How To Tune The Sitar In Easy Steps: A Beginners’ Guide

Introduction

Sitar is a stringed instrument that makes a sound similar to the violin. This instrument has been around for thousands of years. It is used in traditional and classical Indian music, as well as in folk music. The word ‘sitar’ comes from Persian, meaning three strings. Sitar instruments have three or four main strings that run over a large resonator bowl made of pewter, copper, wood, or glass. A sitar player shifts the position of their fingers on the strings to change the notes being played. If you are a complete novice to the sitar, and not sure where to start, this guide will help you out. I’m going to explain what each string does and how it works with the other strings how to tune the sitar in easy steps.

Sitar is a musical instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is most notably used in Hindustani classical music, where it represents the primary melody instrument, and is widely used in the folk music of the Punjab region of India. It is a stringed musical instrument. It is widely used in Indian classical music, as well as in many other musical genres in the Indian subcontinent and elsewhere.

The sitar flourished in the sixteenth century, when Mughal invaders brought it to India. Since then, it has attracted a steady following throughout South Asia and the Middle East.

There are two kinds of sitar playing styles: one using fingers and another using a combination of strokes with the fingernails and palm with the strings plucked.

The main part of the Sitar to know to tune

Dandi or The hollow neck of the instrument, which comprises a gourd covered with a thin membrane made of dried skin or plastic (usually the shell of an earthen water jug), with a small circular opening. The hollow neck is attached near the top of the main bow. It is the casing of the sitar. Dried gourds are traditionally used. Due to their fragility, they should be handled with caution. One of the main benefits of carbon fiber sitars is that their necks and tombs are one piece, making them resistant to most impacts.

Taraf Tar or Sympathetic strings accompany the sitar. When the pitch of a string is played, these begin to vibrate sympathetically. The reverberation and resonance of the sitar are characteristic of its sound.

Sitar fretboard. To make it easier to bend the strings across them, they are curved to sit above the neck and sympathetic strings. In most cases, they are clipped to the neck with strong string, allowing them to move upwards or downwards as needed.

Kunti or tuner’s peg. The traditional tension-held type is traditionally made of spun wood, which makes it vulnerable to slippage.

The vital string attached peg is called BajTar Kunti.

The Tar Grahan is the Sitar nuts are fed into the main strings using this string guide.

Tabli or the sitar’s main soundboard. This piece has the greatest effect on the sound alongside the jawari. These are traditionally made from tun or teak wood. Sitar Carbon’s tablis are made from carbon fiber, and feature a proprietary interior design to replicate the properties of wooden tablis.

Baj Tar or the main string of the sitar.

Bada Ghoraj or There are two bridges. In the past, animal bone was used for this purpose, but now it is more likely to be polyoxymethylene plastic, or Delrin, made from polyoxymethylene. Footprints are usually wooden. As the strings wear away, the bridge, or jawari, becomes worn. Restoring the bridge to its original condition occasionally will require work. There is a high level of respect for masters of Jawari, which is a difficult art. This is self-lubricating and scratch-resistant material can be used to make the carbon sitar bridges strong.

Chota Ghoraj or sympathetic strings bridges are equally important.

The Sitar is a plucked string instrument with sympathetic strings that are used to play the melody. The strings of this instrument are made up of animal gut and are stretched over a large resonating gourd or jar. The frets on the neck of the instrument keep the different notes separated while they vibrate against each other, making an accordant sound. A basic sitar can be tuned in five steps:

According to  Ravi Shankar approximately 72 parent scales exist. Ragas can be pentatonic (five notes), hexatonic (six notes) or full scale (seven notes) for each scale. The majority of sitars have 18-20 strings. Tuning an instrument properly can take a considerable amount of time.

Sitars can be tuned in numerous ways and are usually tuned to a wide variety of keys from B to D. However, Ravi Shankar tunes his sitars in the key of C# rather than C. It must also be noted that various ragas call for specific tunings.

An important factor to consider is the key. C is the key in which this particular sitar is tuned. The base tuning of a sitar is typically C, C#, or D. Higher pitches generally sound better on sitars. It is much easier to play on a lower pitch, so we pick it.

There are seven main strings on a sitar, which correspond to the seven main chakras in the body. These strings represent the main energy pathways of prana (life force) in practitioners.

In order to play the sitar, one must tune the strings to produce a single musical note.

This is what makes the sitar so interesting to me. The instrument allows for so much creativity and versatility, and yet it still retains its traditional sound.

Each string on the sitar represents a different musical note. The first string, referred to as the “Sa” string, is tuned to “Sa”. Similarly, the next string is tuned to “Re”, and so on until one reaches the sixth string, which is tuned to “Pa”.

To tune a string on a sitar, you must:

This is how it is connected –

The first string, which is closest to the top of the sitar, corresponds with the crown chakra. The second string, which is closest to the bottom of the sitar, corresponds with the root chakra. And so on and so forth.

The first string is called Sa. The second string is called Re. The third string is called Ga. And so on down to the last string.

Conclusion

Learn how to play sitar and use it in your music production. Some great Indian musicians like Ravi Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee, Budhaditya Mukherjee, and Kishori Amonkar are known for this instrument.