Sitar
The sitar is a traditional Indian musical instrument distinguished by its long neck and hollow body, which contributes to its unique sound. With a complex arrangement of strings, typically 11 to 20 in total, only seven are intended for play, while additional sympathetic strings resonate to enrich the sound. Originating during the Mughal period, the sitar evolved from the veena and has maintained its popularity in Indian classical music, as well as in contemporary genres like Indian pop and Western rock. Its design features movable frets known as parda, allowing musicians to adjust tunings and create varied expressions reminiscent of the human voice. The instrument’s construction incorporates elements such as the dandi (the neck) and the kadu ka tumba (the body), which work together to amplify sound. Sitars can be found in both acoustic and electric forms, the latter enabling higher volume through electronic amplification. Overall, the sitar’s rich history and versatility make it a significant symbol of Indian musical heritage.
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Sitar
The sitar is an ancient Indian musical instrument. Unlike many of the instruments from which it developed, such as the lute or the veena, the sitar is still a popular instrument today. It features a long neck extended from a hollow body, with distinct fret and string arrangements.
The sitar is played by striking, strumming, or plucking a main string and several secondary strings. This causes another set of sympathetic strings to vibrate in key with the main string. When played properly, the sitar is said to emulate the sound of the human voice singing. Its design allows musicians a great deal of musical flexibility. Strings can be bent dramatically, quickly altering the pitch of a note.
Sitars are still used in concert-style Indian music in the twenty-first century. In recent years, sitars have also been used in Indian pop music, Western music, and even rock music. The instrument comes in many sizes and styles, each with its own tone. Like many stringed instruments, sitars can be purchased in both acoustic and electric varieties.
Brief History
The sitar's origin is commonly traced back to the Mughal period in India, from 1526 to 1748. Most experts believe that the sitar originated from members of the lute family. Lutes are ancient instruments that were popular throughout Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages. They feature a hollow body with a single opening to create a resonating chamber. Strings stretch over the body, along the neck, and attach to tuning pegs at the top of the neck.
As the lute spread throughout Europe and the Middle East, it developed into a wide variety of related regional instruments. Most included a hollow body with some form of neck, and strings stretched along the surface. One of these instruments, the veena, is considered a direct ancestor of the sitar. Like the sitar, the veena features a gourd-shaped body, a long neck with both main strings and sympathetic strings, and tuning knobs on the head and along the side of the neck. It is believed that during the early Mughal period, the sitar developed as a distinct variety of the veena.
Overview
The design of the sitar is more complicated than the average lute or guitar. It features an extremely long neck, with a tuning peg for each of its eleven to twenty strings. However, only seven of the strings are playable. The other strings are designed to be sympathetic to the seven primary strings. They are struck with the seven and vibrate alongside them, changing the tone of the note.
The head of the sitar contains several tuning pegs called kunti. Many of the primary strings on the sitar are wound around the kunti. Kunti are usually made of wood, and the strings are held on by tension. For this reason, the strings do not stay in tune as well as those held on by modern tuning pegs. One of these tuning pegs, the baj tar kunti, is used for the middle string on the neck. The middle string is the most played and most important string on a sitar.
The head of the sitar attaches to the dandi. Also called the neck, the dandi is the long, flat piece of wood over which the strings are stretched. Unlike the necks of most stringed instruments, the dandi of the sitar is hollow. This causes the sound of the strings to resonate within it, contributing to the overall sound of the instrument.
A second set of tuning pegs, called the taraf kunti, run down the side of the neck. The taraf kunti control the taraf, the set of sympathetic strings that resonate alongside the main strings. By manipulating the taraf kunti, the musician can ensure that each string harmonizes with the proper main string.
One unique feature of the sitar is its movable frets, called parda. Frets are common in most stringed instruments. They cause the strings to bend at a fixed point, altering their length and thus altering the notes produced by vibrating the strings. In most stringed instruments, the frets are built into the wood of the fretboard, allowing musicians to know exactly what note their fingering will produce. However, the frets on a sitar are not built into the fretboard. Instead, they are designed to move around the fretboard, allowing the musician unprecedented freedom in arranging different tunings and finger arrangements.
This variation is used to coax a unique sound from the sitar. When used with the instrument's specialized tuning and played by a skilled musician, the sitar's main strings can be made to emulate the sound of the human voice. The musician bends and slides the string, altering its pitch and creating a naturally reverberating sound.
The neck of a sitar attaches directly to its body, called the kadu ka tumba. The strings stretch over the body and are pulled against a raised piece called the bada ghoraj. The bada ghoraj functions like a bridge on many other traditional stringed instruments. The strings are then secured against a specially carved piece called a taraf morgara, which locks the strings in place.
When struck, strummed, or plucked, the stretched strings vibrate. These vibrations resonate within several hollow chambers on the sitar, altering the tone of the sound and increasing its volume. On electric sitars, a set of pickups may be attached under the strings. Pickups are sensitive electronic pieces that transfer sound to an electronic amplifier. This allows the sitar to be played at much higher volumes than a purely acoustic instrument would allow.
Bibliography
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Roda, Allen. "Musical Instruments of the Indian Subcontinent." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/indi/hd‗indi.htm. Accessed 10 May 2017.
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