How to Play a Night Raga for Sitar

A raga is a melodic tune found in classical Indian music. Ragas are comprised of five or more notes and are built upon a set of rules indicating how the music should be arranged. They're played at different times of day, often on the sitar. The sitar, a stringed instrument built of a hollow gourd and long wooden neck, is a commonly played melodic instrument in India.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Select a night raga suitable for the sitar. It's important to show respect for the raga and play it only at the time of day for which it's intended because Indian culture believes that sounds are an integral part of the universe, like earth or water. In Indian culture, the musical vibrations are believed to be so important that they can even cause sickness if played during the wrong part of the day.

2. Tune the sitar so that it will sound good while you play.

3. Sit in sitar-playing posture and play a classical night raga on your sitar or improvise your own raga. If you choose to improvise your own raga, play around the general set of rules applied to night ragas.

Tips & Warnings

• Because of the cultural significance of time in relation to ragas, make sure that you play a night raga only late at night.
• You can take some creative license when playing a night raga on the sitar. Use the pitch you prefer and the tones that sound the best to you, as well as the drone string that goes best with the raga you've chosen to play.