sitars

The sitar is a plucked string instrument used mainly in Hindustani classical music of North India. It developed in the Indian subcontinent during the medieval period, combining indigenous lute traditions with Persian and Afghan influences. The modern sitar reached its familiar form in the 18th and 19th centuries and became widely associated with north Indian classical performance.

Construction and tuning: The instrument has a long, hollow neck with a gourd or resonator body at the base. movable frets are tied to the neck, allowing microtonal adjustments. It typically has multiple playing strings and a set of sympathetic strings beneath them that resonate when the strings are played. The playing strings are tuned to the tonic and other pitches, while drones provide sustain. The instrument is usually plucked with a brass pick called a mezrab worn on the index finger of the right hand, and the left hand presses the frets to adjust pitch.

Playing and repertoire: The sitar is used to render ragas, with intricate melodic improvisation and rhythmic cycles. It is central to Hindustani classical performance and is also used in fusion, film scores, and world music. Tone and technique emphasize meend (glides), gamak (ornamentation), and precise intonation.

Notable players and variants: Notable sitar players include Ravi Shankar, Vilayat Khan, Nikhil Banerjee, and Shujaat Khan; Anoushka Shankar remains active. Variants exist in construction and tone, with differences in the number of strings and the arrangement of sympathetic strings. In popular culture, the sitar became emblematic of Indian music in the 1960s.