School me on sitars
- Thread starter Travis H
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Re: School me on sitars
Another option is one of the Line6 Variaxes, which all include an electric sitar model. I have an Acoustic Variax, and the sitar sounds amazing on it. Also, EH just came out with a pedal called the Ravish Sitar, which sounds good in the videos I have seen.
Another option is one of the Line6 Variaxes, which all include an electric sitar model. I have an Acoustic Variax, and the sitar sounds amazing on it. Also, EH just came out with a pedal called the Ravish Sitar, which sounds good in the videos I have seen.
CTN
The Drama Dude
Re: School me on sitars
ok a real sitar is a very different instrument than a guitar, even though they are both string instruments with frets.
To understand the sitar though, you need to understand indian classical music. Which is crazy complicated, but sounds beautiful. Also, be prepared to build them calluses thicker, cuz the string tension on a sitar is higher than guitars, and to do bends properly, you gotta really dig right in with your fretting hand.
ok a real sitar is a very different instrument than a guitar, even though they are both string instruments with frets.
To understand the sitar though, you need to understand indian classical music. Which is crazy complicated, but sounds beautiful. Also, be prepared to build them calluses thicker, cuz the string tension on a sitar is higher than guitars, and to do bends properly, you gotta really dig right in with your fretting hand.
Chickenwings
Alnico 6/8
Re: School me on sitars
im sorry fellas, but with respect, you could not be more wrong. None of the products you mentioned sound anything like a sitar...they all sound like a heavily effected electric guitar. Its kinda the equivalent of saying you can get an electric guitar to do violin sounds with an ebow or volume pedal. All you end up with is a kind of charicature of a real and amazingly expressive instrument.
I know i sound like im getting all stuffy about it, but indian classical music is a passion of mine, ive been to india many times and studied what i could of it back when i was at uni. ON a good note tho....Indian classical music and sitar music is a profound and expressive art form that is such and amazing journey for those who are keen to explore it.
A good sitar will resonate openly and richly. The frets are also important. because they wear out pretty fast and can get "scratchy' when you bend (which happens constantly).
The frets are all moveable and tuning the thing takes a keen ear and a lot of patience. Each of the smaller resonating strings under the large ones you play have to be tuned to match the notes of the ragas you are playing to create that spacy reverb kind of effect that sitars can do. Another reason tuning is difficult is that the bridges are almost flat, but slightly curved to create that kind of "acoustic flanger" sound, which confuses the hell out of digital tuners. The the note actually flutuates in pitch slightly as it resonates as well as "buzzez" in a controlled manner. A good set up (read: many hours of effort from the builder) is another crucial element in construction. Also...good technique has a huge effect on tuning and playing in tune.
The best way to do it (as convoys mentioned) is to go to india and get some schooling on the music system, try as many as you can and then make a decision.
So....where is the best place to get one? Varanasi or Kolkata. Kolkata is a cultural hub in india, but Varanasi is famous for its sitars (its also a much nicer place to hang out for any perios of time). Good sitars can vary hugely in price from a few hundred USD to a few thousand...kinda the same way classical guitars do.
It may sound expensive, but lots of people buy cheaper (but nice ornamented cool looking) sitars in india and try to sell them for a lot more than they are worth in the US etc. YOu can save hundreds if not thousands of dollars getting your sitar from the builder - and youll get one that really speaks to you. My sitar is from Varanasi, but its not a great one (it was about 300 USD back in 1993). The 900 plus ones were in a different league (thats prices in india, not export prices which is much higher, im sure with Indias growth in economy good sitars are a lot more now than they were back then).
Indian music is literally music in a different language, and the design of the sitar reflects that. The more you can learn about ragas (even if you find a teacher near home) and the more indian classical you listen to, the more informed will your decision be. According to the pandits, to truly express yourself, you must first be able to sing every note you play - and that is a discipline in itself.
Also....check out the sarod...its smaller than a sitar and its fretless, but it is often more comfortable to hold than a sitar for guitarists.
