SITAR

northern Indian stringed musical instrument of the lute family, used as a solo instrument with tamboura (drone-lute) and tabla (drums) and in ensembles, as for northern Indian kathak dances. It is the dominant instrument in Hindustani music. It developed under medieval Muslim influence from the tanbur, a Middle Eastern long-necked lute, and from the vina, or bin, a narrow, elaborate Indian zither. Like the tanbur, it has a deep, pear-shaped body; metal strings strung with the treble away from the player; and both front and side tuning pegs. Its neck, however, is wider than the tanbur's, and its frets are movable. The sitar normally has five melody strings and five or six drone strings, which are also used to accentuate the rhythm or pulse; beneath the convex frets in the hollow neck are 9 to 13 sympathetic strings. The range extends upward from about the F below middle C. The convex frets facilitate pulling the string to the side to play ornaments. There is often a gourd under the pegbox end of the neck, reminiscent of the vina. The three-stringed sitar, in fact, is called the tritantri vina. The sitar is plucked with a wire plectrum worn on the right forefinger.