Hi
I need to get a good cheapish (£100-£200) sitar for a friend for xmas.
Thing is, I know very little about the instrument, can anyone advise on a good place to get one?

it depends on where you live
I've just done a 'google' search and found this:
click here

they have a shop in london and one in southall

are they good?

don't know as I have never played a sitar, don't know anyone who does, not even seen one in real life yet

OOOOOOOHHHHHHHH.

I want one, I want one, I want one....

Oh NOOOOO! Rosfrog is being unleashed AGAIN!!!! now it's a sitar on the list!!! (after the double bass of course )

Not thta I know the first thing about Sitars, but I would worry that with such a complex instrument that £100-200 might only get you the very worst one you could find, and that it may well be less than useless. If you paid £200 for a double bass imagine how ###### it would be...

This is, obviously, your fault, mind. I hadn't even thought about Sitars...

Hello Goethe,

I'd be glad to help as I've been studying the sitar in India (Vishva Bharati University near Calcutta) about ten years ago. The best sitars cost only a fraction of what you would be expected to pay for a Stradivarius, but they need to be ordered in India (Hiran Roy for ex. if still alive - which I doubt - is the top Kolkata sitar maker). But most sitars sold in Indian shops, althoug very cheap, are just good enough for decoration. If sold outside India, you could end up paying a lot for a good looking instrument that's hardly playable.
The sitar is a very complex instument, and so is Indian music. As with all instruments it can only be learnt properly under the guidance of a teacher.

I remember visiting a few schools teaching Indian music in London. There's also the Ali Akhbar schools network but I don't know if they operate in the UK. My advice would be to contact a sitar student or teacher and ask them if they could help. Sitars also need to be maintained regularly. The bridge should be filed professionally at least once a year. You would also need a mizrab (plectrum) and a lot of spare strings.

Of course, nothing prevents you from enjoying the sight of even a bad sitar and to fiddle with it. Just be sure the sitar is properly tuned (this could take about an hour if you are not used to it). It could be the start of a new passion.

Good luck!
Annalyn

to be honest, great respect for sitar ,
but reading all that has put me off it (not that I ever had the urge to play the sitar anyway), ONE HOUR to tune it?? and I thought the violin was a hard instrument

I thought it might be you we'd need to hold back, Jojo!

Annalyn, is the Sitar normally played with just the 1st finger on the left hand? - as in kind of barring across all the strings?

I can assure you that I have NO desire to take up the Sitar (just as well! otherwise I'd have to give up work and go to live under London Bridge! earning my pocket money busking of course!)

Actually as with all string instrument once all the strings have been properly tuned (7 main strings + 13 sympathetic strings for a sitar) it's much easier to tune afterwards, as only a few strings will be out of tune. With proper pegs (or a little chalk on harder ones), it can be quite easy. Fine-tuning on one or two main strings can also be helped by sliding a bead on the string. The sitar should be re-tuned for every raga (scale) and the pegs moved accordingly.

The good news is that you mainly play on one string, you can hardly miss a note, as the scale is fully adjusted and the sound of a well-tuned sitar is fabulous. Although it's hard work in the beginning, it gets easier and easier.

I hope this sound more encouraging.

Annalyn

Yes, sounds better, but I still don't have the 'appeal' to try one

OOOOOOOHHHHHHHH.

I want one, I want one, I want one....
[/quote]

Oh NOOOOO! Rosfrog is being unleashed AGAIN!!!! now it's a sitar on the list!!! (after the double bass of course )
[/quote]

I thought it might be you we'd need to hold back, Jojo!

Annalyn, is the Sitar normally played with just the 1st finger on the left hand? - as in kind of barring across all the strings?
[/quote]

Yes indeed, as far as the right hand is concerned you only use one finger (dipping it in a small piece of cotton wool - usually inserted in a nice silver box - soaked in coconut oil) on the main strings only (mostly on the first string actually); the underlying sympathetic strings are never played, they do what they are meant to : resound sympahtetically. There's no barring as Indian music is mainly melodic rather than harmonic.

In some ways the sitar is quite easy to play (no sight-reading, no scale mixing, etc) but there are many other intricacies and you do need a teacher as it is supposed to be transmitted orally. Watching some great masters (pandits) play live or even on you tube makes it all easier to understand.


Annalyn

[quote name='annalyn' date='Dec 22 2009, 05:35 PM' post='907561']
OOOOOOOHHHHHHHH.

I want one, I want one, I want one....
[/quote]

Oh NOOOOO! Rosfrog is being unleashed AGAIN!!!! now it's a sitar on the list!!! (after the double bass of course )
[/quote]

I thought it might be you we'd need to hold back, Jojo!

Annalyn, is the Sitar normally played with just the 1st finger on the left hand? - as in kind of barring across all the strings?
[/quote]

Yes indeed, as far as the left hand is concerned you only use one finger (dipping it in a small piece of cotton wool - usually inserted in a nice silver box - soaked in coconut oil) on the main strings only (mostly on the first string actually); the underlying sympathetic strings are never played, they do what they are meant to : resound sympahtetically. There's no barring as Indian music is mainly melodic rather than harmonic.

In some ways the sitar is quite easy to play (no sight-reading, no scale mixing, etc) but there are many other intricacies and you do need a teacher as it is supposed to be transmitted orally. Watching some great masters (pandits) play live or even on you tube makes it all easier to understand.


Annalyn
[/quote

Do you have any suggested Youtube watching/playing?

Miffy, Ravi Shankar perhaps?

Aha!
D'you know, I think I've got a CD of him and Menuhin kicking around, I'd forgotten about him!

We had a lady come round the schools recently with her Sitar, and she was so bad she put me off, but I'm sure I used to like sitar music so I wanted to give it another chance!!

Two of the greatest sitar exponents are :

Late Pandit Nikhil Banerjee from Bengal (known for his exquisite and subtle sound, long elaborated alaps - slow tempo raga exposition - and intricate embellishments), an exponent of the Imdadkhani gharana (school)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT_BVK_Q6i8...feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa7-6eRAMqc...feature=related

and

Late Ustad Vilayat Khan from Bangladesh (more powerful, sharper sound), an exponent of the Maihar gharana.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoMSGRjOHDU

There are plenty of other masters past and present, it could easily fill an entire forum...

I hope it will revive your interest!

Annalyn

Thankyou very much for taking the time to hunt these out for me

Do you know anything about Indian violin playing? I have a few pupils who do this but they are very vague when I ask about the tuning, scales etc. and I'd like to find out more.

Hello Miffy,

I'm happy to share the good news about your lovely tom and what a good patient he is, taking his medicine from you and filling your violin case with love.
My violin teacher welcomes any type of pets into the teaching room; she says it makes people feel more relaxed. She doesn't care a lot about regulations and can sometimes be seen storming into the head of school's office, usually with a fuming bow in her hand, if she feels the spirit of music or some higher concept is being hindered by administrative rules.

Some time ago, If I'm not mistaken, you asked me to explain the concept of raga/modes in Indian classical music. Somehow, I couldn't retrieve your message. This is a vast, complex subject. As a start, please have a look at those two links; I couldn't explain it in better words, esp. not in English.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raga

http://cnx.org/content/m11633/latest
(raga section)

An Indian teacher doesn't actually explain or talk a lot and, quite magically, you learn by playing. Great emphasis is put on hearing and intuition and several words are used to describe the spiritual quality of the music/sound, independlently from the esthetic quality; this is another very interesting subject...

If there's anything you would like me to clarify or explain, please let me know.

Annalyn