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News and Events
2008 05 03
New track by Zaria and Firefly
A new offering from South African band Firefly, a track entitled How? (click on the link to listen). The track features a psychedelic rock sitar style intro and solo. The song was written by Firefly's lead singer, Zaria, for her cat, Tashijru. The band earlier released the "Country and Eastern" pop song Falling Rain which also features unusual and prominent use of sitar.
2008 05 03
New developments in carbon fibre sitars
There is some interesting new work being done with the production of carbon fibre sitars. A group in Germany has produced a prototype model, and they've posted a detailed photo documentary of their work here. As far as we know, these aren't in production, but a company in The Netherlands called Green Onion has been making carbon fibre sitars to order for a few years now. Word is still out on sound quality, but you can visit Green Onion's website here for more information. It's certianly only a matter of time before the quality of these instruments matches those of top traditionally made sitars, so keep an eye on this page for updates on this interesting field of sitar construction.
2008 05 03
Very promising new software called Riyaz Studio has just been released that could be a great practise tool for sitarists who don't have a tabla machine. The software uses real tanpura and tabla samples, not electronic sounds. At the moment the taals available are adequate for most sitarists, but we'd love to see Deepchandi and Mata taal added at some point. Also, the software is currently only Windows compatible... but maybe we can encourage the developers to release a Mac version as well? There is a demo version of the software available from the developer's website (which you can visit by clicking the link above.) If the developers were able to program the software onto a portable USB flash sized device, they might have the ultimate tabla machine killer... let's encourage them!
2008 05 03
Shujaat Khan on New York Public Radio
A fascinating interview with Shujaat Khan from New York Public Radio. Click here to listen. (Requires RealPlayer.)
2008 05 03
Some new recordings have come available of Gokul Nag. These were recorded late in his life at his home in North Calcutta. To listen to them, click here.
2008 05 03
Online sitar lessons with Irshad Khan
One of the world's best sitarists, Irshad Khan, has started offering lessons online. If you can't find a good teacher near where you live and you want to learn straight from the source, this is a great option. Lessons are through voice or video chat using Skype, MSN or Yahoo Messenger. For more details, contact Irshad Khan at .
2008 05 03
A real treat from the BBC: A superb performance and workshop session with Irshad's brother, Nishat Khan. Click here to listen. (Requires RealPlayer.)
Now Playing:
Click to launch Sitar.co.za's continuously updated video channel. An ever-expanding collection of the best new, archival and interesting sitar and Indian classical music related videos on the internet. Click on any video for more information or to start a discussion.
Events
- 2008 07 16 :: Rex van der Spuy (sitar) and Anita Katakkar (tabla): An evening of contemporay Indian classical music featuring Rex van der Spuy on sitar and Anita Katakkar on tabla. More...
- 2008 04 25.26 :: Terra do Sangeet, Land of Rhythm: The Toronto Tabla Ensemble will be collaborating with Aline Morales and Maracatu Nunca Antes as well as the infinitely talented Ian de Souza (bass). More...
- 2008 03 29 :: Anwar Khurshid and Ustad Tari Khan: The Sitar School of Toronto is presenting a Sitar concert by Toronto's own sitarist, Anwar Khurshid. The audience will also be privileged by the accompaniment of world class Tabla player Ustad Tari Khan. More...
View all Events. Please send an email to events@sitar.co.za to have your event listed.
Music
- Ravi Shankar Interview: Audio documentary with Ravi Shankar speaking to the BBC's Anita Bhalla.
- A Chairy Tale: A rarely seen Norman McLaren animated film featuring a full soundtrack by Ravi Shankar and Sri Chatur Lal (tabla.)
- Trippy Monkey’s Video Archive: The best archive of sitar and Indian classical music related videos on the internet. Full concerts, documentaries, and rare television broadcasts. Trippy also maintains an Esnips archive of rare recordings.
View the complete Music Archive...
