Sitar, << sih TAHR, >> is a stringed instrument that originated in India or Persia. It is used in the classical music of northern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The sitar has a long, broad neck made of wood and a pear-shaped body made from a large gourd. It has 7 main strings, which the musician plucks with a wire pick worn on the right index finger. It also has 12 or more sympathetic strings. These strings vibrate when the main strings are played. Adjustable metal strips called frets are attached to the neck of the instrument. They serve as fingering guides for the left hand.
The sitar probably was developed in the A.D. 1200’s. It reached its present form during the 1800’s and 1900’s. It serves chiefly as a solo instrument, usually accompanied by a drum called tabla and a lute called a tambura that produces a drone (continuous pitch). A sitarist improvises within a certain melodic framework known as a raga and a metrical framework called a tala. The instrument has become more familiar in the West since the 1960’s. The Beatles and other rock groups have used it in their music.
