Hello Steemians! I'm going to create a few album posts of my instrument collection. First up is my Sitar :)
I first played Sitar in Rishikesh, India. My cousin and I found a teacher, and for 600 rupees (*roughly $10 USD) he gave us an hour long group lesson. We learned some basic concepts, like the Da and Ra strokes, and we played different strum patterns while running a scale. The instrument really spoke to me that day; it had many voices of its own. We could only "suggest" what notes to play; the Sitars had their own musical conversation.
When I returned to the US, I had to make Sitar part of my life. I found this lovely instrument on Craigslist in Los Angeles last year! It needed a bit of work to get in playing shape, so I reached out the LA Academy of Indian Music via Facebook. The man who responded offering help would later become my teacher.
I have now been studying Sitar for 4 months now under the incredible Rajib Karmakar. It has been a humbling experience - being an absolute novice again - but I have learned much about the instrument, Indian music, and my teacher as well.
I will leave you with a video of my teacher performing with violin and tablas, and I encourage you to listen to Sitar every day!
As always, please follow, upvote and resteem if you enjoy my content! I'm always happen to converse in the comment section as well :)
