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Sitar

The sitar is an ancient Indian stringed instrument. It is played by strumming and fingering notes out along the neck of the guitar-like instrument. It is a simpler and more portable version of its older cousin the veena, a prominent South Indian musical instrument. The sitar is played at religious functions and for leisure.

Description
A dried out pumpkin forms the base of the sitar, wood forms the long neck and dried gourd the top of the neck. The strings start from the mid-section of the pumpkin and are tied to the neck of the body. With seven strings on the upper body and eleven to twelve strings under the frets, the sitar produces divine music. The frets are movable and arched allowing free resonation. There are two separate bridges: the large is for the main strings while the small bridge is for the sympathetic strings.

Men and women play the instrument differently, with different playing postures for either gender. The man sits with his right knee capped over the left while the woman has both knees together and legs drawn inward. The main gourd of the sitar is always rested on the sole of the left foot and the neck of the sitar is held at an angle of 45 degrees from the floor.

The sitar player wears two mizrabs or thimble-like structures on his or her little finger. Whilst strumming the instrument with the mizrab, the player moves his other hand along the neck. Sitar music is enjoyed for leisure. In India, it is often played at Hindu and Sikh temples.

History
The sitar gained popularity only in the recent century. Traditionally, the veena was played in ancient India and the art of playing it were imparted to family members and close friends. In the 14th century, the sehthar, or an early version of the sitar, was a three-stringed instrument.

Towards the latter half of the eighteenth century, sitar maestros like Amir Khan, Bahadhur and Gulam Raza emerged. They brought the sitar to spotlight in India with their lovely ragas (tunes). Soon, the sitar occupied a special place in Hindustani music as the veena does in Karnatic music. Today, Ravi Shankar has been hailed the sitar maestro from the West as well in the sub-continent. The sitar has also been used by many musicians in the United Kingdom and America.

Singapore
In Singapore, sitar playing existed as early as the first arrival of Indians to this island. The art here has been made vibrant by many local musical families and associations. Along the years, guru or teachers have come from India to teach and perform, thus becoming mentors to many local Indian musicians. Sitar lessons are available at the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society, Nrityalaya Aesthetics Academy of Fine Arts and the Indian Classical Music Centre.

Variant names
English: zither.
Indonesia: siter, found in the gamelan orchestra. The Indonesian version of the instrument is slightly different from traditional sitar and is one of only two plucked instruments in the gamelan.
Dutch: cither.


Author
Rakunathan Narayanan & Danny Jeyaseelan



References
Chaudhuri, D. (1981). Sitar and its technique. Delhi: Avon Book.
(Call no.: RART 787.9 CHA)

Deva, B. C. (1977). Musical instruments. New Delhi: National Book Trust.
(Call no.: RART 784.1954 DEV)

Khan, Sharafat Ustad. (1989). Enter the world of sitar. Singapore: S. Khan.
(Call no.: RART 787.67 KHA)

Miner, A. (1993). Sitar and sarod in the 18th and 19th centuries. Wilhelmshaven: Noetzel.
(Call no.: RART 787.2 MIN)

Peters, J. E. E. (1984, August). The sitar . The Singapore Heritage, 5, 8-9.
(Call no.: RCLOS 959.57 SH)

Rosenthal, E. (1970). The story of Indian music and its instruments. New Delhi: Oriental Books.
(Call no.: RART 781.754 ROS)

Look what he can pull off with all his 19 strings. (1999, July 6). The Straits Times.

With strings attached. (1999, January 28 ). The Straits Times, Life!.

Info.dentrecords. (2004). Mike's sitar page. Retrieved January 4, 2005, from  www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stage/2049/sitar.html


Further Readings
Wang, Pin-lu. (1983). A Chinese zither tutor: The Mei-an chin-pu. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
(Call no.: RART 787.8 WAN)

Indian Classical Music Centre. (n.d.). Introduction: Ustad Sharafat Khan. Retrieved May 8, 2002, from www.sitar.com.sg/ustadsharafatkhan.shtm

Nrityalaya Aesthetics Society. (2003).  Nrityalaya Aesthetics Society. Retrieved May 8, 2002, from www.nas.org.sg

Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS). (2003-2004). Welcome to Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society. Retrieved January 4, 2005, from www.sifas.org/ 

The information in this article is valid as at 2002 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Arts>>Performing Arts>>Music
Sitar
Musical instruments--Asia
Stringed instruments
Music--India
Arts>>Music>>Musical instruments and ensembles>>Strings



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