Tag Archives: sitar musical instrument

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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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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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.

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/notbadfilms?sub_confirmation=1

New Tough Sitar Taans

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Hi, I’m Jeff Starr, a sitar student and filmmaker. Last week my sitar teacher revised one of my existing taans to expand it further.

It’s not super complicated, but he wants me to build up my speed so that I can play my sitar taans at 250 beats per minute (bpm). And, this one started getting really hard at at 175 bpm.

I give all my my Taans nicknames and I call this one “3P.”

Let’s see how fast I can get today!

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

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/notbadfilms?sub_confirmation=1

Debut sitar performance in NYC

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My teacher said that he booked me for a sitar performance in NYC this December!

I am stressing out!  Back in November 2015 I had my first public performance. I was background music for an event at the Pakistan Mission to The United Nations. It was an honor to be invited to play there, but I was REALLY nervous about it.

In tonight’s video I reflect on that performance, where I am now with my training and I show a super old clip from 2012, after I had taken my third sitar lesson.  I’ve come a long way since then!

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Raga Yaman Gat and Taans

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Here is a video of me practicing gat and taans for Raga Yaman.

I am working to build up speed. My teacher wants me to play at 250 beats per minute (BPM). Although I’ve been able to play a handful of taans at 200bpm, tonight I stayed at 170 BPM to try and clean up the technical errors in my playing.

If you like this video, please subscribe to my YouTube channel:
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You can watch more of my sitar videos at this YouTube Playlist.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaTbnoUuEbU3lBS56ci0HIf59ICXdwnhx

Raga Yaman Alap Practice 10-27-16

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In this video I am practicing my opening phrases to the Alap for Raga Yaman.

This is difficult stuff!

I struggled with some pitch issues and my attack on some notes is a little rough but this is all part of the learning process. Hopefully this is an improvement over my last Alap video.

Please leave comments and let me know what you think. I love to read feedback.

If you like this video and want to follow my progress learning the sitar, please subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking on this link: https://www.youtube.com/user/notbadfilms?sub_confirmation=1

How to play Sitar Fast: playing sitar at 200 beats per minute!

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Do you want to learn how to play sitar fast?  So do I!

I am working to build up speed as my teacher wants me to play at 200 beats per minute (BPM). Let’s see how fast I can get today!

Here is a video of me practicing one of my Taans for Raga Yaman. I give all my my Taans nicknames and I call this one “Confused #1.”

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

My Newest Sitar Taan!

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Here is a video of me practicing my newest Taan for Raga Yaman.

I give all my my Taans nicknames and I call this one “Chikari Pauses.”

I am working to build up speed as my teacher wants me to play at 200 beats per minute (BPM). Let’s see how fast I can get today!

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