script for sitar course

Namaste everyone my name is pauras sarmalkar and

through this video i am going to give you a brief orientation
about sitar, the parts of sitar the history of sitar and basic
playing techniques.
sitar is the most prominent lute played today in hindustani
classical music of north as well as non classical genres
like bollywood, jazz, rock and pop music.
So let's have a closer look at sitar and the etymology of
the word sitar.
-Sitar is derived from Persian language with a similar
instrument in Persia named Sehtar. The words seh means
3 and tar means string, originally the instrument had just 3
strings. The instrument I am holding is a gandhar
pancham sitar crafted in calcutta.

So what is a gandhar pancham sitar and are there

different types and styles of sitar too?

prominently sitar playing is majorly categorized under 2

umbrella styles
1. Gayaki ang/ vocal style followed mostly followed by
Imdadkhani gharana popularized by Ut Vilayat Khan
2. Tantrakari ang/instrumental style followed mostly by
maihar gharana popularized by pt Ravi shankar.
parts of a sitar
(i will elaborate the parts of sitar with original sanskrit,hindi
and persian words and also the translation for the same
for each part in english)
1. dand/stem or neck- made up of seasoned burma
teak or tun wood which is semicircular and hollow
from the inside.
2. khunti/tuning pegs- the bigger khuntis for main
playing strings/melody strings and drone strings which
has a knob and smaller ones for sympathetic or taraf
strings.khunti are rotated clockwise or anti clockwise
for tuning.there are different designs of khuntis like
depicted in the picture they may be lotus or rose
shape,fluted or smooth.Demo*
3. tar or strings-
1. baj taar-stainless steel 30 or 31 gauge
2. jod taar- copper of 26 or 27 gauge
3. gandhar- stainless steel of 30 gauge
4.pancham- stainless steel of 32 gauge
5.chikari- stainless steel of 34 gauge
6.chikari- stainless steel of 34 gauge
Demo*
4. targahan and meru or upper bridge- 2 bridges, one
from which strings pass and other from which strings
rest in the groove.
5. pardas or frets-18 in numbers mostly of brass alloy,
they are tied with nylon threads and thus can slide
according to raag. Demo*
6. mohra or string holders- made up of bone.
7. gullu or neck joint- connects the dand and the
resonator, very crucial part of sitar as the sitar
developes a bend over here and is connected to
tumba with a dovetail joint
8. zulf or wooden decoration of grape vine
9. tabli or soundboard- made up of plank of teak or tun
wood
10. ghoraj or the bridges
11. jawari or table bridge- flat table bridge originally
made up of deer horn but nowadays camel or bovine
bone or even ebony wood and synthetic alternatives
are used.observe the different angulations of jawari
for different styles.a bandh jawari has a less bright but
sharper tone and a khuli jawari has a very bright
tone.Demo*
12. Manka or tuning beads- made up of bone they
are used for fine tuning of the strings of sitar.
13. langot or tail piece-triangular tail piece attached
for fastening the strings
14. tumba or gourd- made up of calabash gourd cut
in half and not pumpkin as most of the people say.
calabash or gourd belongs to genus lagenaria and
pumpkin belong to genus cucurbita.
15. inlay works- originally ivory or mother of pearl
was used but nowadays due to the ban on both these
 products synthetic alternatives like celluloid or
imitation mother of pearl are used.
16. mizrab or wire plectrum- made up of thick wire
bent in angular form and has 2 wings that firmly hold
the finger distally to the last phalangeal joint.
History of Sitar
talking about the history of Sitar, sitar is a very recent
instrument as compared to the other classical musical
instruments. The sitar what we see today is developed to
the current form just 100 years ago. The long neck lute
family of musical instruments was introduced in India with
the advent of Mughal rule. Various foreign musical
instruments mostly from central asia, West Asia and
Persia were introduced in India. The tanbur family of long
lutes was one of them. The Tanbur underwent a lot of
modifications to suit the indian taste of music and finally
developed into what today we know as sitar. It is a popular
misbelief that sitar was invented by Amir Khusrau of the
13th century. Although khusrau is credited for introducing
tarana and qawwali in indian music there are no evidences
in his records which mentions sitar. Nevertheless sitar was
gradually indianized post mughal era with the features like
raised frets and wider stem, the jawari as bridge, usage of
calabash gourd as resonator and usage of secondary
resonator from the stick zither or rudra veena tradition.
Techniques of playing sitar
Sitting posture
Sit in gomukhasana,
Sitar should be parallel to body,
muscles relaxed,
back straight,
tumba should be resting on left ankles,
tumba should between balanced by the elbow of right
hand so the left hand is free to move, demo*
45° angle between the dand and floor,
Left thumb anchored and right hand fingers free to move,
Left thumb behind the dand and the index and middle
finger slides on the string.

Basic right hand techniques

● Bols
● Da ra diri
Left hand techniques
● Krintan
● Murki
● Khatka
● Ghasit

Now ill tell you about how to render a raag

Let us know what is a raag
First is the alaap section followed by jod and then rhythm
comes into play wherein gats are played, sitar has 2 types
of gats masitkhani and razakhani

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