Hi,

I want to know when you play “ra” do you strike the first string of the sitar or also the second and first string together? I haven’t been able to find this information anywhere.

Looking for to information on the above.

Thank you.

Hi Lucy,

It depends on who your teacher is. In the Imdadkhani school of sitar playing, yes, you strike both the first and second string on the Ra downstroke.

- Rex

Thanks Rex.

From what you are saying that it’s also not incorrect to play Ra - downstroke by striking just the first string. Which of the two is a more common scenario?

Looking forward to your reply,
Lucy

Also, Rex would you know which of these sitar players - Ravi Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee, Vilayat Khan etc play/played both the strings or only one on Ra downstroke?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Lucy,

It’s a little hard for me to say which is more common as it’s dependent on style.
I usually follow the Imdadkhani method of playing the second string on the Ra stroke, but sometimes for a highlighting effect it’s ommited as well.
It’s hard to generalise as there are many approachs to take. Vilayat Khan usually plays both strings on the downstroke, and that’s how he teaches the technique to his students.
Ravi Shankar and Nikhil Banerjee play that way less commonly… but also sometimes do!
I know, it’s confusing!
Are you taking lessons at the moment or trying to learn by ear?
A good teacher will be able to give you specific guidance on when to play like that and when not too.
I think it’s probably impossible to learn sitar without a teacher, at least in the first few years.
If you’re just starting out, I would follow the advice that my teacher (Irshad Khan) gave me and always brush the second string on the way down when playing the Ra stroke.
You get a very rich sound and it’s a solid base to start from.
Hope that helps

- Rex

Thanks for your input, Rex.

I learnt sitar for a year or so 20 years ago. Then I learnt again 10 years ago from another but well-known teacher in the city - again for a year. Both of them taught me to play the sitar by striking only the first string on Ra. Now I have moved cities and just started to learn again. This teacher wants me to start striking both the strings on Ra. I am finding it difficult to unlearn and learn this as my hand is already set. So was wondering whether I could get away without having to strike the second string and which was a preferred choice by most!

How long have you been playing the sitar?

Hi Lucy,

I went through the same thing many years ago when I switched teachers.
It was reeeaaallly hard to unlearn my previous technique.
It took me many months of doing nothing but just playing Da Ra slowly in front of a mirror to check my position.
I’m so glad I did though, because it made all the difference in the long run.
If your teacher is well qualified, my advice would be to just implicitly trust everything he or she tells you, because it’s ultimately going to pay off if you can endure the short-term tedium of it.

I’ve been playing the sitar for about 20 years. I’m living outside of Toronto, Canada at the moment but lived for a long time in India too (Bangalore and Bombay).

- Rex

I also had the experience of learning one approach to the right hand and then having to switch to a different approach. Dr. Lalmani Misra taught me to use different angles of the mizrab striking the string to produce differing tonal colors, but left the question of how much the jodi wire should sound unanswered. The result was a continuous droning of the jodi under the baj’s primary note. With practice, I was able to keep the droning of the jodi under control, and gave many successful concerts while a student of Misraji. Then, in 1977, I was accepted as a disciple by Pandit Ravi Shankar. The first thing he insisted on was to lock my “da” stroke against the jodi. In other words, stop the mizrab, using the second string as a backstop. It took at least one year to develop this type of right hand. After that, he showed me other ways, all more difficult to master than the general approach to the right hand by Dr. Misra. The pointilistic quality of Panditji’s playing (especially during his prime) is the result of the controlled right hand. However, in certain toda patterns, he will “break through” the jodi with force (for example, on the “da” stroke of da ra diri diri), but then immediately use the controlled locked stroke on following mizrab strokes. If you listen closely to his 1970s recordings, you will hear these different strokes.

I recall Pandit Balram Pathak also locking his “da” stroke when he visited me once in Varanasi and played on my sitar. The locked da is very hard to master, and slows one down a bit in tans, but it produces an unparalleled clarity of sound on the sitar. The key to making it sound good is in the left hand, which adds a gamak on practically every note, even in avarohi sapat tans. So, while the tan itself might be a bit slower than a blazing tan by an Imdadkhani gharana musicians, it has a clarity, weight and melodiousness that transcends the speedier technique of playing with a free right hand and a “flat” left hand. Pandit Ravi Shankar uses that technique to toss in a blazing fast tan here and there, but his base hand style was the controlled stroke.

Thanks Rex for your encouragement. Would love to hear you play the sitar. Do you still travel to India? Should meet the next time you do! I live in Bombay.

Sslawek - Thank you for your insight...it’s incredible to know that the right hand probably has a much bigger role than a mere “da” and “ra”. When you say “lock” the da stroke, does that mean that you donot strike the second string when you play Ra? I’m confused whether I should change my style or continue by striking only the first string for both Da and Ra.

Looking forward to your comments…

Lucy,

The second (jodi) string is not sounded with the locked da stroke. The second string acts as a stop (i.e., the mizrab’s movement is stopped by coming to rest against the jodi; the jodi wire actually then acts as a bit of a spring to give some force outwards to the ra stroke). Another aspect of this right hand is that the movement of the stroking finger is primarily “hinged” at the first knuckle joint (where the index attaches to the hand). The more open da stroke often receives its primary flexing from the middle joint (so that the fingers kind of bend in halves). Last, you should keep the finger tips touching as much as possible, and allow all four fingers to move together. This adds force to the stroke. If you are leaning toward the Ravi Shankar/Nikhil Banerjee/Balram Pathak style of playing, then keep going with the “locked” da system. If you want the jangling Imdadkhani style, forget everything I’ve written and let the strings make as much noise as you want.

Good luck!

P.S. If you want to hear a sample of where this method leads, go to:

http://www.music.utexas.edu/ensembles/details.aspx?ID=51

Thanks sslawek for that information! It’s always great to see how other musicians tackle this subject. Right hand technique is one of the most important and difficult to master on the sitar, and there are a few different approaches.

Lucy, I think you might find some less-than-perfect examples of my playing on the net if you look for them I still have much study ahead of me! I’m living in Canada now but lived in India for 10 years, including two years in Bombay (Bandra West) which I loved! I’m hoping to get back to India later this year, but we’ll see. My teacher, Irshad Khan, spends half the year in Bombay teaching and performing, so maybe you get in touch with him at some point too? He should be back there this November for 5-6 months.