How to Do the Meend Technique for the Sitar

The sitar is a traditional Indian instrument consisting of a hollow gourd body and a long neck. Sitars were popularized in the West in the 1960s by artists such as Ravi Shankar and George Harrison. There are many sitar playing techniques, including the meend technique, in which the sitar player changes notes by pulling the strings vertically across the fret instead of moving her hands up and down the fret.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Find an expert sitar player to do an apprenticeship with. It takes years of practice to become proficient at playing the sitar, and you'll need a dedicated teacher to help you learn the meend technique for the sitar.

2. Begin by playing only one note at a time and pulling the string vertically as you play it.

3. Move on to playing multiple notes in conjunction with each other after you've become proficient at using the meend technique to play one note at a time.

Tips & Warnings

• The meend technique can also be used to embellish single notes. This is one of the most recognizable uses of the meend technique and helps to give the sitar its unique sound.
• Keep your thumb low on the neck of the sitar, because it will give you more leverage to pull the strings.
• The meend technique requires a lot of strength in your hands. If your hands are weak, practice the technique daily in addition to doing hand strengthening exercises.
• The meend technique for the sitar will cause your fingers to become very callused from pulling on the sitar strings. It will also hurt your fingers until you've gotten used to playing this way.