Here is a cool link where you can kind of get an insight into how indian music works:
im sorry fellas, but with respect, you could not be more wrong. None of the products you mentioned sound anything like a sitar...they all sound like a heavily effected electric guitar. Its kinda the equivalent of saying you can get an electric guitar to do violin sounds with an ebow or volume pedal. All you end up with is a kind of charicature of a real and amazingly expressive instrument.
I know i sound like im getting all stuffy about it, but indian classical music is a passion of mine, ive been to india many times and studied what i could of it back when i was at uni. ON a good note tho....Indian classical music and sitar music is a profound and expressive art form that is such and amazing journey for those who are keen to explore it.
A good sitar will resonate openly and richly. The frets are also important. because they wear out pretty fast and can get "scratchy' when you bend (which happens constantly).
The frets are all moveable and tuning the thing takes a keen ear and a lot of patience. Each of the smaller resonating strings under the large ones you play have to be tuned to match the notes of the ragas you are playing to create that spacy reverb kind of effect that sitars can do. Another reason tuning is difficult is that the bridges are almost flat, but slightly curved to create that kind of "acoustic flanger" sound, which confuses the hell out of digital tuners. The the note actually flutuates in pitch slightly as it resonates as well as "buzzez" in a controlled manner. A good set up (read: many hours of effort from the builder) is another crucial element in construction. Also...good technique has a huge effect on tuning and playing in tune.
The best way to do it (as convoys mentioned) is to go to india and get some schooling on the music system, try as many as you can and then make a decision.
So....where is the best place to get one? Varanasi or Kolkata. Kolkata is a cultural hub in india, but Varanasi is famous for its sitars (its also a much nicer place to hang out for any perios of time). Good sitars can vary hugely in price from a few hundred USD to a few thousand...kinda the same way classical guitars do.
It may sound expensive, but lots of people buy cheaper (but nice ornamented cool looking) sitars in india and try to sell them for a lot more than they are worth in the US etc. YOu can save hundreds if not thousands of dollars getting your sitar from the builder - and youll get one that really speaks to you. My sitar is from Varanasi, but its not a great one (it was about 300 USD back in 1993). The 900 plus ones were in a different league (thats prices in india, not export prices which is much higher, im sure with Indias growth in economy good sitars are a lot more now than they were back then).
Indian music is literally music in a different language, and the design of the sitar reflects that. The more you can learn about ragas (even if you find a teacher near home) and the more indian classical you listen to, the more informed will your decision be. According to the pandits, to truly express yourself, you must first be able to sing every note you play - and that is a discipline in itself.
Also....check out the sarod...its smaller than a sitar and its fretless, but it is often more comfortable to hold than a sitar for guitarists.
Here is a cool link where you can kind of get an insight into how indian music works:
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CTN
The Drama Dude
Re: School me on sitars
Wow!!!
Great post!
Ravi's daughter is phenominal!! And gorgeous too!
In the past several years I've really learned to love Indian sitar music. So expressive. So soothing. So inspiring.
Wow!!!
Great post!
Ravi's daughter is phenominal!! And gorgeous too!
In the past several years I've really learned to love Indian sitar music. So expressive. So soothing. So inspiring.
Travis H
New member
Re: School me on sitars
Thanks for the help gibson, As of now being a broke college kid i can't really swing the trip to India,
But one day one of my dreams is to do that. As far as reading a book and teaching my self and kinda half assing it, do you think i will be able to kinda learn how to play it? Much thanks!!
Thanks for the help gibson, As of now being a broke college kid i can't really swing the trip to India,
But one day one of my dreams is to do that. As far as reading a book and teaching my self and kinda half assing it, do you think i will be able to kinda learn how to play it? Much thanks!!
Chickenwings
Alnico 6/8
Re: School me on sitars
When i was a broke student, i saved up for a year and as soon as i finished, i flew over to india for six months. ONe of the greatest experiences of my life! I had been inspired by studying the Indian classical music via ethnomusicology as part of my music studies. I have to admit i did not go and study sitar specifically for six months (i was just being a dirty hippie mostly!), but i did take a few lessons and bring back a sitar and set of tablas. If its a dream of yours, i can only say go for it!
As far as half -assing playing the sitar - yeh...you can get one, tune it up and just start playing and recording stuff which is a great process. Its worth learing indian classical style tho if you want to explore it at a deeper level.
