Tuning Sitar

by Paul Barrette, May 2005

Tuning was a nightmare at first. The sitar was my first instrument and I had never received any musical training. So, I bought a sitar and found a teacher ,(well one of many until I found Anwar Khurshid). On the positive side I had a clean slate, so I had no bad habits yet. On the negative side I had a clean slate! The focus of this article is to give out enough information on tuning so that you can tune your own instrument. The theory of Indian Classical music is beyond me and the scope of this web page. A Google search will unearth a lot of useful information on ICM Theory. Arguing over how many shrui there are is not too productive. Frankyly, it makes my feet sleep and does not help my music appreciation of ICM or my playing of it. I think it is a topic left for scholars to mull over while examining the quality of their naval-lint. All we need, at this point, is to know how to tune our instruments. With this in mind, I will describe what I do.

Tuning The Sitar With A Chromatic Tuner

Since I was new to music, I went out an bought a chromatic tuner, typically used by guitar players, so that I could teach myself where the ICM syllables were on the strings. Many sitar players will say, "where do you take your Sa?". They say this so that they can match your tuning. My chromatic tuner uses 4C as "middle C". So, if I want to take my Sa from C#, I would use "4C#" on the tuner. The next octave up is 5C# and the octave lower than my Sa is 3C#. The chromatic tuner is very easy to use. It is, essentially, an electronic ear.

So, how do we calculate the note for the open main string? The answer is pretty easy: If we take our Sa from "4C#", that means that when my finger is on the Sa note of the main playing string, it should match "3C#" on the chromatic tuner. Therefore, when I play the main string "open" (i.e. no finger on the string) it must be tuned to "3F#". This is the tension needed on the main string so that when I put my finger on Sa it is "4C#".

This is really all the Western notation you need to tune your sitar. This is all that I know, and the only reason I know this little bit of information is because I was using a chromatic tuner. Learning or writing in Western staff notation is not important for ICM, unless you are more comfortable with it. No teacher I have ever had will give you lessons in staff, it may make it more confusing. I think that if you want to learn ICM, then you should learn the proper syllables and notation. (See the diagram on the left, taken from Ravi Shankar's book, My Music, My Life, 1968. Harper Collins.)

Once you have decided where to take your Sa from, the rest is easy. Firstly, we have to be clear about the style of sitar you are playing because there are different strings for different styles. There are two predominate types of stringing on the sitar, both assuming that you take your Sa from 4C#:

Gandar Pancham

"Gayaki" or Gandar Pancham, or Ustad Vilayat Khan Style, where there is only one bronze string and the second string is missing. This style typically tunes:
1. String-1 Ma (3F#)
2. String-2 not used
3. String-3 Sa (3C#)
4. String-4 Ga (3F)
5. String-5 Pa (3G#)*
6. String-6 Sa (4C#)
7. String-7 high Sa (5C#)
*NB that there are variants depending on which Raaga you are playing. E.g. Raaga Bageshri doesn't use Pa, so the 5th string may be tuned to Ma instead.

Karaj Pancham

Karaj Pancham, or Pandit Ravi Shankar Style, where there are 3 broze/brass strings.
1. String-1 Ma (3F#)
2. String-2 Sa (3C#)
3. String-3 low Pa (2G#)
4. String-4 low Sa (2C#) (karaj string)
5. String-5 Pa (3G#)*
6. String-6 Sa (4C#)
7. String-7 high Sa (5C#)
*NB that there are variants depending on which Raaga you are playing. E.g. Raaga Bageshri doesn't use Pa, so the 3rd and 5th string may be tuned to Ma instead.

Using A Chromatic Tuner

Ok, now we know the logic and the measure for tuning, now it is just a matter of doing it. Place the tuner near the main bridge and strike the first string (use mizrab pick). Slowly tighten the first string until the tuner reaches your String 1 frequency (e.g. 3F#). You will need to pull on this string quite a bit to make sure it is properly tuned. Often, once pulled you will need to re-tighten the string. Make sure the peg doesn't slip or the main bridge move! If it does, you need to do some work. I'll describe that in another article. Repeat until you have tuned up all the main strings. Don't be afraid to break a string, I assume you have more? If not, get more you will need them. I think that strings are there to break and play, which ever comes first is up to you. Don't worry about it. Once you have chosen your Sa note the rest of the strings can easily be tuned up with a chromatic tuner. CAVEAT EMPTOR: Keep in mind that the chromatic tuner is no substitute for the human ear. I think it is a pretty good approximation but the sitar has so many microtones that it may be difficult to get an accurate reading with a tuner. Not to worry because by the time you figure out the tuning system you won't bother with the chromatic tuner anymore anyway, right? You will do it the real way by matching notes, or if you are gifted with perfect pitch, you can just know if the tuning is correct. (I wish I had that gift!).

