Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [sitar]

Sitar is a string-instrument used in Indian classics. It normally contains 7 strings.

Sitar is a string-instrument used in Indian classics. It normally contains 7 strings.

Diagram of a Sitar

(image from Wikipedia)

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What gives the sitar its characteristic sound?

The sitar has an instantly recognisable sound: I've always assumed that the characteristic 'lush background drone' that I associate with the sitar came from its sympathetic strings resonating with the plucked string. But on Friday night when I…
dumbledad
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Altering the sound of a guitar to match a sitar

I'm interested in altering my guitar to give it a more sitar-like sound. I've stumbled upon this video below and am wondering how dangerous this would be to my guitar. Would it take damage if I find a bridge that barely touches the strings. Are…
thank_you
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How does Sitar produce sound while it doesn't have any sound holes?

I always thought that stringed instruments have hole(s) called soundholes so that the produced sounds can be heard. But the sitar as a stringed instrument doesn't have any soundholes. So how is the sound heard from a sitar?
Snack Exchange
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Have traditional tunings for sitar been lost? Did the even-tempered scale have something to do with it?

Several decades ago I attended a citar concert, after which there was a question and answer session by the performer - sorry but I don't remember who it was now. The performer described the variety of tunings and their relationship to different…
uhoh
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What causes this weird sitar-like sound?

For a few weeks now I've been noticing that when I play the 7th fret on the 6th string a get a weird squeak mixing into the sound. Here is audio of me playing the 6th string up to the 7th fret and then some frets around it: I haven't noticed…
Worse_Username
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How do the pegs on Sitar neck work?

I just saw a picture of a sitar (an Indian stringed instrument) with pegs throughout its neck. I searched a few websites, but I couldn't understand them well. Can you please explain to me about these pegs? How do they work? Are they attached to…
Snack Exchange
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How can one create a sitar-like tone on a regular guitar?

What are some playing techniques or simple ways to emulate the buzzy tone of a sitar using a regular guitar? Either acoustic or electric would suffice, but not permanent modifications (like changing action or the frets or the like). Ideally, without…
user45266
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Indian stringed instruments

I've been seriously interested in Indian music for my entire adult life, and feel it's time to get an instrument of my own. Regarding stringed instruments, like the sitar, these things look incredibly complicated, with more strings than I can…
Matthew Bright
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Need advice on simple audio mixer and setup for novice sitar player to play along with masters recorded audio?

Currently the person plays the recorded audio on her laptop and practices along with it, the issue is background noise and other household noise distracting her. I am not a qualified person, my suggestion to her (Need your advice here) is to use a 2…
Vignesh
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