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How to increase the sustain of your sitar MELODIC INSTRUMENTS
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Senior Member 482 posts mahadev Senior Member 482 posts
mahadev
Hi Daryush,

ok off topic, forum members will cut us some slack, he he...
Dharamsala has been my real home since the 70's. I used to work for H.H., I knew Ling Rinpoche, Trijang Rinpoche, Dilgo Kheyntse Rinpoche, H.H. the 16th Karmapa, I met Nichidatsu Fujii,
yeah... how lucky can you get ? Not to forget the great Dr. Yeshe Dhonden , without him I would not even be here now, for sure
I used to hang out in Bodhgaya a lot during my time In Varanasi when I was at BHU.

Oṃ muni muni mahāmuni śākyamuni svāhā

Peace Bro,



lingrinpoche7.jpg bodhgaya2 78.jpg 
http://maxflury.com/

There are no bad sitars except for the ones covered in polyurethane !
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mahadev Senior Member 482 posts
mahadev
....with one simple trick.

And that is ? Play in tune. Sounds obvious ? It is.
Consider this : when your mizrab hits the string it imparts a finite amount of energy. Now when you pull the string for meend, that energy is all you have to work with until you have to strike the string again. During that finite amount of time you want to hit the notes spot on. The more precise you are the less energy is wasted. Be honest, can you hit the exact pitch for each note first time ? Or are your fingers taking time to find the correct pitch ? It may be a very small amount of time but it matters a lot.
Then there are the taraf strings. If you are precise they will react immediately.
If you are in between they will actually reduce your sustain because of dissonance.
Or something like that. I have no scientific analysis ready to demonstrate this effect but I am quite sure it is there.

Here is a story .
The great Ustad Vilayat Khan once arrived for a concert at a university in India.
His sitar was in another car and the driver got lost.
So what did the great Ustad do ? He went to the music department, picked a student sitar, gave it a 2 min sandpaper jowari and then played a splendid concert. With all the bells and whistles. How could he do that ? Because of the precision of his playing that student sitar sounded almost like his own. No energy lost. Precise tuning, precise meend equals sustain and sound quality.
It is obvious, really. But good to remember every now and then....



Ok, that's it for a while, folks. I am flying to Namche Bazaar in a clapped out Russian helicopter day after tomorrow.Wish me luck...
http://maxflury.com/

There are no bad sitars except for the ones covered in polyurethane !
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fossesitar Senior Member 983 posts
fossesitar
Best of luck, Max! Have one hell of a trip and tell us all about it when you get back. GF
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nicneufeld Senior Member 1,566 posts
nicneufeld
mahadev wrote:
Here is a story .
The great Ustad Vilayat Khan once arrived for a concert at a university in India.
His sitar was in another car and the driver got lost.
So what did the great Ustad do ? He went to the music department, picked a student sitar, gave it a 2 min sandpaper jowari and then played a splendid concert. With all the bells and whistles. How could he do that ?
I tend to go for the Ockham's Razor answer to this question...because he was the aftaab e sitar! I don't dispute that being in perfect tuning is one of the most critical things to getting a sitar sounding right, but a master player like that has most of his sound in his mind and in his fingers. Point being, if he tuned it perfectly and gave it jawari and handed it to an amateur like me, it absolutely wouldn't sound superb....

But the point is well taken. A bit more time getting the tuning RIGHT is so critical...its not even that the instrument even sounds "out of tune", but when things aren't quite right, it just feels off, the response just isn't right. When it's in tune, it's happy, and a good instrument comes alive in your hands.

Mil-8 Hip maybe? Enjoy your trip, stay warm...
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mahadev Senior Member 482 posts
mahadev
Gregg and micneufeld,
thanks. I got Everest fever so bad , man, that mountain is so strange. Beautiful and deadly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDV5c3VbsfE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfAw8ulhTiQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goZPsv6AcXg
One reason I am going there is the Echo Project. The other reason...well, let's see , will keep you posted.
Anyway, this is off topic.
http://maxflury.com/

There are no bad sitars except for the ones covered in polyurethane !
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Greg Senior Member 878 posts
Greg
mahadev wrote:
Here is a story .
The great Ustad Vilayat Khan once arrived for a concert at a university in India.
His sitar was in another car and the driver got lost.
So what did the great Ustad do ? He went to the music department, picked a student sitar, gave it a 2 min sandpaper jowari and then played a splendid concert. With all the bells and whistles. How could he do that ? Because of the precision of his playing that student sitar sounded almost like his own. No energy lost. Precise tuning, precise meend equals sustain and sound quality.
I have heard a similar story that related to Zakir-ji, arrived for concert, no tabla, so managed to find a set in a restaurant window that he proceeded to play a stunning solo on....
http://www.youtube.com/user/oGJWo
http://www.youtube.com/user/RoomwithaViewmusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/ErithDrumClub
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