How to Play the Sitar : Sitar Hand Technique

[JThundered]

groovy

[ThePrateekJoshi]

she looks like my economics teacher,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[JamesCornelisonMusic]

haha oh man thank god I keep that little jar of coconut oil in my medicine cabinet

[sierra1bravo]

Thanks for taking the time and effort to share...

She's (apologies, I don't have the name) exceedingly good--I am a student of Karnatic music for many years, and can vouch for this as a fact.

[TheJoe999Man]

what is the huming noise

[PastaCheifFilms]

@TheJoe999Man Its an electric tamboura, that box on her right.

[arbiter1191]

@ERPPP

Ehm...what?

[guitarmansglespaul]

i aready play guitar and ukelale so this should be a litle easier

[arbiter1191]

"You wear a plectrum, called a 'mizraab'. It's hard wire, you can buy these..."

That, or bend a paper clip.

Just sayin'.

[Mordehm]

@arbiter1191 "A side note; if you wear this plectrum too long your finger will fall off."

[CaptinMcAwsome]

@Mordehm The plectrum or your finger?

[arbiter1191]

"It's hard wire, you can buy these."

That, or bend a paper clip.

Just sayin'.

[HarryTurdKnocker]

Thank you, I've been playing guitar for 13 years and I've been wanting to get a sitar and a violin for awhile, depending on when I get the time an money. It's not exactly easy to find sitar lessons so I appreciate this.

[numanuma20]

Can you use western notation for sitar

[pinkpop91764]

interesting instrument. i have actually tooken this and some of the basic techniques of the sitar to my bass guitar and it sounds beautiful. so i owe alot to classical indian sitar playing. with out that i wouldnt have been coming up with such intersting rythems and sounds on my bass.

[youpooed78]

is she stoned?

[BlisterFingered]

@youpooed78 Just because she's dressed differently and playing sitar doesn't make her stoned. It's the tradition to playing a wonderful instrument like the sitar.

[operadood]

@john9ten this is not folk music. Indian Classical Music is a highly-developed classicalized art form. There is such a thing as Indian folk music, but sitar/ICM is not it.

[MrDunkJunk]

It sounds like a guitar with a very very bad setup.

[FlyinSpaghettiMnstr7]

i bet she gives good handjobs

[dunokuba]

what an awesome sounding and looking instrument

[politicalanomaly]

people are jackasses. Its important to keep all music alive

[littleski5]

do you only use one mizrab to play?

[krazyspawner]

She's missing a tooth?!

[Shancus32796]

Cool, you pluck it like a bass kind of :)

[ColoradoBansuri]

Why do you friggin retarded people have to always associate eastern music with drugs?? It's just s stupid as associating the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim with elevators. Think what you want, based on simpsons or family guy references, but no one can play this music correctly if they are impaired. I'm not saying this lady fully knows what she's talking about, but I"m sick of seeing hippy dumb asses in the front row of indian music shows.

[JohanThe110]

cheese

[Nairfy]

@ColoradoBansuri

1. Eastern music sounds particularly good while under the influence of Psychedelic substances, including marijuana. It was popularized in the West by the George Harrison of The Beatles, a noted yet later disenchanted LSD user.

2. If these "Hippy dumb asses" enjoy the music, then who are you to insult them for their taste in music, whatever the reasoning

3. All drugs have different effects, some will intoxicate the user, while others enhance certain senses.

[KawamurAsun]

Is it Sarah Jessica Parker on drugs???

[Lucyskydiamon25]

I LOVE sitar and I would buy a sitar now but college kills the ability to afford one Xo

[Tnigs238]

youtubeeeeeeeeeee derffffffffff sold the fuck out

[Langustl]

Thanks a lot :-) Tis is very helpful !

[markuskiner]

the sitar is the best instrument on the world !!! i just started to play dayli 3-4times and its ULTRAMEGAAWESOME!!!! the only problem is here in my region its almost impossible to get a sitar teacher...and now my only teachers are this woman and a book that i bearly can read (i never learnd english) and my fingers hurts lol!:D

so if someone is able to help me whit privat tutoring send me a messeg:)) thx!

[shoonnya]

the plectrum is not misraa...it's Meerzaah

[AtomicAtari]

damn, i need to get myself a sitar

[bolson567]

how hard would you say sitar would be of you have been playing guitar for 6 years and you wanted to take up the sitar, i dno't know im thinking about it

[uncleclunk]

I would say you have a good start, practice playing up and down one string melodies and stretching your left hand, reach with your second finger instead of third etc. it's a big neck, most of all listen to the music, the more you hear the more you will understand when you start playing it.

[sdmf44wylde]

damn she sounds fucked up or something

[AliobotQ]

totally, whats up with the pause before she says a mezrab is a.......metal...wire....

