sitar

The sitar is a plucked string instrument central to Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. It combines a long, fretted neck with a resonant gourd-shaped body and a pegbox with multiple tuning pegs. Modern sitars typically include a set of melody strings and a larger array of sympathetic strings that vibrate beneath the main strings, along with one or more drone or chikari strings that provide rhythmic support. A plectrum called a mizrab is worn on the right hand to pluck the strings.

Construction and design features include a long hardwood neck with movable frets that allow microtonal bending, a raised playing surface, and a main bridge plus additional bridges for the sympathetic strings. The gourd resonator at the body end helps amplify the sound, contributing to the instrument’s bright, sustaining tone. The number of playing and sympathetic strings can vary by instrument and maker.

Playing technique is characterized by intricate right-hand plucking patterns and left-hand fretting that enables rapid pitch changes and glides, or meend. Ornamentation such as gamakas, meends, and taans is common in performance. The sympathetic strings contribute a shimmering overtone to the instrument’s timbre, enriching both melody and drone textures.

Historically, the modern sitar developed in northern India during the 18th to 19th centuries, drawing on earlier stringed instruments and regional Persian influences. It gained international prominence in the 20th century through performers like Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan. Today it is used in solo recitals and as an integral part of ensembles with tabla accompaniment.