Sitar Music
For avid listeners of Sitar Music the enchanting and melodious tones of the sitar create a relaxing music from which to lose the stresses of the day. The timbres and tones of the musical instrument inherently bring about a state of relaxation , meditation and calmness that is unrivaled by most musical instruments anywhere. It is a unique and popular form of Indian Classical Music, with characteristics and specialties which are not the same as any other instrument in this style.
The Sitar can be appreciated by many of those that hear its song, but when you realize some things regarding the Sitar then you can appreciate the music on a whole new field . When you understand the amount of training the sitarist must go through , and the deftness of hand that it requires, and understanding of the principles regarding the ragas, then the music becomes a glorious expression of humanity in such a way that lifts up the listener into a meditative trance.
With over 19 strings, 7 of which are above the frets and 11 of which run underneath the frets and all of them being different lengths makes for a dizzying amount of choices in the sitarists availale songs, even tuning the sitar takes a considerable amount of energy. It is not unusual to break a string while tuning and then restringing comes into consideration. After that the player must understand the notes of the Raga to be played so he or she can tune the strings to the notes of that particular raga. When all this is done, he must then be able to communicate with his tabla player, his tanpura player, and any other musicians that are on stage with him at the time. It appears almost as telepathy between the players, and it dazzles and awes the audience. This heavenly style of music is loved by many, reveled in by more, and almost never fully understood .
