The Sitar....a soulful musical instrument that needs no introduction!!!!

An instrument that was predominantly Indian, but gained huge popularity in the West due to the Beatles & Pandit Ravi Shankar, is the Sitar....George Harrison infact used it for the first time in pop music in the song, "Norwegian Wood (This Bird has flown) " on the LP Rubber Soul in 1965.

Used mostly in Indian classical music, its versatility has been known to encompass any & every musical genre. The origins of the sitar are very vague with some saying that it was developed in the 13th Century by Amir Khusro from the Tritantri Veena, a member of the Veena family. Others say that it might even have been developed during the time of the Moghuls & based on the persian lutes.

It is basically a stringed instrument which derives its sound from sympathetic strings, a long hollow neck & a resonating chamber resembling a gourd. The sitar's curved frets are movable, allowing fine tuning & raised so that the strings (tarb) can run underneath them. A sitar can have 17 to 22 strings, among which 6/7 played strings run over the frets. The Gandhaar-pancham sitar (used by Ustad vilayat Khan) has 6 playable strings & the Kharaj-pancham sitar (used by Pandit R Shankar) has 7 playable strings. 3 of these playable strings (called the chikaari) just provide the drone & the rest are used to play the melody.

The gourd part of the instrument has 2 bridges & the timbre of the music results from the way the strings interact with the wide sloping bridge creating a distinct tone. The maintenance of this specific tone by shaping the bridge is called jawari. A metallic plectrum, called mizraab is used to produce music & the instrument is played by balancing it between the player's left foot & right knee & never carried around, unlike other musical instruments. Materials like teakwood are used to make the neck & the tabli whereas the instrument's bridges are made from deer horn, ebony or camel bone.

The sitar has been used for a variety of songs & music & became very popular in the '70's even finding its way into films & albums. This was because of the newness of the sound & its ability to merge into any style, as a lead in a song or a part of the background score. Its soulfulness gave it a versatility that was widely accepted & although the craze for the instrument has mostly died down,  it continues to enrich the the legacy & traditions of classical music in India!!!!

The Violin...a small musical instrument, but one which has stood the test of time!!!

 

The Violin, also called the fiddle is a very fascinating bowed instrument & as most of us know, consists of 4 strings, tuned in fifths & played with a bow. It is held between the shoulder & chin & has got one of the highest pitches of the stringed instruments family.

The instrument actually originated in the early 16th century in Italy (but of course!!!) & was made by Andrea Amati. It consists of simple pieces of wood which are glued together & strung with gut, nylon or steel. The instrument is played by a violinist who produces sound by drawing a bow across the strings & manipulating his fingers accordingly.

The violin, ever since its inception has been a much cherished & flexible instrument, used in all kinds of musical styles like baroque music, classical jazz, folk, pop, rock 'n roll etc. This just goes to show its versatility & thus can be called an orchestra in itself. Classical music & jazz used the violin as a solo instrument but popular music in the 1970's relied heavily on it as an accompaniment for an orchestra. Musicians like Bing Crosby & much recently the Corrs have still kept its influence alive even with the advent of electronic music.

Even in India, the violin is a very important part of South Indian classical music & has even been used in film music!!! Although I do find it complex & a bit daunting to learn, it would be a much cherished dream of mine to have done so!!