Know your Sitar - a basic course to get started

The sitar, a traditional Indian instrument, features parts like pegs, strings, a soundboard, neck, frets, and resonators. Sit cross-legged, with the sitar resting on your right knee and neck angled on your left shoulder. Use your left hand to press strings on the frets and your right hand to pluck with a mizrab. Basic exercises include practicing scales, patterns, slides, ornamentations, and regular tuning to improve your skills.

This course introduces students to the sitar, one of the most iconic string instruments in Indian classical music. Known for its rich tone and spiritual resonance, the sitar is central to the Hindustani classical tradition. 

Students will begin with the fundamentals: learning the structure of the instrument, sitting posture, basic fingering techniques, mizrab (plectrum) usage, and right-hand stroke patterns (Da, Ra, Dir, Dra). The curriculum includes practice of basic alankars (note patterns), simple ragas, and compositions (gats) in common taals like Teentaal and Ektaal