In my Sitar class today, I have learnt the following aspects :

  • To start a taan, one need not play the entire piece of sthai. You can play the first few notes, let some beats pass by, pick up the taan and end it in whatever note you feel like and then start the sthai again. For example in Malkauns

    • . | . | . | .| . | . | . | .| SS|ND|MN|ND|MG|DM|GS|ND

    • N.|.D|NS| etc..

    • You can start the sthai on 9th beat , stop it at 12th beat, give some pause and then start the taan wherever you want and stop the taan on 8th beat at which ever note you feel like, and then resume the sthai on 9th matra

  • Theoretically there is nothing wrong  with my taans, but for an outsider it looks like I am chasing 8th matra

  • While playing taans I always end up playing 1 swar, 1 strike. I do not vary the combinations at all

  • I should listen to Malkauns often

  • I need to create independent short phrases of Malkauns, keeping the tabla aside

  • Play Meand with Malkauns and create short pieces of Malkauns

  • Practice Meand

I have learnt a lot in today’s class and I need to find time on a daily basis to implement the  above learning in my Sitar practice. This time I have 5 days before my next class, i.e. the next class is on Saturday instead of Sunday. Hence I cannot afford to slacken at all. Also next Sunday ,one of my Guruji’s disciples is coming down for a joint Sitar practice. Next weekend promises to be an joyous weekend. Looking forward to it. In the meantime, I should practice for at least an hour daily.