sitar
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The sitar
is a big plucked string instrument, mostly used in Indian classical music.
Thanks to its resonance, which is derived from sympathetic resonating strings,
a long hollow neck and a gourd resonating chamber, the sitar is well known for
its characteristic ‘jangly’ sound.
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prime example
the story
The first
pop recording to feature a sitar was the Yardbirds’ Heart Full Of Soul, which
according to legend featured a genuine Indian sitar player and a tabla player
who couldn’t keep up with the 4/4 time signatures. But because the Yardbirds couldn’t
reproduce the sound on stage, Jeff Beck replaced the part with a fuzzed out
guitar riff.
It’s likely that Beatle George Harrison was first introduced to the sitar by Byrd David Crosby, a big fan of Indian classical musician Ravi Shankar: “There are people that tell me I turned him on to Indian music. I know I was turning everybody I met on to Ravi Shankar because I thought that Ravi Shankar and John Coltrane were the two greatest melodic creators on the planet and I think I was probably right.”
Then, during a break while filming the Beatles’ second film, Help!, Harrison tried to play a sitar that was left on the set by the Indian musicians. He bought a cheap one at a London shop and took lessons from Ravi Shankar and Shambhu Das before using it on albums such as Rubber Soul (Norwegian Wood), Revolver (Love You To and Tomorrow Never Knows), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Within You Without You) and Let It Be (Across The Universe).
It’s likely that Beatle George Harrison was first introduced to the sitar by Byrd David Crosby, a big fan of Indian classical musician Ravi Shankar: “There are people that tell me I turned him on to Indian music. I know I was turning everybody I met on to Ravi Shankar because I thought that Ravi Shankar and John Coltrane were the two greatest melodic creators on the planet and I think I was probably right.”
Then, during a break while filming the Beatles’ second film, Help!, Harrison tried to play a sitar that was left on the set by the Indian musicians. He bought a cheap one at a London shop and took lessons from Ravi Shankar and Shambhu Das before using it on albums such as Rubber Soul (Norwegian Wood), Revolver (Love You To and Tomorrow Never Knows), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Within You Without You) and Let It Be (Across The Universe).
other examples
One of
George Harrison’s apprentices turned out to be none other than Brian Jones, who
learned himself to play the sitar after a visit to the Beatle’s house. Jones
then used the instrument to play the signature opening riff to the Stones’
Paint It, Black, which reached number one in both the US and the UK. Keith
Richards later said “Brian playing the sitar makes the whole thing”. Jones also
added sitar and tambura, a simplified version of the sitar, when the Stones
recorded Street Fighting Man in March 1968, two years after Paint It, Black.
In 1967 the Danelectro Company introduced the Coral Electric Sitar, an electric guitar with extra resonator strings which sounded similar but was a lot easier to play compared to the original sitar. Guitarist Denny Dias used one to record his solo for the Steely Dan top ten single Do It Again, from their debut album Can’t Buy A Thrill. The song also featured a plastic organ solo by another Dan co-founder, Donald Fagen.
In 1967 the Danelectro Company introduced the Coral Electric Sitar, an electric guitar with extra resonator strings which sounded similar but was a lot easier to play compared to the original sitar. Guitarist Denny Dias used one to record his solo for the Steely Dan top ten single Do It Again, from their debut album Can’t Buy A Thrill. The song also featured a plastic organ solo by another Dan co-founder, Donald Fagen.