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Diamond Books - Mamta Chaturvedi

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55 pages

English

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Sitar is the king of musical instruments of India. The enchanting 'clinking tins' and the flowing Meend sound sweetest on this instrument. It is the tonal superiority of this instrument that has accorded Sitar its peerless position among the other instruments of music. It is true that it rose to the dizzy heights of popularity quite belatedly. After having been invented by Amir Khusro by bringing about modification in the ancient Vedic instrument called Veena, the instrument didn't catch musicians' fancy immediately.

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Publié par	Diamond Books
Date de parution	06 avril 2020
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9789352788545
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0100€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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HOW TO PLAY SITAR

eISBN: 978-93-5278-854-5
© Publisher
Publisher: Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd.
X-30, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-II New Delhi-110020
Phone: 011-40712100, 41611861
E-mail: ebooks@dpb.in
Website: www.diamondbook.in
Edition: 2017
HOW TO PLAY SITAR
By - Mamta Chaturvedi
INTRODUCTION
Sitar is the king of musical instruments of India. The enchanting ‘ clinking tins’ and the flowing Meend sound sweetest on this instrument. It is the tonal superiority of this instrument that has accorded Sitar its peerless position among the other instruments of music. It is true that it rose to the dizzy heights of popularity quite belatedly. After having been invented by Amir Khusro by bringing about modification in the ancient Vedic instrument called Veena, the instrument didn’t catch musicians’ fancy immediately. Then it was Masit Khan of Delhi who brought about some more changes in the instrument to make it really fire the imagination of the musicians in the 18th century. With Imdad Khan and Baba Allauddin Khan of Maihar displaying their amazing dexterity on this instrument it became the cynosure of all music lovers. Since then it continued to gain popularity and became a universally beloved musical instrument when the Beetles, enchanted by the instrument under Pt. Ravi Shankar’s guidance, took to Sitar playing. While Panditji continues to enchant the world at large, Vilayat Khan captivated the people of this subcontinent with his wizardous mastery over the instrument. It was Nikhil Bannerji who took Sitar to the intellectuals or highbrow gentry. It is now no more an unusual sight to see young boys going to attend their music classes with their tiny Sitars tucked up in their armpits, right from San Francisco to Tokyo or Moscow to Colombo.
However, dispite Sitar’s popularity there are not many books that could impart the technique and basic knowledge in Sitar playing for the young learners. The going argument is it’s too complicated an instrument to be explained in cold print and unless there is a regular teacher, this knowledge can not be acquired. It is to meet this very challenge that this project has been taken up. This book not only explains with the help of illustrations and line drawings the basics of Sitar playing but also suggests hints for acquiring further mastery in this art. Whereas the author doesn’t claim any ‘originality’ in the gats etc. she avers that she is especially grateful to Mrs. Sheela Chaturvedi and Pt. Kishori Das of Moradabad whose practical guidelines have been of great help in the preparation of this work.
One word about the selected texts and notations of some most popular filmi songs. It is true that Sitar players never play these songs but it should not be forgotten that these songs are typical pieces of various combinations of musical notes applied sonorously and hence appear a challenge. In case you are able to play the basic tune (of the songs) you must deem it to be a very credible achievement. Apart from that, you can also convince your unmusical friends about your musical sense to score a point over them and win their admiration.
Lastly, the author is particularly grateful to Sh. Narenderji of Diamond Books whose zeal to reveal these ‘gems’ to the masses has few parallels. May he succeed in his mission!
Mamta Chaturvedi
CONTENTS Sitar: A Historical Musical Instrument Sitar: The Legend Salient Features of Indian Music Theory Concept of Tala and Laya Notation System of North Indian Music Playing on Sitar How to Handle Your Sitar How to Tune Your Sitar Some Important Rules of Sitar Playing Practice Exercises and Maintenance of Sitar Ragas on Sitar Playing Filmi Songs on Sitar (Text and Notation of Some Popular Filmi Songs) Other famous String Instruments (Sarod, Taanpura, Isaraaj) Glossary of Technical Terms
SITAR : A HISTORICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
In the court of Allauddin Khilji there existed a rare talent in the field of fine art. It was in the beginning of the 14th century that Amir Khusro regaled his audience by his musical and poetical process. He is believed to have been the inventor of the instrument now we call ‘ Sitar’ It is said that on the basis of the ancient Indian instrument of Veena or Been, he had a ‘ Madhyamadi Veena’ created- having three strings for playing. Since in Persian language ‘three’ is called ‘Sah’ (likes ‘ Sah-pahar’ for late afternoon), he started calling it ‘Seh-taar’, i.e. an instrument with three strings or ‘Taar’. The original Sitar- i.e. Sehtar which got changed to its present name- had two brass strings and one iron string taut on 14 frets. Both the brass strings were trimmed to ‘Shadaj’ (i.e. base note or ‘Sa’ ) and Pancham (Pa) while the iron one was trimed to Madhyam (Ma). The ‘ Toomba’ (the empty round shaped bottom) used to be half of the present size and the strings could be struck with the striking instrument called ‘Mijrabs’ or ‘plectrums’.
After Amir Khusro invented it, it didn’t catch the musicians’ fancy immediately. Then, it is said that Masit Khan of Delhi brought about some more changes in the instrument and showed his virtuosity by devising various ‘Gats’ still known by his name. In fact the instrument truly fired the imagination in late the 18th century. Since then the instrument continued to be further advanced and developed by various musicians and the process has not yet ceased. However, for the present shape the credit goes to Tansen’s family. It is claimed that after Masit Khan, Tansen’s son Surat Sen’s descendants Amnit Sen and Nihal Sen kept on improving the range and virtuosity of the instrument. It is also believed the Jaipur Gharana’s last scion Amir Khan’s disciple Imdad Khan brought Sitar to countrywide fame. He was Vilayat Khan’s grandfather and his family is called ‘Sevi’ or ‘Seviya Gharana’.
Sitar is an instrument capable of playing the whole Raga or various gats with extreme tunefulness. Hence, it is not an accompanying instrument but fully an instrument used in solo performance.

