Sitar.co.za

Fri, September 03, 2010

About Sitar.co.za

Originally founded by a group of students in Cape Town, South Africa, Sitar.co.za is an international information and learning site about the North Indian classical music and the Sitar.

Rex van der Spuy

Rex van der Spuy Rex van der Spuy has been playing sitar since 1989. He is a student of Ustad Irshad Khan one for the foremost proponents of the sitar today. Rex currently divides his time between Canada, India and South Africa where he engages in informal performances and collaborations with other musicians. Rex produced the classically inspired sitar and tabla CD, Valley of Dreams, with Ronan Skillen in 2007.

Preston Thomas

Preston Thomas Preston grew up surrounded by drums and music. His dad taught him the drum kit and Scottish side drums. His classical training in Scottish side drums started at an early age and he has been playing percussion instruments for 17 years. He is an inventive and passionate tabla player and his playing style is infused with delicate sensitivity and delightful originality. His teachers include Guruji Mr Chauhan and Ustad Rashied Hassan. He is currently studying under the Dilli Gharana. He performs with Rex van der Spuy on sitar when he is in the country. Preston is a digital artist and runs www.tabla.co.za.

Ronan Skillen

Ronan Skillen Ronan has been playing tabla since 2002. He has performed in South Africa, Europe and India and has featured on many recordings and film scores. His teacher, Ustad Akram Khan, is India’s master of a very rich and delicately technical North Indian tabla style know as the “Ajarara Gharana.” Ronan is currently teaching and performing in South Africa and regularly visits India to further his studies. Ronan played tabla with Rex van der Spuy in the 2007 classical sitar and tabla CD, Valley of Dreams.

Join the team

Do you enjoy spending hours a day surfing for new and interesting information about the sitar and Indian music, and then writing about it? Then you might have what it takes to become a Sitar.co.za blogger... we'd love to hear from you! For details, please send an email to info@sitar.co.za.

Rex van der Spuy (sitar) and Ronan Skillen (tabla)

Now Playing:

Nikhil BanerjeeClick 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

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.

View all Articles...

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!