The sitar

The sitar English pronunciation: /
ˈ sɪt ɑr/ Urdu: ﺳﺘﺎﺭ is a plucked
stringed instrument used mainly
in Hindustani music and Indian
classical music . The instrument
descended from long-necked
lutes taken to North India from
Central Asia and is also believed
to be influenced by the Veena.
The sitar flourished in the 16th
and 17th centuries and arrived at
its present form in the 18th
century Mughal period. The first
prototype instruments were
invented during the Delhi
Sultanate period of the 13th and
14th centuries, when the Persian
patrons of music and poetry
encouraged innovation in Indian
art. It is named after a Persian
instrument called the setar
(meaning "three strings"). Amir
Khusrow the great Sufi musician
laid the foundation for its
development in the 13th
century, making it the bedrock of
Indian classical music. [1] It
subsequently underwent changes
during the 18th century to
become the instrument we are
familiar with today. It derives its
distinctive timbre and resonance
from sympathetic strings , bridge
design, a long hollow neck and a
gourd resonating chamber.
Used widely throughout the
Indian subcontinent, the sitar
became known in the western
world through the work of Ravi
Shankar beginning in the late
1950s and early 1960s. [2] The
sitar saw further use in popular
music after the Beatles featured
the sitar in their compositions
"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has
Flown)", "Within You Without
You" and "Love You To ". Their
use of the instrument came as a
result of George Harrison's taking
lessons on how to play it from
Shankar and Shambhu Das.
[3] Brian Jones of the Rolling
Stones also used a sitar in "Paint
It Black" and a brief fad began for
using the instrument in pop
songs.
Etymology and history
The Hindi word sitar originally
derives from Persian sih + tar,
literally meaning "three
strings." [4]
The instrument descended from
Central Asia to North India
during the Delhi Sultanate period
and is also believed to be
influenced by the Veena. The
first prototype instruments were
invented during the Delhi
Sultanate period of the 13th/14
century when the Persian
patrons of music and poetry
encouraged innovation in Indian
art. It is named after a Persian
instrument called the setar
(meaning "three strings"). Hazrat
Amir Khusro the great Sufi,
musical and poetic genius laid the
foundation for its development.
The sitar flourished in the 16th
and 17th centuries and arrived at
its present form in the 18th
century Mughal period.
In his Bharatiya Sangeet Vadya
Dr. Lalmani Misra traces the
instrument's development from
the Tritantri veena through the
nibaddh and anibaddh
Tamburas [citation needed]
[when? ] also called tanbur and
later the jantra. Construction of
the similar tanpura was
described by
Tansen. [citation needed][ when?]
During the time of Moghul
Empire in the Indian
subcontinent from about 1526 to
1857. Persian lutes were played
at the Mughal court and may
have provided a basis of the
sitar; [citation needed] however,
there is no physical evidence for
the sitar until the time of the
collapse of the Mughal Empire
between 1690 and
1720. [citation needed] For
comparison, lute-like instruments
were depicted in Ancient
Egyptian tomb paintings dated to
the 18th Dynasty (c. 1350 BC),
so possibly predating evolution of
the Sitar by 3,000
years.