Hi, I’m Jeff Starr, a sitar student and filmmaker. In this video I unbox all the sitar gear I carry in my “grab bag” and show you what I use when practicing.
Perhaps I should teach you how to tie sitar strings in an upcoming video?
Frequently I am asked, “Can I teach myself to play sitar” and, “I can’t find a teacher, should I even bother trying to learn sitar on my own?”
Well, thanks to YouTube, I have met many amazing sitar players from all over the world. One of them is Manjit Singh. After he and I chatted a bit he offered to shoot a video talking about his experience learning the sitar on his own and teaching himself.
So, if you want to learn sitar but you can’t find a teacher, let Manjit serve as an inspiration.
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.