[synesthesia67]

do sitars just drone like that???....or is there a background drone???...it must be a tape loop or somethin...

[gilarenasfan94]

its a tanpura that makes that background drone.

but she uses an electric one cuz there isnt someone else to play the tanpura

[XVeriandomNess]

picks can be used cant they?

[scbryan420]

if you wanna look like a fag

[1504HL]

Is it You Linda on my Sitar?

Hi, Horst!

[SavedbyJaco]

Shouldn't this only be passed on by word of mouth? teacher to student, not broad casted over the internet?

[john9ten]

Get real. This is the 21st century. Broadcasting these lessons will bring this great classical music form to more people who probably don't have a real teacher. Folk music should be shared, not taught in secret from person to person. That's how music forms die out.

[SavedbyJaco]

I'm sorry, it's not a matter of opinion(at least not my opinion) In India that's how its done. This would drive cats like Ravi Shankar up a wall(and it has, when you think on things like kama sutra and yoga, in the 60s it pissed him off) your diluting a culture by picking and choosing what you want out of context. I said what I said with the intention of cultural respect, not elitism. Besides do you really think you'll truly understand whats going on with online videos and no teacher? Get real.

[markhunter1993]

tooo right. Obscure instrament are dieing out too much. If it wasnt for the like of the beetles and the rolling stones this isntrament could be dead

[0Eonomine0]

@john9ten Preach it, folk music is the window into a culture, sharing it opens the minds and eyes

[ZirclesAndZyre]

well i AM a lefty, so what would i do if i wanted to learn sitar? would i be screwed?

[cfpqnz]

probably yeah , at least financially

[Niarlathotep7]

left hand sitar exists look on web. i found it

[amityaadav]

i'd recomend that you try playing a right handed sitar, if your brain could adjust go for right handed one, otherwise go for a left. you can order through a shop or readymade available online. Don't consider yourself screwed as it is a personall preference as how'd you'd wana play, what's the use of an instrument if it takes twice the time to adapt on the other side, however lefty sitar are a bit cotslier. I am a lefty myself, i play Guitar and am learning Sitar both lefty. Good Luck.

[castlearemadeofsand]

sum beastly stuf im tryin 2 get a sitar

[allierenay]

:) my guru taught me that on my first lesson

[womblies1]

This is a wonderful sound..Thanks for sharing.

So sorry that there are so many idiots on the net that want to trash anything that sounds good or clever. I justs reflects their sad and empty lives.

[MohoBiechiz]

@womblies1 "good or clever" ahem... FUCK YOU!

~your favrit troll

[abrahm714]

I purchased a sitar at a local music store,.. I LOVE playing it... someone made a comment that you were playing raag bhairo,.. as far as I can tell you were playing c, c#, e, f#, g#, b, c... when you ascended the scale/raag.. and c, b, g#, g, f, c#, c... when you descended.. is that right?... also I wish you would show a close up of the mizrab when it is on your right index finger, I beleive the wire should be over your nail and pad,.. as opposed to along the sides of your finger...

[jaspreetsmangat]

Scale of Raag Bhairo

[berven2]

This is a very beautiful instrument. I wish I could take lessons.

[TheKillUncle]

Sitar is one of the most marvelous intrument ever invented! Its sound is... so beautiful! Like made in heaven. I loved the sitar since I heard LOVE YOU TO and WITHIN YOU EITHOUT YOU by Mr. George Harrison.

[Maddlord4]

wow, yall guys suck.The sitar is better than a guitar

[jimboindahouse]

okay...

[sexyskaterforgo]

it looks cool id like to learn how to play one

i play guitar so it might be easyer for me

[jimboindahouse]

SHUT YOUR SHIT PROJECTFUCKFACE!!!!!!!!

I AM AN ALL OUT METAL FAN AND THIS IS JUST

SHIT BEYOND SHITAR, NO ONE LIKES IT APART FROM N****S AND INDIAN****HEDS!!!!!!!!

*AND* PEOPLE WITH PROJECT AT THE START OF THEIR USERNAME!!!!!!!!!!!!

HINT HINT!!!!!!!!!!!

(screaming so hard beyond words that my head turns black,expands 4 inches cubed and then deflates)

[finchisgod]

chill out bro

[gothjet]

Lol. Jimbo, you have no clue how immature and dorky that sounded. XD!!!

[brenan6]

sounds like someone has a masculinity problem

[manfred62493]

shut up you simple minded bastard. sitar is excellent

[jimboindahouse]

sHitar!!!!!!!!!

[aydooknow]

wow shit! I didnt know the thing was that big!....

