sitar anyone?

[uethanian]

so i've spent the weekend at UCLA, and was lucky enough to sit in on a sitar class. taught by shujaat khan, who's like...a hugely popular player. i've been listening to classical indian music for a while, but never committed to getting involved for lack of a teacher (and from what i understand its very rule-heavy, which isn't attractive to me, i just know i like listening to it).

needless to say, hearing a sitar in person (as opposed to in recording) is amazing. later a vocal student came into the class and i was pretty floored by what i heard. unbelievable control of the voice, in-tune to the point of becoming indistinguishable with the drone.

hopefully, i'll be able to get involved with this at w/e college i end up going to. does anyone here seriously play sitar? or anyone non-seriously (like, bought it because it sounded cool but you don't know how to play it)? i'm wondering if i should save up for an instrument, or just wait until i get settled at school.

[funkalicious101]

I'm heading to India in January and I cant wait for the music. I like hindustani more than carnatic music, especially when accompanied by vocals. I'm more or a sarod and veena guy though.

Maybe I'll bring an instrument back with me.

Sorry for the de-rail, but I though it kind of fit.

[bongomania]

I've known a bunch of people who bought a sitar because it seemed cool, and they ended up just having it around as decoration and to impress girls (the sitar connotes spirituality and sensitivity, which gets them warm). A few of them took a few classes, but they eventually decided taking it seriously was too much of a commitment- really learning how to play decently is a process of years. I dunno, I can see the temptation to dig in, but I can also see the temptation to quit.

[funkalicious101]

Thats why I'm more interested in the veena and sarod. Althoug very different, they are much more lute-based than a sitar. It still wont be easy though.

[lunarpollen]

Riyaz Studio is an excellent application for providing accompaniment for your sitar playing.

It provides adjustable/tunable shruti and tanpura drones and tabla accompaniment.

It's useful for practicing any Indian instrument or vocal, not just sitar.

You can download a free version which has limited selections, but it can give you an idea of the quality.

(no, I don't work for them, I just LOVE it that much!)

[Solarmist]

I've always been fascinated by them, and wanted to try one myself, but like ^ said - it's a total commitment. I love how the Beatles used them in they're music too.

[bmc]

About 8 years ago, I was in Delhi on business. I left my meeting and wandered along a local strip on small businesses. There was this sitar shop, so I wandered in. There were about 15-20 sitar's hanging in the store. The store owner was on the phone so I wandered around.
I noticed a bunch of pictures at the top of the walls with pictures of Ravi Shankar, George Harrison and John Lennon.
Eventually, the store owner got off the phone and we started chatting. Turns out he made sitars for all of these people. When he saw how impressed I was, he disappeared in the back of the store and returned with a scrap book, filled with pictures of the Beatles and Ravi Shankar in the very store I was in. There were type written letters from each of the Beatles, ordering their sitars back in the late 60's.

There was a young sitting in the store playing a sitar. He was about 20-22 years old. He had travelled to Delhi from the north to pick up his sitar made by this reknown luthier. Sort of a Sadowsky shop experience for this lad. Anyhow, he graciously let me try it out. Expecting me to oo and awe, the instrument was totally foreign to me. However, the experience of being in the shop, meeting the people and trying out the sitar was a very memorable experience for me.

As I was leaving, I asked how much his sitar's were. I can't recall how many rupees, but they were in the thousands. Converted to USD, I recall it being around USD500. I could have brought it back to Bahrain with me if he had one and more importantly, if I wanted one.

Why is it that I think of Hrundi Bakshi (Peter Sellers in The Party) when I think of sitars?

[varunkapahi]

me being in India i have sitars and a lot of indian instruments around me. never tried playing anything seriously yet though. i'd keep a check here maybe then try something
but isnt this funny like you guys out there in the west are intrigued by eastern instruments and sounds and here i am and many like me who play guitars and rock'n'roll and blues and jazz and everything

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by bmc

About 8 years ago, I was in Delhi on business. I left my meeting and wandered along a local strip on small businesses. There was this sitar shop, so I wandered in. There were about 15-20 sitar's hanging in the store. The store owner was on the phone so I wandered around.
I noticed a bunch of pictures at the top of the walls with pictures of Ravi Shankar, George Harrison and John Lennon.
Eventually, the store owner got off the phone and we started chatting. Turns out he made sitars for all of these people. When he saw how impressed I was, he disappeared in the back of the store and returned with a scrap book, filled with pictures of the Beatles and Ravi Shankar in the very store I was in. There were type written letters from each of the Beatles, ordering their sitars back in the late 60's.

There was a young sitting in the store playing a sitar. He was about 20-22 years old. He had travelled to Delhi from the north to pick up his sitar made by this reknown luthier. Sort of a Sadowsky shop experience for this lad. Anyhow, he graciously let me try it out. Expecting me to oo and awe, the instrument was totally foreign to me. However, the experience of being in the shop, meeting the people and trying out the sitar was a very memorable experience for me.

As I was leaving, I asked how much his sitar's were. I can't recall how many rupees, but they were in the thousands. Converted to USD, I recall it being around USD500. I could have brought it back to Bahrain with me if he had one and more importantly, if I wanted one.

Why is it that I think of Hrundi Bakshi (Peter Sellers in The Party) when I think of sitars?

oh you were in CP! thats a place i frequent a lot. cant remember the name of the shop would come back with it later. ok now am getting real kicks to try out a sitar

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by funkalicious101

I'm heading to India in January and I cant wait for the music. I like hindustani more than carnatic music, especially when accompanied by vocals. I'm more or a sarod and veena guy though.

Maybe I'll bring an instrument back with me.

Sorry for the de-rail, but I though it kind of fit.

i will find out about any good indian music concerts happening in new delhi but like you said you'd only be here for a day or two right? anyway let me know the exact details via pm or i'd keep in touch. would be fun meeting you

btw, i really like playing indian and eastern music on bass. ok enough of posting in one single thread.

[bmc]

varunkapahi...are you familiar with Jai Uttal? A nice blend of western and Indian styles of music.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by bmc

varunkapahi...are you familiar with Jai Uttal? A nice blend of western and Indian styles of music.

no, never heard before. checking out on youtube right now though

[Grimoire]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

oh you were in CP! thats a place i frequent a lot. cant remember the name of the shop would come back with it later. ok now am getting real kicks to try out a sitar

The shop is Rikhi Ram (I think that's the correct spelling). Very nice instruments, but grossly overpriced, mostly due to the Beatles and Ravi Shankar connection. Amazing store to visit though.

I own a sitar, play it a bit, but like the violin or cello, it's a true classical instrument, and takes years to master, I just haven't the time or patience. I also own a santoor, which is a much more intuitive and versatile instrument for use in Western music.