Sitar Orchestration Manual

1998 Tim White

I wrote this manual in the spirit of making information about the sitar availabl
e to composers and in the hope that more composers will write for the sitar. Thi
s is meant to be like a chapter in an orchestration book, including a descriptio
n of the instrument, its techniques, and how to notate for the instrument. Much
of the notation is suggested here for the first time and is an attempt to create
a useful standard notation for the sitar. This notation could easily be extende
d to include other instruments of North Indian Classical music, such as the saro
d (pronounced "sa-road"). I look forward to your comments.
Instrument Description:
The sitar is one of the most popular instruments of North Indian classical music
. It has been in continual evolution over the past 200 years. Its invention is o
ften attributed to Amir Khusraw, a Persian musician, well versed in both Persian
and Indian music, who achieved high acclaim in the Moghul court of Ala'al-Din K
hilji, Sultan of Delhi (1296-1316). This is probably more legend than fact. It d
oes, however, point to the fact that the North Indian sitar is the product of mo
re than one culture. In its current design one can find traces of the veena, one
of India's oldest stringed instruments, alongside influences of middle eastern
saz and Afghani setar. The name "sitar" is muslim and means either three or seve
n string.
The modern sitar is still in evolution, its size, pitch, number of strings, numb
er of frets and the materials from which it is made are still being experimented
with. Since the turn of the century the sitar has become larger, sympathetic st
rings have been added, the number of frets has increased (from just enough for a
septatonic scale to 2 frets shy of a chromatic scale). In general the sitar has
from 17 to 20 frets, 2 to 4 main playing strings, 11 to 14 sympathetic strings,
3 to 4 chikari strings (rhythm drone strings, similar to the 5th string on a 5
string banjo) and ranges in length from 3 to 4 feet.
The tonic note (key note/fundamental) of the sitar varies (generally with its si
ze), from C to D#, with most instruments tuned to C#. I propose writing for sita
r in concert pitch, regardless of its actual pitch. Most sitars, with moderate c
omplaint from the sitarist, may be tuned to C (albeit with a somewhat flabby sou
nd). The sitarist may compensate by changing the gauge of string. Some sitarists
may have more than one instrument, each suitable to a different pitch.
Pitch Range of the Sitar:
The sitar has a four octave range, roughly from C2 to C6, with C4 as its main an
d middle pitch (depending, of course, on the fundamental of the instrument). The
most versatile range is from F3 to F5. The pitches above F5 are beyond the high
est fret and are achieved by pulling the string. The pitches below F3 are less s
table, especially from C2 to F2, which are pulled on the lowest bass string.
The three different sets of strings of the sitar:
1) the three to four melody strings can be fretted and supply the melodic capabi
lity of the instrument. The main melody string (F3) is made of steel (usually #3
or #4 wire), and accounts for about 90% of the melodic activity on the sitar wi
th a range of 2 1/2 octaves (F3 to C6). The main melody string can be pulled to
play notes up to a fifth above the fretted note. Great variety and subtlety of o

rnamentation and microtonal coloration can be achieved by the pulling of the str
ings (called meend).The tonic string(C2), is made of bronze, usually playing fre
tted notes within a compass of a perfect fifth (C3 to G3). The dominant string (
G2), also made of bronze, usually playing fretted notes within a compass of a pe
rfect fourth (G2 to C3). The dominant string is sometimes tuned to other pitches
, often in conjunction with alternate tunings of the chikari strings (see chikar
i below). And finally the bass tonic string (C2), also of bronze, which is most
often used as a drone string, or used melodically in very slow passages. Due to
its flexibility it is capable of being pulled to play notes from C2 to C3, a com
pass of an octave, but it takes great care and skill to do this in tune.
2) the 11 to 14 sympathetic strings lie underneath the arched frets of the instr
ument and vibrate freely or "sympathetically" with the melody strings. These str
ings are tuned, usually in scale order to the notes that will be played on the m
elody strings (see below "Sitar - Tuning & Range").
3) the 3 or 4 chikari or rhythm strings are used to provided rhythmic accompanim
ent and drone to the melody strings (very much like the use of the 5th string on
a 5 string banjo, as mention above). Once tuned their pitches are not usually c
hanged in in performance. The most common tuning of these, in ascending order is
G4, C5, C6. Many wonderful effects can be created by using alternate tunings of
these strings.
Indian Notation:
Indian music is traditionally not notated, the notation systems in use today are
from the nineteenth century and are continually evolving. Even though I am here
advocating the use of standard western notation for the sitar (with the additio
n of a few simple symbols), it may still be useful to understand the basic syste
m of notation currently used for North Indian classical music. This system is ba
sed upon the note names said to have been taught to Rama by the monkey god Hanum
an as depicted in the Ramayana, dating from before 500 B.C..
In this system there are seven note names, the first syllables of each are:
SA, RE, GA, MA, PA, DHA, NI
These syllables are used in the same way as western solfeggio (dating from appro
x. 900 A.D.). The tonic, SA, and the fifth, PA, have no altered form, the second
, third, sixth, and seventh (RE, GA, DHA, NI), have both natural and flat forms.
The fourth, MA, has both natural and sharp forms. In short, there are no enharm
onic spellings in Indian notation.
In India, several alphabets can be used to write these syllables, the most commo
n of which is the devanagri script associated with Sanskrit and Hindi. Western l
etters are also in common use, as English is the unofficial lingua franca of pol
yglot India. This reduces the above syllables to:
S, R, G, M, P, D, N
Currently in the U.S., and also being adopted in India, is the use of upper and
lower case letters to distinguish between natural and altered pitches; giving th
e following chromatic scale (assuming the tonic is C):
S
n
C
A#/Bb
Rhythm

