Tag Archives: Sitar

Blazing Fast Sitar Practice – this was exhausting!

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Hi, I’m Jeff Starr, a sitar student and filmmaker. Here is a video of me practicing some of my Taans for Raga Yaman.

My goal tonight was to rebuild some of the speed and strength I lost when I was sick with the flu and I took a week off from practicing.

This video is also a really great example of the importance of practicing as you can see my improvement on the last Taan in the video.

Want to play fast sitar? Practice, Practice, Practice.

I am working to build up speed as my teacher wants me to play between 200 -250 beats per minute (BPM).

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The Star Spangled Banner performed on Sitar

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Earlier this week I was contacted by a filmmaker friend of mine who needed a recording of The Star-Spangled Banner.

And, they needed it performed on the sitar!?!

I did the best I could.

I love our National Anthem and this recording was made with great respect for it.

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How to go crazy by missing 1 beat in Tintal

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Tonight I set out to fix an error I had been making when playing a specific Taan in tintal at my last lesson.

I have been really busy with work and haven’t been able to practice sitar enough. I thought I was doing okay but then I shot this video and realized how by missing even a few days it had set me back in my study.

At my lesson I was playing this Taan and ending 1 beat early. Tonight I kept ending one beat late. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. Eventually I figured out that I was adding in a note, but it took me a good 30 min of practice to get there.

So if there is a theme to tonight’s video it’s that I need to practice EVERY DAY. Luckily I was able to recover and get back up to speed, mostly.

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My Favorite Electronic Tanpura with Tabla App! – iTablaPro Demo

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Here is an in-depth review and demo of iTablaPro, a fantastic Electronic Tanpura with Tabla App.

I love this app so much and it has been so useful to my Sitar education that I made a review and demo.

I like it so much that I wanted people to know about it. I think this is the best electronic Tanpura and Tabla app you can buy.

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Most Difficult Sitar Gamak Exercise Ever: Part 2

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Around September 2016, my teacher gave me this new sitar gamak exercise and told me that it would take a year to master it.

I figured this would make for a great series of videos and I would document my progress.

You can watch Part 1 here: https://youtu.be/Uyn_DP35Bfo

This has been one of the toughest tasks I have faced with the sitar.

Playing this with even tempo and in pitch has been brutal. In addition, I feel like every time I ask my teacher to review I learn that I have been practicing it slightly wrong (or completely wrong) as the subtle elements are beyond my grasp.

Hopefully I am now on the right track. Let’s take a listen and see how I am doing.

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Sitar Paltas

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A viewer recently asked how often I practice my Paltas so I wanted to make a video to show what that part of my practice is like. For those wondering, I always include Paltas as part of my warm up.

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Like these videos?
Help support me on Patreon:
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Fast Sitar Taans! 200 Beat Per Minute Practice

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I am working to build up speed as my teacher wants me to play at my gat and taans at 250 beats per minute (BPM).

Tonight’s video really focuses on one fast sitar taan at 200bpm. I mixed in a few others as well. This practice was very hard and you can see that my endurance was starting to fade by the end. That said, I can’t believe that 200bpm is starting to become a reality.

A year ago I was maxed out at 150 and I didn’t think I could play much faster than 170. My teacher really motivated me to push myself harder. As a new dad it’s easy to find excuses and not practice. Making these videos has been a great motivator and I’ve seen a lot of improvement since I started this series.

I give all my my Taans nicknames. The one I am playing tonight I call, “Singing Woman #1.” I play, “Singing Woman #2” a few times toward the end as well.

I took my first sitar lesson on January 27th, 2012.

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Improving Sitar Hand Technique and Endurance

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Improving my sitar hand technique and endurance has been a long and difficult task.

As most of you know, I have been working to increase my speed, so while I can play this sitar taan really well at 150 beats per minute, my teacher has given me the goal of playing it at 200bpm. So far 170-175 has been my max speed for this one. Tonight I wanted to push myself so I set the electronic tabla at 180.

This was also a great test of endurance. After doing all of my normal practice, I then focused on this long Taan for about 30 minutes. My hands were exhausted by the end!

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Long Sitar Practice: Paltas, Gat & Taans

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It’s been a busy week and sometimes life get’s in the way.

I needed to get in a decent sitar practice before my lesson so this video includes paltas, a gat and taans in raga yaman.

I am quickly approaching my 5 year anniversary of playing sitar and I’ve been struggling recently to find time to practice and it has slowed down my growth.  It’s been frustrating.  This isn’t some of my best playing, but I wanted to be honest about my progress and post the good with the bad.

For those new to this series, I am working to build up my speed. My teacher wants me to eventually play at 250 beats per minute (BPM). Let’s see how fast I can get today!

Sitar Gamak Riyaz Craziness

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I sort of lost my mind practicing this Taan that uses Gamak. I had been practicing it for hours. Sorry if I’m a bit too silly.

Gamak is a new technique for me and something I am really trying to get better at.

I think this is finally starting to improve especially by the end, but I would love to read your comments and feedback.

Check out the video teaching how I tape my fingers

I am working to build up speed as my teacher wants me to play at 250 beats per minute (BPM). Tonight I kept things slow so I could focus on the basics.

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