Sitar.co.za

General Articles

• Sitar Making In India (4.1mb): 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.
• Bansuri: The final three issues of the now defunct annual Indian music journal. Although the tone is somewhat academic, there are some real gems here.
• Nikhil Banerjee Interview: The classic 1985 Interview by Ira Landgarten (from Raga Records)
• My Maestro As I Saw Him: An article on Allauddin Khan by Nikhil Banerjee (from Raga Records)
• The Symphonist Among Sitarists (356kb): A rare article on Nikhil Banerjee from the out of print book,'Listening to Hindustani Music' by Chetan Karnani
• British Journal of Ethnomusicology, vol 9, no. 2 (2000), pp. 1-34 (3mb): An interesting article: Reading Indian Music: the interpretation of seventeenth-century European travel-writing in the (re)construction of Indian music history.
• Saluting Ustad Vilayat Khan (172kb): Vilayat Khan's senior disciple, Arvindh Parikh, reflects on the life of his guru.
• How To Mic a Sitar (100kb): Stragetgies for obtaining the best sound through a microphone for studio recording and live performing.
• Deepak Raja’s world of Hindustani Music: A treasure trove of fascinating and highly readable articles on indian classical music and musicians. There are in particular a number of great articles by Shujaat Khan, and the most comprehensive explanation of what a Raag is that we've come across.
• Kanailal (180kb): The contribution of Calcutta based sitar makers "Kanailal and Brother" to the development of the modern sitar as we know it.
• Ustad Vilayat Khan (120kb): An article by Deepak Raja on the legacy of sitarist Vilayat Khan.

Learning Sitar and Indian Music

• Sitar Notes (3.6mb): Handwritten study notes from 1989-1994 which include fully notated raags by Nikhil Banerjee and Ali Akbar Khan. Includes: Jaunpuri, Jhinjhoti, Hemant, Ahir Lalit, Puriya Kalyan and Gujari Todi, among others. For advanced learners only.
• Guide to Improvisation, 1 (52kb): Simple method for practicing improvisation, based on a drut gat in Jaunpuri by Nikhil Banerjee. For intermediate learners.
• Guide to Improvisation, 2 (44kb): Continuation of the above method, based on a vilambit gat in Jhinjhoti by Ali Akbar Khan.
• Electronic Tuner Calibration Charts (168kb): Sitars sound best when tuned using the "Just Temperament" tuning system. Unfortunately, most electronic chromatic tuners use the "Equal Temperament" system. This article provides charts from Peterson Tuners which show you how to convert readings from an Equal Temperament tuner to Just Temerperament.
• Sitar Practise and Performance (120kb): An excellent article on sitar study and performance practices by Arvind Parikh. It probably won't be of much use to beginners, as it's probably a little too general and too technical in nature to be of much practical use, but for intermediate and advanced players it's a great. Particularly interesting is the discussion of Taan Paltas and Alap Paltas, which is rarely expalined with such clarity. Also, the discussion "subject development" for building and developing phrases is very lucid. He makes it sound so easy, it's very encouraging!

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!