--- url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical/sitar' title: 'Sitar: long-necked lute of Hindustani music' author: name: Anonymous updated: '2026-11-05T23:47:15+00:00' type: website summary: 'The sitar is a plucked lute of Hindustani classical music with movable frets, sympathetic strings and a gourd body. A wire plectrum, the mizrab, sounds it.' tags: - 'Hindustani Classical' - 'Indian Slide Guitar' image: 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg' published: true og: site_name: KalaSudha 'image:url': 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg' 'image:secure_url': 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg' 'image:type': image/svg+xml 'image:alt': KalaSudha --- Specific Discipline # Sitar सितार Learn to shape raga phrases with the mizrab, movable frets and meend. Fretted strings Melodic study Courses 4 The sitar is a plucked, fretted, long-necked lute of Hindustani classical music, with movable frets, sympathetic strings and a gourd body, played with a wire mizrab. [ Explore Courses ](/en-fr/courses?discipline=74) [ Show interest ](/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical/sitar/show-interest) [Sign in to follow](/en-fr/user/login?flag_anon=follow_term-74&destination=/en-fr/markdownify/taxonomy/term/74) [ Share ](/en-fr/share/term/74) ## Know the instrument Explore its sound, construction and care in the instrument guide. - [ Sitar ](/en-fr/instrument/sitar) ## Overview The **sitar** (सितार) is a plucked, fretted, long-necked lute of [Hindustani classical music](/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical). It has curved, movable frets, a set of played strings with sympathetic strings beneath them, and a gourd resonator. Players pluck it with a wire plectrum called the **mizrab**, worn on the right index finger. The right hand sounds each note with a mizrab stroke while the left index and middle fingers stop the string at the frets or pull it sideways to bend the pitch. Together they shape the phrases of a **raga**, the melodic framework of a performance. Much of the repertoire rests on the **gat**, a fixed instrumental composition set in a **taal** (rhythmic cycle) and often accompanied on [tabla](/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical/tabla). The player returns to it between variations. A widely described concert order opens with **alap**, an unmetered exploration of the raga, moves into jor, where a steady pulse enters, often reaches jhala, a fast passage, and then turns to gats. The tradition passes from teacher to student through the guru-shishya relationship, and formal curricula stress learning face to face. Before choosing lessons, ask how you will practise on a sitar at home and how the teacher introduces tuning and fitting the mizrab. Part of **Hindustani Classical**: Hindustani classical instrumental music is North Indian raga music played on instruments such as sitar, sarod, sarangi, bansuri and tabla, each with its own technique. ### Quick Facts Tradition Hindustani classical Instrument family Long-necked plucked lute Fingerboard Curved, movable frets Plectrum Mizrab Repertoire Raga and gat ## History & Evolution Sources disagree on who developed the sitar, and none read here supports a single inventor. Popular belief credits the poet **Amir Khusrau** (1253 to 1325), yet the word sitar does not occur in his writings, and no written or pictorial source shows the instrument for more than three centuries after his death. Later oral sources name an eighteenth-century musician, Khusrau Khan. The name comes from Persian words meaning "three strings". The historian Allyn Miner tentatively concludes that the sitar reached Delhi from the northwest in the first half of the eighteenth century, developing from the Persian and Central Asian **setar**. Indian musicians widened and lengthened the setar's neck, replaced silk frets with raised metal bars and fitted a flat platform bridge, borrowing features from the bin, or [rudra veena](/instrumental/hindustani-classical/rudra-veena). First an accompanying instrument for singing and dance, the sitar took on bin technique and replaced the bin as the leading solo instrument. After the Second World War, radio, recording and air travel carried the sitar to Europe and the United States, and **Ravi Shankar** began international tours in the 1950s. 1730s ### Muraqqa-i Dehli account The Muraqqa-i Dehli, Dargah Quli Khan's Persian account of Delhi in 1738, names a sitar player as the brother of the bin player Niyamat Khan 'Sadarang'. It is the earliest known written mention of the instrument. Late eighteenth–nineteenth centuries ### Masitkhani gat repertoire Masitkhani gats are slow sitar compositions associated with Masit Khan, a Delhi musician of the late eighteenth century, whom Miner credits with the first solo sitar style. Musicians in Jaipur and elsewhere in Rajasthan later developed the style. Late nineteenth century ### The Lucknow sur pyar The sur pyar, made in late nineteenth-century Lucknow, joins a sitar, a tambura and an esraj in a single instrument. Its inventors called it sur pyar, "lovely sound". The esraj section carries sympathetic strings; the sitar section has none. 1905 ### Imdad Khan's gramophone recordings The Gramophone Company recorded Imdad Khan (c.1848 to 1920), one of the earliest sitarists on disc, in 1905, according to the historian Allyn Miner. 1997 ### Calcutta sitar by Murari Adhikari Murari Adhikari built this sitar in 1997, with seven melody and thirteen sympathetic strings. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which holds it, notes its older style, popular in the early twentieth century, with a sound hole under the strings. ## Technical Aspects ### Strings, bridge and jawari The buzzing tone comes from the main bridge: the strings touch its broad, slightly curved top as they vibrate, and this contact, called **jawari**, shapes tone and sustain. Players pluck a main melody string and drone strings, including the high chikari. **Sympathetic strings** (tarab) beneath the frets ring without being plucked. ### The mizrab stroke A **mizrab** is a wire plectrum worn on the right index finger. The left index and middle fingers stop the main string at the frets. One teaching system names the strokes **da** (inward) and **ra** (outward), combined as dir and rda. Their patterns play against the cycle of the tabla. ### Frets and meend The frets are curved metal bars tied to the neck, movable to suit each raga. In **meend**, the player pulls the string to one side at one fret, raising the pitch in a continuous glide. In **ghaseet**, the finger slides along the fingerboard under one stroke. ### Chikari, jor and jhala The **chikari** strokes change through alap, jor and jhala. In alap the player brushes the two chikari strings with another string for a tanpura-like backdrop. In **jhala**, melody and chikari strokes alternate at speed. ## Journey to Mastery Follow this structured journey to master this discipline 1. 1 ### Posture, mizrab and first strokes With your teacher, settle a seated posture on the floor and the angle at which you hold the sitar, then fit the mizrab on your right index finger. Practise the basic inward and outward strokes on the main string. Pause between attempts, compare the sound, and repeat the stroke your teacher demonstrates. 2. 2 ### Sargam and hand coordination Play a simple sargam pattern on the note names Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni, each note repeated up and down the scale. Land the mizrab stroke as your left finger reaches each fret. Keep a pace at which every note sounds clean, and listen as well as watch your hands. Repeat any change of fret that needs more control. 3. 3 ### Raga phrases and meend Learn a short raga phrase from material your teacher chooses and mark the notes it arrives on. Listen to the phrase before you play it. Then work on meend, a glide in pitch made at one fret, through an exercise your teacher demonstrates. Compare the starting and arriving notes before you join the glide to the phrase. 4. 4 ### Gat and taal Learn one short gat in the taal your teacher chooses and find where it starts in the cycle. Recite the taal's theka, the tabla stroke pattern of the cycle, with hand beats while your teacher or a tabla recording keeps time. Then play the gat and practise its return to the starting point against that pulse. 5. 5 ### Develop a short performance Take a passage you can play cleanly and add one variation your teacher gives, such as a toda or a tan, played between returns of the gat. Keep it within the raga and taal. Record a complete attempt, choose one point to correct, then play the passage again with that correction. ## Related Disciplines [### Indian Slide Guitar Indian slide guitar plays Hindustani raga on a guitar laid across the lap, with a slide bar and… ](/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical/indian-slide-guitar) ## Upcoming Events Performances and concerts featuring this discipline [ ](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-oxford-two-strings-one-pulse) ### [A Hundred Strings in Oxford: Two Strings, One Pulse](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-oxford-two-strings-one-pulse) Adnan Khan · Vinay Desai · Akram Khan **Holywell