SITAR : THE LEGEND
Since its creation the instrument has undergone a sea change in its shape and tonal quality. However, now its shape is finalised and the modern Sitar. in general, has seven strings as the main strings of playing and eleven sympathetically sounding strings, known as ‘ Tarab Ke Tar’ to resound the main note or the nuance created on the strings of play, under the frets.
The main sound is created on Sitar by striking the plectrum or Mijrab by the right hand and this sound is converted into the desired notes or nuances by pressing the string at desired places and also by stretching it a bit by the left hand fingers.
Paris of Sitar
1. Head: The top portion of the finger board is called the head. In this portion 5 main strings- pegs- remain fixed on it.
2. Nut (Tradan): It is an ivory piece fixed on the upper part of Dand ( finger board). Cuttings or grooves are made according to the number and size of the strings. Wires or strings are first passed over the nut through the hole of the adjuster-container and then tied with the pegs.
3. Finger Board (Dand): They are two pieces of specially made wood known as Toon-wood- one at upper portion and the other at lower portion. The upper part is a flat piece of wood, joined with the other hollow piece of wood. The upper portion contains 11 holes for Tarab or Sympathetic strings and their pegs.
4. Frets (Bund): It is a nickel-plated brass rod tied on the finger board with nylon threads. Their sequence is from upper to lower part of the Sitar. The number of frets varies from 18 to 20.
5. Neck (Gilu): It is a small piece of Toon-wood in the shape of human neck. It joins Tumba (Gourd) and finger board ( Dand).
6. Sound Board (Tabli): It is a kind of wooden plate of Toon-wood fixed on the top of Tumba (Gourd). It is the main part of Sitar to vibrate the sound produced by strings.
7. Gourd (Tumba) : It is a big dried pumpkin hollowed down from inside.
8. Pegs ( Gatte ): The pegs are ordinarily made of shisham or teak wood. Two sizes of pegs are commonly used in Sitar. One is big and the other is small. The head of the bigger peg is large and the other is small. The head of the bigger peg is round whereas that of the smaller one is flat. Very small holes are bored in pegs to hold the wire. These pegs are fixed in the holes of Dand. The bigger pegs are there to hold the upper strings and the smaller ones are used for Tarab strings and chikaries (the steel strings of playing).
9. Strings (Tar): There are 7 strings on the Sitar’s upper portion for playing. Out of these seven, 4 are made of steel and 3 of bronze. Besides these strings, 11 sympathetic steel strings are also there on top portion of the finger board under the frets.
10. Bridge ( Jwaharis ): Two sizes of the bridges-one small and the other big-are used in Sitar. The big bridge is used for upper strings and the small one for Tarabs (sympathetic strings). Both the bridges remain placed on the sound board. The top of the bigger one is made of bone or ivory and is placed on the top of the wooden bridge. The small bridge is entirely made of ivory.

11. Beads (Manka): It is made of ivory or bone. The first string of Sitar is called Baj or Madhyam. Strings are passed through it. Bead is placed between the bridge or the end-pins. It is used for the tuning or string No. 1.
12. End Pins ( Kelli ): They are the ivory pins fixed on the toe of the Sitar for tightening the strings.

SALIENT FEATURES OF INDIAN MUSIC THEORY
Before learning practical details about Sitar playing it is essential to have a brief knowledge about music and the theoretical aspects.
North Indian music is based on Ragas -the tuneful combination of notes evoking a particular mood which themselves are based on Nada, Shruti, Swara. Saptaka and Thatha.
Nada: Nada is a sound. It is of two kinds: Anaahat nada and aahat nada. Anaahat Nada is that divine sound which comes from within. It cannot be created b