Sitar Terminology

Submitted by sitarpla on Mon, 2007-01-01 11:55. ::

by Paul Barrette, May 2005

Importance of Terminology

My first real teacher of sitar had just come to Canada from Afghanistan. He spoke very little English and he knew nothing of Western music. He knew Afghani and Indian Classical Music very well. He knew all the names, terms and concepts for ICM and Indian instruments that are commonly used in India. That would become common language we shared. Here are some of the important terms that you should know about when learning sitar.

Sitar Terminology

kunti
Pegs. There are various kinds of kunti, the big ones that hold the main playing strings and the small
ones that hold the sympathetic strings.
tarab
These are the sympathetic strings and the
tarabdar kunti
are the pegs.
parda
Frets. These are metal curved frets that are tied to the neck of the sitar.
baj tar
Main playing string.
jure tar
The second string that is tuned to the main note or tonic.
tonic
The main note from which all strings are tuned.
dandi
The Neck of the sitar.
gullu
The place where the neck joins the base of the sitar.
tomba
Gourd. The sound box of the sitar is made from a large
gourd or pumpkin (but not the orange variety). There is
often an upper tomba on Ravi Shankar style sitars, which
sounds best when made from a real gourd, not spun
wood.
jawari or ghoraj
Bridge. There are two bridges, the big main one and
the lower sympathetic bridge. Although
jawari
is
technically the art of shaping the bridges, this term is
often used for the bridge itself.
tabli
The large flat wooden piece upon which the bridge sits.
This is a very important part of the sitar. Good wood
equals good sound.
mizrab
The pick which slips over the index finger.
raaga
The impression or colour one gets in ones mind when
hearing ICM. Typically, this is used for compositions.
Artists will compose music within the boundaries of a
raaga. There are books and web pages that will tell you
everything you would ever want to know (or not) about
raaga.
taan
A fast melodic composition.
gat
The main melody of the raaga. This is the backbone of
the composition. Around this, taans and various other
melodies are played. The gat gives the raaga its reference
point. (IMHO) In Imdadkhani style, an artist may play the
gat followed by a taan, which leads into the gat
again.
second line
Just like the gat gives a reference to the raaga, the

second line
adds variety and complexity to a
raaga.
palta
Like a taan only much longer. Typically a
palta
is a fixed piece.
meend
Bending/pulling on the string to reach the next notes,
up to 7 on some sitars, though 5 is much more common.
Meend gives off that wonderful round sound of ICM and it
makes all the microtones cascade.
shruti
Notes or, if you buy into the 22 note theory, maybe
shruti are better described as microtones (a very flamable
topic, better left to navel gazers).
tal
Cycle of beats. Tintal is a cycle of 16 beats.
laya
Rhythm, fast, slow etc.
sum
One. This is the first beat of a cycle where the emphasis is often placed.
Khali
Empty. It is the transition point that is a great reference point in the rhythm. In tintal khali
begins at 9. Typically, the gat will start at or near khali and end at sum.
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