Have fun!
Thanks for the help gibson, As of now being a broke college kid i can't really swing the trip to India,
When i was a broke student, i saved up for a year and as soon as i finished, i flew over to india for six months. ONe of the greatest experiences of my life! I had been inspired by studying the Indian classical music via ethnomusicology as part of my music studies. I have to admit i did not go and study sitar specifically for six months (i was just being a dirty hippie mostly!), but i did take a few lessons and bring back a sitar and set of tablas. If its a dream of yours, i can only say go for it!
As far as half -assing playing the sitar - yeh...you can get one, tune it up and just start playing and recording stuff which is a great process. Its worth learing indian classical style tho if you want to explore it at a deeper level.
Have fun!
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Ashurbanipal
Well-known member
Re: School me on sitars
Excellent post, enjoyed reading it.
The resonance of the sitar's sympathetic strings is quite a magical thing, is it not?
What are some records you'd recommend as essential listening?
Being able to sing what you play is something that any musician can take away and work on; guitarists are renowned for overplaying, thus it's a worthwhile exercise to practice.
A year ago, I spent a short month learning the essentials of Sanskrit. The complexity, richness, and perfection of it I found remarkable and satisfying (the word 'samskrtam' itself loosely means 'perfected', something that has reached its apogee), as you have found in your exploration of classical Indian music, so I understand where you're coming from
. It's something I hope to return to one day and do properly.
Excellent post, enjoyed reading it.
The resonance of the sitar's sympathetic strings is quite a magical thing, is it not?
What are some records you'd recommend as essential listening?
Being able to sing what you play is something that any musician can take away and work on; guitarists are renowned for overplaying, thus it's a worthwhile exercise to practice.
A year ago, I spent a short month learning the essentials of Sanskrit. The complexity, richness, and perfection of it I found remarkable and satisfying (the word 'samskrtam' itself loosely means 'perfected', something that has reached its apogee), as you have found in your exploration of classical Indian music, so I understand where you're coming from
. It's something I hope to return to one day and do properly.
Chickenwings
Alnico 6/8
Re: School me on sitars
Andrew asked me the same thing via PM, so here is a copy of what i recommended him:
im interested in how you came across sanskrit....i guess thats a whole other lifetime of stuff to learn!
Yeh - i dig the the "sing what you play" concept too.
What are some records you'd recommend as essential listening?
Being able to sing what you play is something that any musician can take away and work on; guitarists are renowned for overplaying, thus it's a worthwhile exercise to practice.
A year ago, I spent a short month learning the essentials of Sanskrit. The complexity, richness, and perfection of it I found remarkable and satisfying (the word 'samskrtam' itself loosely means 'perfected', something that has reached its apogee), as you have found in your exploration of classical Indian music, so I understand where you're coming from
Andrew asked me the same thing via PM, so here is a copy of what i recommended him:
gibson175 said:
im interested in how you came across sanskrit....i guess thats a whole other lifetime of stuff to learn!
Yeh - i dig the the "sing what you play" concept too.
Ashurbanipal
Well-known member
Re: School me on sitars
^^ Thanks, I'll check this out, and probably go to a record shop and see what they've got.
Yeah, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt is pretty remarkable. I really like the mix of Harry Manx' blues and raga; one of the most original contemporary musicians I've heard.
Sanskrit: I've studied ancient languages at university, and a bunch of my fellow students and I pestered our Greek teacher for a long time to do a Sanskrit course; when he'd teach Greek, he'd say 'well, in Sanskrit it's like this', thus piquing our interest. So, it finally happened last summer.
^^ Thanks, I'll check this out, and probably go to a record shop and see what they've got.
Yeah, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt is pretty remarkable. I really like the mix of Harry Manx' blues and raga; one of the most original contemporary musicians I've heard.
Sanskrit: I've studied ancient languages at university, and a bunch of my fellow students and I pestered our Greek teacher for a long time to do a Sanskrit course; when he'd teach Greek, he'd say 'well, in Sanskrit it's like this', thus piquing our interest. So, it finally happened last summer.
Ashurbanipal
Well-known member
Re: School me on sitars
Double post.
Double post.