for the last few years i have been mildly interested in indian music, sitar specifically. j.fox got me into christian indian music like aadadhna. its an instrument which is complicated and difficult to get a hold of. sitar players study for the whole lives- its not a hobby... its a lifestyle. less than a week ago, i spoke to a number of people on how much i would like to learn sitar. last night i went over to a friends house who had lived and worked in India as a missionary. we were going to dread some hair. i walk in and the room is packed with different kinds of musical instruments- and sure enough, leaning against the piano, was a sitar.
i just about poo'd my pants. i played it for a while and asked a bunch of questions and she offered to let me borrow it. are you sure? i asked. she said yes. heck yes. so, here i am trying to figure out how to restring it with guitar strings when the neck is 1 1/2 the length of a guitar neck. also, there isnt really a standardized tuning for the instrument- its all relative to who is playing, what they are playing, and what other instruments are being played with. im trying to use the ravi shankar tuning. its simple. its the most lovely and fascinating instrument. im really glad to have it for a little while. i wont get anywhere, but thats ok. its fun to just fool around on.
