In some parts of India, these are referred to as Gandhar Pancham. VK-style sitars have 17 strings: 11 sympathetic, 4 drones, and 2 played strings. However, they have an additional drone string (chikari) for rhythmic accompaniment. Amir Khusrow is an iconic figure in the cultural history of India and is believed to have pioneered some of the major forms of Hindustani classical music. This includes the Tarana, Khyal, and Qawwali. A Ravi Shankar sitar is also called a Kharaj Pancham sitar in many parts of India. It has 20 strings, three of which are drone strings, four melody strings, and 13 sympathetic strings. Often you will want to play the sitar but by the time you have fully tuned it the feeling and inspiration is gone. In these situations, my recommendation is to just tune the 1st two strings main strings – F & C and the chicari strings both to C. This should take less than a minute. 98% of your playing will be on these strings.

Finally, the Surbahar, also known as the bass sitar, comes with three to four drone strings, four playing strings, and 11 sympathetic strings. The instrument is even tougher by the scope of the subject matter (Indian classical music). In a way, it’s like martial arts. Ashwin Batish teaches sitar by video. Two videos are now ready. Each is about an hour long. The first is titled "Introduction to Sitar" the second is titled "Begining Sitar Exercises." More tutor videos are on the way.There is a lot of stylistic variance within these tunings, and like most Indian stringed instruments, there is no default tuning. Mostly, tunings vary by schools of teaching ( gharana) and the piece that is meant to be played. In the late 1950s and early 1960s Ravi Shankar, along with his tabla player, Alla Rakha, began a further introduction of Indian classical music to Western culture. Sitar String Gauges for Ashwin Batish, Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan Tuning Styles Lesson 6 - RagaNet Magazine on Music of India Sitar In Muslim tradition, some scholars believe the sitar was invented—or, much accurately, developed—by Indo-Persian Sufi singer Amir Khusrow (c. 1253-1325).

This makes the sitar older than the piano, the guitar, and the violin. 2. No One Knows Where the Sitar Originated From So, there is no standard or default sitar tuning. It varies heavily based on the school (gharana), raga (melodic framework), and stylistic variance. Miner, Allyn (April 2004). Sitar and Sarod in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-1493-6.Saṅgīt Mahābhāratī (2011). "Thāṭ (Instrumental)". The Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Music of India. ISBN 9780199797721 . Retrieved 5 September 2018. The Ravi Shanker Sitar, used for instrumental performance, has a tuning frequently used across styles and schools. It is as follows:

Habe festgestellt, dass sogar indische Instrumentenhändler genau diese Pyramid-Saiten im Angebot haben, mit dem Vermerk "German Quality". Nur wird das dann für indische Verhältnisse ziemlich teuer, und wenn man nicht in Indien ist, bestellt man doch lieber in der geographischen Nähe. The key of D has one sharp, F#, and this article will show you how to tune the strings accordingly. Indian scholars claim it’s of Indian origins, but Western scholars believe it’s more likely to have originated from West Asia. This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( April 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) World Music: The Rough Guide (Volume 2: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific) (2000). London: Rough Guides/Penguin. p.109. ISBN 1-85828-636-0.In Western music, it's common to tune in C, but the standard Indian tuning is in D. Here's what the tones look like: Solfege: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa As mentioned above, the total number of tarab string on a sitar can vary from eleven (most common) to thirteen. I have two sitars and one has the 11, the other has 13 (shown above). My observation has been that the sitars made in Banaras, Miraj, Bombay, and Delhi area have 11 tarab strings and the ones coming from Bengal, especially Calcutta, have thirteen. Although still popular to this day, the sitar is believed to have been invented in the 13th century, over 700 years ago.