How to: Parts of a Sitar

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Transcript of This Video
The Sitar is a long-necked Lute. The neck is hollow; it is made out of wood. It can be teak, like in the case of my instrument or another kind of wood called Toon which is related to the Pine but it is Asian. There are pegs, a number of pegs for all the strings, so if you have twenty strings like I do you will have twenty pegs. A combination of large and small pegs. For the upper course of strings you have the large pegs; for the sympathetic strings you have the small pegs. The Tubli or Gourd is a Gourd a pumpkin. It is quite delicate; again it is hollow inside. It can, it needs to be handled carefully because it can crack quite easily, even from changes, sudden changes in temperature and humidity. The face of the instrument is wood. Here you have got two bridges; the main bridge is made from ivory or bone. The newer instruments are not using ivory because it is illegal now. Older instruments used ivory because it is a very dense material held up with little feet made of wood. And underneath the sympathetic string bridge is also made out of ivory or bone. Then you've got these upper bridges which are made of bone or horn. And you have got a series of beads here which are used for fine tuning of the instrument of the strings. You have got beads used for fine tuning of the strings. You can even choose your own beads and get creative and artsy with your instrument. This bridge is very important not just by virtue of holding up the strings but it has a curve that is hardly perceptible to the naked eye, which gives the particular tambra and this curve is called Jawari. And the Jawari can be open which will give a "buzzy" kind of sound which we hear really in the Sitar of Ravi Shankar or closed which many players in India prefer and it gives a more Lute-like sound and sort of richer. Mine is somewhere in-between.