Physical Evolution of Sitar

The evolution in the design and construction of the sitar relates to the shape, size, the material used, number and quality of strings used, methods of tuning, number and quality of frets, and so on.Some musicologists believe that until the later part of the 19th century, the instrument was made entirely of wood. In some regions of the country, sitars made of papier mâché have also been found. However, dried pumpkin was used later to make the tumba, or the chamber-resonator. For the purpose of amplification, a second, and smaller, chamber-resonator was added at the upper end of the dand, or the stem or the fret-board of the instrument. With recent developments in amplification electronics, the second tumba lost its importance in the latter half of the twentieth century. Over the years, considerations of weight and acoustic quality have also led to changes in the quality of wood used in the construction of the dand.Originally, the sitar apparently had just three strings. They were tuned to ma/sa/sa or ma/sa/pa. Later on, two more strings were added which were tuned to sa and the higher octave sa, or the chikari. During the second half of the 18th century, two more strings were added and the tuning of the seven strings was in the order of ma, sa, sa, pa, pa (lower octave), sa and sa (higher octave).Until the 19th century, two different types of fret arrangements were in vogue. Sitar with achala-that, or arrangement which did not require the movements of frets, had 24 frets tuned to half steps from tivra madhyam or sharp fourth of the lower octave to the madhyam or natural fourth of the upper octave. The chala-that (requiring movement of frets) had 17 frets. By the end of the 19th century, the number of frets was increased to 20 on the chala-that sitar. This change was accompanied by the introduction of frets tuned to komal ni (flat seventh) in both the lower and middle octaves as well as the fret tuned to komal ga (flat third) in the middle octave. At this stage, apparently, there were also changes introduced in the thickness and the metallurgical features of the frets.Over the years, these changes have been influenced by the desire to improve the acoustic capacity of the instrument, and to ensure its greater sophistication in executing melody.It is believed that, by the beginning of 20th century, further improvements in the sound quality were achieved by the use of better quality strings. Also, 11 to 13 additional sympathetic or tarab strings were introduced. They are located under the main strings, in a parallel direction, over a small, flat bridge. These strings are tuned to correspond with various svaras of the raga to be performed. In accordance with the principle of resonance, the tarab strings vibrate in tune with the vibrations of the svaras played on the main strings. Thus, the resultant sound is enriched in terms of volume and acoustic sustain. Varying the size of the tumba, and with a specific jawari or timbre control treatment of the bridge, helps the performer to meet the desired acoustic requirements of his style.

A note by Pt. Arvind Parikh

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