[JuicysBlade]

look i love distrotion guitar/ electric sitar as much as the next person such as "cry like a baby" "paint it black" and "green tamburine" but just becuase they have these songs dosent mean that songs like "norwegion wood" and "love you too" are bad songs just for not having the drone sounds of the alternitive to the sitar. Have an open mind and remember we use distort to sound like a sitar, so it doesnt seem justified to say the nockoff model is better just because it is easier to learn.

[jimboindahouse]

it IS THEE ugliest NUMBER 1 instrument,

fucking crap sound, thats why its called the Shitar or thats what i call it.

guitar is beautiful but

DISTORION however is goergeous

[texAsskillercarl]

kill ur self

[Pixiez]

then we all got it how "evolved" you are as a musician if ... distortion is your main "thing"

[projectfarman]

oh my god my gaydar is going crazy high on jimboindahouse... man that name is very clever might i add, i mean wow good job.. and ur so hip and poppin and dope and stupid and fresh.. ur gonna go places my friend... but not really at all

[WalrusPicturesUnited]

You should shut the crap up. That isn't very nice, man.

[WalrusPicturesUnited]

Oh, ever since I fell in love with George HArrison, I wanted to play this instrument. I think it makes the most beautiful sound, and it's just so amazing. I can't wait to learn.

[AmandaSunshinee]

Holy shit people can be judging. It's a peaceful instrument, that you really don't haev to be a hippy to play. Jeez, open your minds.

[mickmars001]

hippy

[AllUrUtubeRbelong2me]

And you're a moron.

[jimboindahouse]

eww! such a ugly instrument!

[dismalpubes]

Keep your ignorant opinions to yourself. This instrument is more beautiful than any I have ever learnt

[doom876]

you are an idiot. All instraments are beautiful man.

[moforex]

In General Midi there is a sitar voice but it's rather poor sounding. The DX series FM synthesizers from Yamaha have some decent sitar sounds and i believe the Ensoniq Fizmo may be able to make an interesting sitar patch. A BIG issue with emulating a sitar with any synthesizer is the sitar's sympathetic strings. You'll be hard pressed to get as fluid and full a sound as a sitar via synthesizers for that key reason.

[giggleblaggle]

that plecktrum looks painful. I have a calus on my fingers, but from playing the banjo.

[DistortedDingo]

O it is..

[yamansitar]

brill ,,,check out ,,,yamansitar .

[yamansitar]

brill you got it ,,,check out  yamansitar , kafi

[hashirraihan]

Thanks, raga basant will do lovely for a start lol...

[dckegger]

thank you VERY much, it's so nice to finally have a lesson

[oliverakhan]

To answer the question down in the comments, the sitar has such a cool sound because of what are called sympathetic strings. You can find out what they are on wikipedia.

[fbiagentstarling]

stupid people. sitar is great. listen to beck-"nobodys fault but my own" from the mutations record.

[drewc2k5]

XD beavo made a nice call there...

Damn, I wish I had a sitar =)

[infestedfrank]

hmm... Why does it look like a sitar has tuners on each fret?

[Tensen01]

On a Sitar the frets are movable, it's not a tuner but a knob to loosen the fret so it can be moved.

[infestedfrank]

Hmm, thats interesting.

[YewLogs026]

shut up you guys... you need to be more open minded for gods sake

[beavo2]

Acid break at 1:11

[magmar16]

for a minute i thoguht that was aurons weapon from ffx lol

[PunkChick35]

I think it would be appropriate to show a little more respect for this musical tradition. The sitar is just as valid (and a much more complex) instrument as a guitar. It only "sounds crappy" to someone whose ear is narrow and not open-minded. No musical sound is inherently crappy. The Hindustani Sangeet has served all of India for hundreds of years. Who are you to criticize it?

[Zebonka]

Buddy.... ignore these dopey people... They're obviously deaf. Or bone-headed. Just enjoy the music!

[Sudders89]

I bet shes crazy in bed.

[frodotheringbearer]

now that is definitely inappropriate.

[MCMasterCriss]

alex?

[womblies1]

not as good as your mother!!!!

[coleclash]

i hate hippeis

[frodotheringbearer]

who said she was a hippy?

[AllUrUtubeRbelong2me]

Then you would love me, because I think you need a hardcore beatdown. Also, you didn't spell hippies right, dumbass.

[womblies1]

what is a hippeis?  Sounds like a nasty rash!

[anaeloation]

sitars are so fucking cool.

[ROBERTTHESCEPTIC]

yeah, stlii why not try

[RiverRaid2]

this is like IMPOSIBLE to learn with internet...

[RTBM]

I like this video!

[Wishchrono]

"huge guit" as in Huge Guitar?

That's not a guitar damnit, it's a Sitar... -.-

And you would buy one in a garage sale for 1 buck and then sell it for a very very high price

[Zebonka]

Shows what you bloody know!

[womblies1]

silly billy!