Here Today... Gone To Hell!

A sitar is basically a hollowed out pumpkin with a neck, a gourd at the top of the neck (for extra resonation) and strings (19).

The Sitar is an ancient Indian instrument (the design is over 600 years old) which was popularized in the west during the 60s by such groups as the beatles (who were the first to introduce Jeff Martin to the exotic sound the Tea Party have adapted). The Sitar has another relative called a Tambura. It's basically a fretless drone Sitar. Almost the bass Sitar, if you will. For those of you who have recently seen the Intimate and Interactive with the Tea Party (May 20), during "Save Me", the Tambura was theInstrument used as the bass.

Information on the Sitar
The Sitar is an ancient Indian instrument adapted from another ancientIndian instrument, The Southern Veena. It is constructedusing a design over 800 years old. It is made using a dried out pumpkin for the body,Tun or Sheasham wood for the neck, and a dried out gourd for the resonator at the top of the neck. The Sitar has 7 strings on the upper part of the body and eleven of twelve sympathetic strings under the frets. To be able to allow the sympathetic strings to be under the frets and resonate, the frets are arch shaped to allow for free resonation. All frets on a Sitar are moveable. They are held to the neck only with strings.There are a few variations on the design such as the single Sitar which does not have the sympathetic strings and the double Sitar, which does not have the gourd at the top of the neck.

To play the Sitar is similar to playing the guitar although there are a few variations in the styles of playing. First, instead of using a pick, a Sitarist uses a 2 mizrabs (see picture) which is a metal finger pick. One mizrab is placed on the index finger and the other on the pinky. Second, the sitting position of the Sitar is quite different from a guitar.See the pictures for the most popular Male and Female sitting positions. Third, the tuning of the Sitar is quite different. Strings #6,7 (two strings closest to the player - as in string #6 on guitar) are called chikaries. String #7 is tuned to high C (1 octave higher than middle). String #6 is tuned to Middle C. String #5 is tuned to a double low C (2 octaves lower than middle). Strings #2,3,4 are tuned to low C (1 octave less than middle). Finally, String #1 is tuned to low G. The sympathetic strings are tuned in a standard C major scale starting with a low G up to a high C or D. The fourth and most dramatic difference in playing is the Indian Music System. I won't go into much of it here, as it is very very complicated and will just confuse the hell out of anybody who tries to make sense of it using my understanding of it. The Indian music system is based on Ragas, which to my knowledge are something in beetween a riff and an entire song. The Indian music notation is basically the same as the western system. However, there are more notes." Just to add to Mike's description, Western music works in haf tones. That's how you get a G# or an F# as opposed to a G or and F. If you can wrap your mind around it, the Eastern tradition embraces quarter tones. Thus there is a note in between the sharps and flats. Therefore, as an example, there is a note between F and F#. Pretty cool stuff. That's why when you listen to Eastern singers, their voices just kind of go all over the place and it sounds very . . . umm well it sounds pretty different to a first time listener. A lot of people say it grates on the ears, but I kind of like it, if you get a good singer. "Each western major note has 2-4 different Shrutis. A Shruti is a very minute gap in the pitch of a note which most people would not be able to notice (as in a very small string pull on a guitar).

Just to let you know, The Tea Party recommend Kala Kendar in Toronto to buy exotic instruments. Now Jeff bought his sitar in a pawn shop in Toronto for I think 300 dollars. Sitars are generally a double gourded instrument. Now what does that mean? Well, to start, a gourd is a dried out vegetable shell, such as pumpkins. There is one of these at the bottom and the top of a sitar, thus a double gourded instrument. Jeff's doesn't have one on the top (see picture), only one on the bottom, serving as the body of the guitar. Jeff has never bothered to buy a new one because he likes his.

Where did the band buy the instruments?
The band's favourite stores are World Music in the Village in New York City, Kala Kendar in Toronto, Ali Akbar School of Music in San Raphael, California and Lark in the Morning. Don't forget to say the Tea Party sent you, for a discount. In addition, while traveling in Australia, Turkey, and Europe, the group has brought back a few different things of antiquity.

Here's something weird:  Guitar Sitar? (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Rogue-STR1-Pro-Electric-Sitar-Guitar?sku=519273)   ;)

I have another question, whats the difference between the sitars with one toomba, and ones with another one on the neck?

If i got one with the thing on the neck, would I have to keep it on or would I be able to play without it if I wanted to?

suprisingly, noone has noted that izzy plays a coral sitar on the beginning of "pretty tied up". its like that guitar sitar thing.