Music Room** WED, NOV 18 7:00 PM [ Book Tickets](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-oxford-two-strings-one-pulse/book) [ ](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-manchester-strings-of-kashmir-and-delhi) ### [A Hundred Strings in Manchester: Strings of Kashmir and Delhi](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-manchester-strings-of-kashmir-and-delhi) Adnan Khan · Vinay Desai · Akram Khan · Shahbaz Hussain **The Stoller Hall** FRI, NOV 20 7:00 PM [ Book Tickets](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-manchester-strings-of-kashmir-and-delhi/book) [ ](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-bournemouth-ragas-by-the-sea) ### [A Hundred Strings in Bournemouth: Ragas by the Sea](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-bournemouth-ragas-by-the-sea) Adnan Khan · Vinay Desai · Akram Khan **Palace Court Theatre** SAT, NOV 21 6:30 PM [ Book Tickets](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-bournemouth-ragas-by-the-sea/book) [ ](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-london-plucked-and-struck) ### [A Hundred Strings in London: Plucked and Struck](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-london-plucked-and-struck) Adnan Khan · Vinay Desai · Akram Khan **St Saviour's, Pimlico** SUN, NOV 22 5:00 PM [ Book Tickets](/en-fr/event/a-hundred-strings-in-london-plucked-and-struck/book) ## Media Gallery Audio and video performances [ Live Performance 8:37 ### Raag Desh \| Sitar \| Tabla \| Music of India \| Purvi Festival 2023 1 year ago ](/en-fr/video/raag-desh-sitar-tabla-music-of-india-purvi-festival-2023) [ Live Performance 10:34 ### Raga Hemant \| Alap, Jor and Composition in Rupak Taal \| Debaditya Chakraborty \| Kala Festival 2023 1 year ago ](/en-fr/video/raga-hemant-alap-jor-and-composition-in-rupak-taal-debaditya-chakraborty-kala-festival-2023) ## Featured Artists Renowned performers of this discipline ## [Tommy Khosla ](/en-fr/artist/tommy-khosla) Tommy Khosla is a sitarist and composer who blends sounds from Latin jazz, hip-hop and electronic music into his playing. He is the founder of Jawari band and Vadi Records. His debut solo album [ ](https://www.facebook.com/tommykhoslamusic/ "Facebook") [ ](https://www.instagram.com/tommykhosla "Instagram") ## [Debaditya Chakraborty ](/en-fr/artist/debaditya-chakraborty) Sitarist of the Senia-Maihar tradition, Debaditya Chakraborty blends gayaki and tantrakari with depth and clarity. He performed at KalaSudha’s Purvi Festival in 2023. Senia-Maihar Gharana [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sitar.debaditya "Facebook") [ ](https://www.instagram.com/deb.strings "Instagram") ## [Adnan Khan ](/en-fr/artist/adnan-khan) Grammy-nominated sitarist Adnan Khan plays in the gayaki ang, trained in Delhi by his grandfather Ustad Zafar Ahmed Khan, his father Ustad Saeed Khan and the singer Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan. Sitar [ ](https://www.facebook.com/adnankhan.sitarist/ "Facebook") [ ](https://www.instagram.com/adnankhan.sitarist/ "Instagram") ## [Jonathan Mayer ](/en-fr/artist/jonathan-mayer) Jonathan Mayer began playing music at the age of five, learning the violin from his grandfather, Albert Hepton, piano from James Methuen-Campbell, and composition from his father. At sixteen, he took Sitar [ ](https://www.facebook.com/MayerSitar "Facebook") [ ](https://www.instagram.com/the_sitarist/ "Instagram") ## [Shakir Khan ](/en-fr/artist/shakir-khan) Son of Padma Shri Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, Shakir Khan is the eighth generation of the Etawah Gharana, performing at India's premier festivals and internationally. Sitar Etawah Gharana [ ](https://www.facebook.com/shakirkhansitar "Facebook") [ ](https://www.instagram.com/shakirsitar "Instagram") [ ](https://x.com/shakirkhansitar "Twitter") ## Frequently Asked Questions Where can I take live one-to-one sitar lessons online? You can take live one-to-one [sitar](/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical/sitar) lessons online with KalaSudha, from a teacher KalaSudha has vetted. You book each lesson in your own time zone, and the platform records it so you can play it back. Beginners start at **Foundation** by settling a seated posture and fitting the **mizrab**, the wire plectrum, on the right index finger. One teacher guides you over years, in the guru-shishya relationship of Indian classical music. Where enough learners sign up, we also bring workshops and summer camps near them. Our [online academy](/en-fr/academy) keeps adding courses and teachers. Can an adult beginner learn sitar online? Yes, an