Posted by Paul Roberts on Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Stringed instruments are endlessly fascinating. My life has revolved around plucked strings.
The sitar has been a staple of my stringed instrument obsession since 1967 when I began playing on this exotic beauty from India. I like the sitar's modal-droning tone and the ability to bend the main playing wire several notes.
Indian music is an invitation to improvisation, so I'm always wondering down a new path, exploring the tones and moods of various note combinations. There are so many raga scales to choose from, or I can make up my own. Indian music revolves around a fixed tonic. It's modal, so you're not making chord changes (modulating).
Like on a 5-string banjo, you're playing against a drone. To my way of thinking, sitar and 5-string banjo have a lot in common, although each has its unique possibilities.
maddogonbanjo Says:
Monday, January 27, 2014 @5:37:10 PM
Keep cranking them out Lawrence, I love the music you make, I'll be busy learning new stuff 'till I die.
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