Sitar

[Stub Mandrel]

Saw an older couple with a very oddly shaped wooden case today (like an L-Tetris piece). Asked if it was a large saxophone. Thought they said it was a cittern, which confused me a bit as I couldn't see where the headstock would fit.

They were headed for antique shop. Turned out it was a sitar of good make (I was assured by an apparently knowledgeable shop owner, who was expecting its arrival). Sadly without bridges or strings (drone or main) it looked in good condition 21 frets (I didn't count), wrapped in a golden throw inside it's padded case that was more sophisticated inside than out.

[Al Krow]

Here's what it sounds like in the hands of the daughter of probably the most famous sitar player of all time, playing a piece that her father wrote to play as a duet with Yehudi Menuhin. [EDIT - blocked video]

Let's see if this one works (it's a different shorter piece) ...

 

Edited September 9, 2019 by Al Krow

[Stub Mandrel]

Blocked video 😞

But yes I have heard her playing before. 🙂

 

[Al Krow]

3 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Blocked video 😞

But yes I have heard her playing before. 🙂

 

Ah shame. I've substituted with another by her (Anoushka Shankar).

Ravi did have some very talented offspring didn't he?! E.g. the wistful Ms Norah Jones 

[AdrianP]

My band leader plays sitar quite decently actually. We played a version of Venus in Furs at our last gig with him on the sitar. it's a temperamental old thing (the sitar, not the BL!) but it gave it a really unique sound. It does look fiendishly complicated,  and goes out of tune at unpredictable moments, but it's certainly a talking point at any gig. 

[Hellzero]

I learned to play the sitar a while ago, you can hear it here :

http://users.skynet.be/sb134986/Stabushu_Raga.mp3

 

[Stub Mandrel]

13 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

I learned to play the sitar a while ago, you can hear it here :

http://users.skynet.be/sb134986/Stabushu_Raga.mp3

 

We have a progster in our midst!

[Daz39]

Lovely noise, i’ll have to cheat and get the ehx pedal instead!

[DaveFry]

Just dropping this interview with Derek Trucks ( Tedeschi Trucks Band ) here ...