Tuning With An Electronic Taanpura

This is my favourite way to tune up. Another way is with a harmonium, but you then need someone to play the notes for you to match against. The electronic tanpura does not complain as much;-) I like the the electronic tanpura for this because you can look at e.g. C# and say that is my Sa. Then you can easily move to the right one and you have komal Re, then Re, then komal Ga, then Ga and so on. There is no thinking involved. You just choose your note to tune to and match it. It is very satisfying to matching that note too! You can hear the wave collision as it starts to resonate in your ear. I suggest always tune down your string a bit first, start the note to match against and then tighten the peg until it matches. Take your time and tune up all the strings to the chart above, according to your tuning style. A big benefit of using the e.tanpura, is that in some cases it is easier to match a note in the lower octave than in the higher one. Maybe this is due to my ears ringing too much from a mis spent youth, but I think it is much easier to match the notes after P by playing one octave lower. Sometimes you will have no choice, e.g you want to match high Sa. In my case, I take my Sa from "D", there is no 5D, so I just set it on D (==4D) and it is easy. One octave apart resonates very clearly and is easy to match. Two octaves away is more difficult, but with practise, it is a lot easier than with a chromatic tuner. Tuners have a difficult time of the lower notes. It might just be that I have a cheapo tuner, but I could never get a satisfying low Sa tuning with one. Tip: to match the low Sa play the tanpura's Pa at the same time. With the electronic tanpura it is really easy. Tabla players like to tune up to the electronic tuner as well. Everyone will love your electronic tanpura! Some might even ask to borrow it for a stage show(?!). I never liked electronic tanpuras on stage; a real tanpura is far superior, but the small electronic robot is very low maintenance and works cheap.

More Advanced Method of Tuning

As if two methods of tuning were not enough, I am going to mention a more advance way that helps train the ear as well and takes some of the dependency off the tuning source. Remeber when I mentioned taking your Sa earlier? Well, if you sitar is setup properly and you just need to quickly retune it, here is another method that I use from day to day. I'm going to call this method the Jure method. Jure is the term used to refer to the second sitar string which is tuned to Sa or the tonic note. This method simply uses the jure string to get the notes for the other strings.

1. Example of Jure tuning for Gandar Pancham Style Sitars With whatever tuning method you like, tune the second string to your Sa (e.g. C#).
2. Take Ma from the 5th fret of the jure. To tune the first string (Ma), place your finger on the 5th fret of the jure string. This is the Ma note that we will use for the first string.
3. Take Ga from the 4th fret of the jure. To tune the third string (Ga), place your finger on the 4th fret of the jure string. This is the Ga note that we will use for the third string.
4. Take Pa from the 7th fret of the jure. To tune the fourth string (Pa), place your finger on the 7th fret of the jure string. This is the Pa note that we will use for the third string.
5. Take Sa from the open jure. To tune the fifth string (Sa), strike the jure string open and match the frequency. If you have trouble matching one octave down, take the harmonic of the jure string: lightly touch the 11th and 12th fret and remove. You should hear a harmonic of Sa. Since you don't have to press down on it, you may find it in between two frets. I really like that harmonic! BTW you can also take the Sa from the main string if you like, but that is not the way of the jure ;-).
6. Take High Sa from the open jure. If you don't like that method you can use the harmonic mentioned above or use the high Sa from the main string.
7. Tune tarabs from the main string. Now that all the main strings are in tune, tune up the tarabs based on the notes of the main string. I know, it is not the pure jure way, but it is more practical. (E.g. strike Dha and match the first tarab etc. See tarab tuning below).

Tuning The Tarab Srings

Tuning the lower strings is more of a question of what Raaga you are playing than anything else. These tarab strings resonate when the main string notes are played and when they are tuned properly everything sounds great, lots of microtones. They almost congratulate you by singing along! I would suggest tuning them to the scale of the Raaga you are playing. For example, if I am playing Raaga Yaman

1. low Dha
2. low Ni
3. Sa
4. Re
5. Ga
6. Ga (2 Ga, since Ga is the main note)
7. ma (teevra)
8. Pa
9. Dha
10. Ni
11. high Sa
12. high Re
13. high Ga

. Depending on how many tarab strings you have, most today have 13. I suggest starting with the low Dha and Ni because some tarab strings on sitars are cheap and will break if you tune the first one to Sa. Typically, the strings that come with your sitar are poor quality. You will want to take them off anyway. For tuning the tarabs, I like to tune with the tanpura again. See the notation article for the chart of Indian to Western notation if you need to refresh your memory. Just press the button until low Dha (A#) is lit up and turn your peg to match the note. It is very easy and fast, once you get the hang of it. Always make sure to play the main string note to see if it matches the appropriate tarab string. If the main string note doesn't match, you have an intonation problem.

Intonation, The Final Piece Of The Puzzle

When you get a new sitar, it is often not "intonated" properly. That means, when you tune your first string to the proper note, the Sa might not be exactly where it should be. This is not a problem, you just have to move the frets! (Yes, I said move them). I usually start by making sure the main string is tuned open, and then I make sure the Ma is right. Then I make sure the string is in tune open (again). Next, I move down to high Sa and make sure that is right. Typcially, I move up the neck from Ma until all the higher notes are done, checking the open string in between and then move down the neck (toward the pegs on top). Check each note, then check the main string open. This is important because the main string might go out of tune and you can't afford that at this time since you are setting the frets. You can use what ever tuning system you like to make sure the frets are intonated properly. I use the electronci tanpura again, but I also double check the matching tarab to make sure then are on the same page, as it were. This is tedious, I know, but there is no other way. You should only have to do this when you buy a sitar and when you move the bridge or take it off for jawari work (reshaping of the main bridge).