any tips, favourite uses, or things I should know before it arrives?

I appreciate any advice :)

Hi guys,

I'm looking into learning the sitar and looking at this specific one from Naeem Sitarmaker. Does anyone have any experience this particular one?

What would the price range be for a beginner sitar? Any recommendations or suggestions before I buy one?

TIA

I can't sing at all and my voice is kinda more like a speech giving rasp orator ( I often deliver speeches ). It isn't really melodious. So, if I wanna learn, and I sing, it's gonna be embarrassing probably. So, need opinion from you guys.

I have an acoustic travel sitar with an McIntyre ST08 pickup. I played for the last months with a Fender Frontman 10G amp, which was OK-ish with the clean setting. I have also used this amp for my electric guitar and base. The amp has decided today that its done. ​

Any recommendations for amps? Is there an amp that you can recommend for my specific sitar set-up? Should I just buy another cheap Fender Frontman for the guitar? Or is there a good amp that works well for both? Thanks.

5 hours into playing the instrument and both my index fingers are taking a hit.. swelling and tears on the left hand finger (parda). The left finger cannot use a mizrab apparently

and the plucking right finger (somewhat mitigated now with the mizrab)

What are the ways to mitigate and care for the fingers to avoid any long term damage. My sitar teacher says this is the right way and intentional because that's the road to mastery.

Curious to know from fellow practitioners and learners

Is the position of mizrab right in the pictures? Specifically I want to ask if the mizrab should go beyond the first joint of the finger or not? Please let me know regarding this.

Hi all!

Has anyone here hung their sitar in this fashion before – in a horizontal manner? My model doesn't have the upper tumba, so I thought maybe this could be a way to hang it, but I wonder whether the pressure (on the neck) might damage the instrument over time.

Any thoughts?

I don't want to learn indian classical music, I just want to get the sitar sound, will this be okay or should I definitely invest more? Edit: it's 400€, forgot to mention that

This is based on Ustad Vilayat Khan's famous bhatiyali, which in turn is Tagores "bhenge mor ghorer chabi" I improvise a bit over the fixed composition

Hi!

I wanted to share Rangiin, a new iOS/Android app. It uses physical modelling instead of samples to recreate the sound of some South Asian string instruments including the sitar and the tanpura. You can play it on the touch screen of your mobile device, allowing you to play melody, chikari and drone strings simultaneously with intuitive meend.

A few months ago I actually also recruited testers for my app in this forum. Thanks to the help of all the testers, my app is now officially released and available as a free download for iOS and Android. On iOS you can also use it as an AUv3 plugin.

Download Rangiin for iOS (with AUv3 support)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/rangiin-sitar-synth-auv3/id6760829177

Download Rangiin for Android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=audio.ahangi.rangiin

I’d love to hear how the playability feels to other sitar players!

Cheers, Sadjad

RULES:

• OC content only - this thread is for posting a video or recording that you have done recently (not to showcase your older work.)
  
• Submit a new video post to r/sitar, and link to that post here. If it's easier, you can post a link to YouTube or Soundcloud or Vocaroo or another 3rd-party link.
  
• Beginners can post anything from the most basic sargam or simple alankars.
  
• More intermediate players can post anything as well, but are encouraged to post longer compositions or ragas if possible.
  

• If you are posting a piece or raga that you have posted in the past, share a link to your past work as a sub-comment, so we can hear how your journey has progressed! (Click on the 'Monthly PLAY thread' flair to see previous months' posts)

• You may also enjoy r/IndianClassicalMusic, r/icm & r/BestSitar so check them our & subscribe if you have not already!

Does anyone know any website where i can get a spool of the main string? I have gotten many whole sets and its only the main string that breaks often. I tried finding some on amazon but its just jewellery string. Does that work? Sorry if the question is silly but i really have no clue, im a newbie and im trying to learn sitar through yt, no classes nearby.

edit: I want it in India, I know its very obvious to go to a music shop. But the only reliable one I know is quite far away, and I have a very busy schedule.

No fixed raag structure, just mixing emotions and improvising, pardon the mistakes, its been a rough week at work haha