Articles
- Sitar Making In India: Scott Hackleman's detailed and highly readable account of the year he spent in Delhi learning the art of sitar making in Katar Chand's shop.
- Annapurna Devi: Mohan D. Nadkarni accounts his meetings with this enigmatic artist and comments on her legacy.
- Quality Sitar Construction: An informative article on sitar construction methodologies and what you should look for in a good quality instrument.
Learning Resources
- Tabla Lessons: A half hour of basic tabla lesson demonstrations, recorded in Bangalore, June 2003
- Electronic Tanpura Samples: Tampura samples in all keys (C# for sitar)
- Electronic Tabla Samples: A collection of electronic tabla samples, of about 10 minutes each, in a variety of tempos and taals.
View all Learning Resources...
Useful Links
- David and Chandra’s Sitar Forum: The epicenter of the sitar universe and the best place to find accurate, insightful and up-to-date information on all things sitar. This is the place to ask questions about sitar music, learning the sitar, or where to find a teacher. Become a member, spend some time reading the threads, and ask a question! We're there to help.
- Ali Akbar College of Music: A great place for strings, sitars, music, books and the all-important fibreglass cases.
- Tabla.co.za: Information on learning the tabla and an excellent resource for South African Indian musicians. Local events listings and information on local musicians.
- The Buckingham Music Sitar Tutorial: Excellent basic information about learning, maintaining and playing the sitar.
- Sitarplayer.net: Canadian site on learning to play the sitar. Well written with great resources, advice and practical information. This is the place to visit for the "Sargam" font.
- Patrick Moutal’s Indian Music Page: A wonderfully sprawling French site packed with rare recordings, photos, videos and all sorts of fascinating information.
- South Asian Women’s Forum Music Page: A huge collection of detailed articles (with thousands of audio clips) on aspects of Indian classical music. A very good place to visit if you are seeking info on a raga that you are just warming up to.
- The Wikipedia Sitar Entry: Although it ranks high in Google's search ratings... be careful! A lot of the information here is great, but an equal amount is not completely comprehensive, open to debate and often confusing. There's a been a lot of work done on this entry over the last year but it's very far from being an adequate, complete or accurate source of information. Come on, sitar community, we need to make this entry better! Click "edit" and contribute something!
- Radel Tabla and Tanpura Machines: The essential accessory for any sitar player is a tabla machine. Radel's models are superbly built and their customer service is exceptional. They ship worldwide.
- Swar Systems Indian Music Software: Sitar.co.za hasn't demo'd this software yet, but it gets regular complimentary reviews. If you've had a good (or bad) experience using it, let us know! Available for Windows and Macintosh.
- Audacity: Open-source audio recording software for Windows and Macintosh.
- Riyaz Studio: Tabla/Tanpura accompaniment software ideal for sitar practise. Inexpensive and easy to use. If you can't afford or obtain a tabla machine easily, this is an excellent choice.
- Amelia Maciszewski’s sitar videos: Superb instructional videos on basic sitar practise and theory by Amelia Maciszewski. Great if you're just getting into the intstrument and don't have a teacher.
- Deepak Raja’s world of Hindustani Music: A treasure trove of articles on Indian classical music, including rare interviews with many instumentalists.
- The Toronto Gharana: The Toronto Gharana: A website devoted to Indian classical music in Toronto.
- That Which Colors the Mind: 12 minute sample of Steven Baigel's wonderful documentary on sitarist Nikhil Banerjee. (from Stevenbaigel.com)
- Andy’s Music Indian Instruments Page: Rare, vintage and historic instruments. If you're looking for the best, and have the cash to spend, this is a great place to start.
- Trippy Monkey’s Video Archive: The best archive of rare sitar and Indian classical music related videos on the internet. Trippy also maintains an Esnips archive of rare recordings.
- The Sitar Factory: Lots on information on sitar maintenance and repair, as well as interesting info on electric and experimental sitars.
Do you have any favourite sitar or Indian classical music links? Email them to us!