r
R
g
G
m
M
P
d
D
N
C#/Db D
D#/Eb E
F
F#/Gb G
G#/Ab A
B
is indicated by a system of underlining to indicate a beat and the use of

dashes to indicate time in which a note is not initiated:

S - R G - m P - D N - S
Each beat in subdivided by the number of parts included in it. The above figure
is an ascending major scale with a rhythm equivalent to four sixteenth note trip
lets in 4/4 time, the first note of each triplet is equal to two sixteenth notes
(or one eight note) and the second is equal to one sixteenth note. Here the das
h indicates a held note.
Standard Sitar Techniques:
Bols - right hand strokes, delineating rhythm and accent. The normally accented
right hand stroke is call a "Da" stroke and is notated with a vertical line "|"
placed under the note to be played, roughly equivalent to the down bow of a viol
in. The normal unaccented stroke is called a "Ra" stroke and is notated with a h
orizontal dash "-" placed under the note to be played, roughly equivalent to the
up bow of a violin. A combination of Da & Ra strokes to be played on one note i
s called "Diri" and is notated with a "v" placed under the note to be played. As
with bowing technique, these strokes can be played evenly in an unaccented mann
er, or normally unacccented strokes can be played accented. Two other strokes wo
rth mentioning are "Dra" and the hard "Ra" strokes. "Dra" is a combination of Da
& Ra where the accent is on the usually unaccented Ra stroke and is played in s
uch a way as to sound nearly like a single stroke with a slight flam; it is nota
ted with a "|-". The hard Ra stroke is used for very heavy accents, usually at t
he culmination of a long phrase. Its sound is distinctive because it includes th
e percussive sound of the right hand pick (mizrab) hitting the body of the instr
ument and also the sound of the lowest sympathetic string being struck at the sa
me time. It is generally not notated in Indian music, but left up to the discret
ion of the performer. I would like to propose the notation ">", which includes a
n accent sign and a "Ra" stroke sign, to signify a hard "Ra" stroke.
Krintan - hammer on/off and fret slides. A familiar technique for guitarists is
the "hammer" effect of hitting a fret with a left hand finger without plucking w
ith the right hand, producing a softer sounding note, along with its reverse, us
ing a left hand finger to pull off of a fretted string effectually plucking it.
On the sitar this is often combined with sliding a left hand finger across one o
r more frets. The combination of these techniques is known as Krintan and can ea
sily be notated by placing a horizontal bracket over the notes to be played in t
his manner.
Meend - pulling a sting to slide to and play notes above the fretted note. Many
complex patterns or ornaments and microtonal shadings can be accomplished using
this technique. It can be notated using a slur over the notes to be played by pu
lling.
Gamak - a specific type of two note meend that accents the note being pulled to,
effectively using the fretted note below as a kind of grace note to the pulled
note. This can be notated with a grace note (for the fretted note) with a slur t
o the note being pulled to. Most players can perform two or three of these in a
row on one note, more that that may require a more advanced sitarist.
Andolan - is a slow microtonal movement between two or three close microtones, u
sually played with one stroke. Andolan can be notated with a wavy line over the
top of a note. The other microtonal notes could be specified or left to the perf
ormer to find.
Chikari - as mentioned above, the chikari strings are used for rhythm and drone.
Since their pitch does not generally change during the course of a performance

they can be notated using the standard percussion x for the note head. I also re
commend placing the note head on the C5 ledger line above the treble staff.
General guides to notation for the sitar:
1) write in concert pitch, being aware that the sitar will need to be tuned to a
pitch appropriate to the music to be performed.
2) use the treble clef; most of the main notes of the sitar will fall comfortabl
y on the treble clef. Use the bass clef only when absolutely necessary.
3) when specifying the above standard techniques it would be helpful to write th
e name of the techniques to be used by its notation.
4) In all likelyhood a sitarist will not be able to read notation at all, in whi
ch case these pages may be worthless to you!
Examples of notation for the sitar using standard western notation:
Notation Examples