adult beginner can learn [sitar](/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical/sitar) online with KalaSudha, in live one-to-one lessons that assume no experience. You start at **Foundation**: your teacher sets your posture, then you practise the basic inward and outward strokes of the mizrab, the wire plectrum, on the main string. If you played the sitar years ago and stopped, our [courses](/en-fr/courses) run in levels, so you start again where you left off. Your teacher first reviews where you stand. Where enough learners sign up, KalaSudha brings workshops and summer camps near them too. How long does it take to learn the sitar? How long the [sitar](/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical/sitar) takes to learn depends on regular practice and on how soon your two hands work as one. The **mizrab**, a wire plectrum worn on your right index finger, has to land as your left finger reaches each fret. Ravi Shankar, for one, said he stayed with his teacher, Allauddin Khan, for more than seven years. KalaSudha teaches the sitar online in live one-to-one lessons, and in workshops and summer camps where enough learners sign up. Our [courses](/en-fr/courses) run in levels from **Foundation**, and each award records your learning hours. How can a complete beginner, a child or an adult returning after a long break start learning the sitar? You can learn the [sitar](/en-fr/instrumental/hindustani-classical/sitar) with KalaSudha online and in workshops, and beginners start at **Foundation** level. That first stage covers posture and the mizrab, the wire plectrum worn on the right index finger. We teach children as well as adults, so ask us about a starting age and a sitar sized for a younger learner. If you are going back to the sitar after a long break, our [courses](/en-fr/courses) run in levels. You start again where you left off, once your teacher has reviewed where you stand. How do I find a good sitar teacher? To find a good sitar teacher, or guru, look for one who can tell you who they learned from. From your first lesson, a good teacher checks your posture and the mizrab, the wire plectrum worn on the right index finger. On KalaSudha, each teacher's lineage is on their profile. Pick one yourself, or ask us to match you. Lessons are live and online, from £30 / $30 an hour, set by each teacher. If you have played before, your teacher first reviews where you stand. Where enough learners sign up, we also bring workshops and summer camps near them. Our [courses](/en-fr/courses) include a sitar course in three levels. [Ask about sitar lessons in the Academy](/en-fr/academy). Have more questions? Contact our support team and we'll be happy to help! ## Past Performances [ ](/en-fr/event/london-ragas-shakir-khan-shahbaz-hussain) ### [ London Ragas: Shakir Khan & Shahbaz Hussain ](/en-fr/event/london-ragas-shakir-khan-shahbaz-hussain) Date SUN, JUL 19 Time 5:00 PM - SK [Shakir Khan](/en-fr/artist/shakir-khan) • - SH [Shahbaz Hussain](/en-fr/artist/shahbaz-hussain) **Royal Wharf Community Dock** Early Bird [ View Details ](/en-fr/event/london-ragas-shakir-khan-shahbaz-hussain) [ ](/en-fr/event/sitar-workshop-in-london-with-maestro-shakir-khan) ### [ Sitar Workshop in London with Maestro Shakir Khan ](/en-fr/event/sitar-workshop-in-london-with-maestro-shakir-khan) Date 18-19 July 2026 Time 10:00 AM - SK [Shakir Khan](/en-fr/artist/shakir-khan) **Oasis Academy Silvertown** Early Bird [ View Details ](/en-fr/event/sitar-workshop-in-london-with-maestro-shakir-khan) [ ](/en-fr/event/sitar-workshop-in-london-with-maestro-shakir-khan) ### [ Sitar Workshop in London with Maestro Shakir Khan ](/en-fr/event/sitar-workshop-in-london-with-maestro-shakir-khan) Date 18-19 July 2026 Time 10:00 AM - SK [Shakir Khan](/en-fr/artist/shakir-khan) **Oasis Academy Silvertown** Early Bird [ View Details ](/en-fr/event/sitar-workshop-in-london-with-maestro-shakir-khan) [ ](/en-fr/event/dartington-ragas-festival-strings-voices-rhythms) ### [ Dartington Ragas Festival: Strings, Voices & Rhythms ](/en-fr/event/dartington-ragas-festival-strings-voices-rhythms) Date SAT, SEP 27 Time 11:00 AM - AK [Akram Khan](/en-fr/artist/akram-khan) • - DC [Debasis Chakroborty](/en-fr/artist/debasis-chakroborty) • - DS [Deepak Shah](/en-fr/artist/deepak-shah) • - JM [Jonathan Mayer](/en-fr/artist/jonathan-mayer) • - ID Ishtar Dobler • - SP [Satwinder Pal Singh](/en-fr/artist/satwinder-pal-singh) **Dartington Trust Hall** Early Bird [ View Details ](/en-fr/event/dartington-ragas-festival-strings-voices-rhythms) Stay close ## Keep KalaSudha close. 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