Sitar player, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Nikon D7200

Erwin Smith’s New Morning Routine

To exercise his charming, commanding voice

Master the Sitar: 10 Tips and Tricks for Beginners

Learning to play the sitar can be a rewarding experience, but it needs to be approached with the right mindset and strategies. Whether you're just starting or looking to hone your skills, these ten tips and tricks will help you on your journey to mastering the sitar.

Find the right sitar classes: Enrolling in quality sitar classes is important to lay a strong foundation. Look for experienced instructors who can provide personalized guidance and feedback tailored to your skill level and learning style.

2. Invest in a quality instrument: A good quality sitar can significantly enhance your learning experience. Take the time to research and invest in a well-built instrument, That produces clear tones and feels comfortable to play.

3. Learn proper posture and hand placement: Proper posture and hand placement are essential to producing clear and resonant sounds. Pay attention to your posture and practice holding the sitar correctly to avoid strain and discomfort.

4. Focus on basic techniques: Mastering basic techniques such as tuning, string bending, and plucking is fundamental to becoming proficient in playing the sitar. Dedicate time to practicing these techniques regularly to build a strong foundation.

5. Develop finger dexterity: It is important to develop finger dexterity to play the sitar with accuracy and speed. Incorporate exercises and drills into your exercise routine to improve the strength and agility of your fingers.

6. Practice mindfully: Practice regularly and mindfully, focusing on quality over quantity. Break difficult parts into smaller sections and practice them slowly and carefully before gradually increasing the speed.

7. Study music theory: Understanding music theory concepts like scales, intervals, and rhythm will deepen your understanding of sitar music and help you interpret and perform compositions more effectively.

8. Listen to sitar music: Immerse yourself in the rich tradition of sitar music by listening to recordings of master sitar players. Pay attention to their techniques, phrasing, and expression, and try to emulate them in your playing.

9. Experiment with different styles: Explore different styles of sitar music, from classical to contemporary, to expand your musical vocabulary and discover your unique voice as a sitar player.

10. Be patient and persistent: Learning to play the sitar takes time, patience, and dedication. Enjoy the journey, stay committed to your exercise routine, and celebrate your progress along the way.

By following these ten tips and tricks, you will be on your way to mastering the sitar and unleashing its full musical potential. Remember to remain curious, open-minded, and passionate about your musical journey, and you will continue to grow as a sitar player.

Heyyy I have lot cursed headcanons about mega guys robots playing with musical instruments like

Bit - Sitar(guitar from India)

Or more cursed Douglas - modifies his instruments and even builds his own like Aphex Twin (and I stole text from Google)

Oh HELL YES

Bit plays the Sitar and maybe also the bass Sitar too! Whenever he feels bold ofc. Or when byte is like "coward, play the bigger one"

I can just imagine Douglas playing some really niche instruments and also creates his own. It drives alia insane when she hears him playing music at 3 am!!!

My cursed headcanon is that bit bites his fork when (and if) he eats. Like bro just bites his food and also bites into his form

Well, I can now count changing the taraf strings on a sitar, as something I can do.

Gay Indie Game Women

Summer: A kind-hearted and spiritual snake spirit and the player’s lesbian aunt by marriage. She loves nature and plants, is spiritual, is into New Age things like crystals and energies, plays a sitar, and is a staunch vegan (ironic considering her spirit species). She lived a plant-caring life with her wife, Rose, before dying of cancer. She is implied to have had an alcoholic and possibly abusive father.

Alphys: The royal scientist, who works directly for King Asgore. She is incredibly talented at building things such as puzzles and human-hunting killer robots. Her timid, socially awkward personality makes “most players come to love her quickly.” She also writes fanfiction.

ARC REVIEW: Unladylike Rules of Attraction by Amita Murray

4/5. Releases 5/14/24.

Vibes: "must marry or else", vaaaaague guardian/ward sorta kinda?, two people living on the edge of English society, light mystery

Heat Index: 6/10

Court sitar player Anya doesn't expect to inherit much, if anything, when her client dies. But the Dowager Countess Budleigh has left Anya half her fortune--with one condition. She must marry by her twenty-fifth birthday... which is four months away. Otherwise? The money will go to Lord Damian Ashton, the family outsider and now trustee. (Oh--and they think he killed his way to the title.) As Anya begins looking for a husband, Damian is there, initially to irritate and then, when she's accused of murder by the Budleighs, to help. The question is--if they make it out of this, can he bear to see her with someone else?

The second in Amita Murray's Marleigh Sisters series, I found Unladylike Rules of Attraction faster-paced and more exciting than the first installment, which is always lovely. The chemistry between Anya and Damian had me immediately--and though the relationship unfurled a bit more rapidly than I expected, their back and forth remained a treat. As did the very true reality of them both living on the edges of English society, seen as oddities or fetishized due to their races (Anya had a white father and an Indian mother, and Damian's grandmother was a Jamaican Black woman).

So while I do have nitpicks here and there, I have to say that this was an engaging romp with serious insights.

Quick Takes:

--If you enjoy romantic leads that snark, you'll be into this. Damian and Anya are kind of at each other's throats from the jump, but in, like, a fun way. They both find each other annoying, mostly because they want to bone, and I support that. I also really love the marriage plot setup: she's supposed to marry, or he gets everything, so maybe the best thing would be for them to marry each other...? But NO, God NO, that would be AWFUL.

Damian also has a lovely younger brother who enters the scene as a supporting character. He initially thinks that his brother is making a play for Anya, and the "I am quietly seething from across a ballroom" content was great.

--But, as I mentioned earlier, there's a lot of quiet understanding these two have for each other. Anya is seen as an exotic marvel at Queen Charlotte's court... to an extent. There isn't much actual real respect there, because women hate her (and let's be real, are often jealous of her) for who she is and men want to fuck her without offering any legitimacy or respect.

Although Damian didn't have an identical experience to Anya, he's also very much an outsider. I mean, people just assume this guy murdered someone to get a title... basically, let's be real, because he's of Jamaican descent. The novel is covering, basically, a lot of nasty, racist shit. However, it maintains an optimistic, if realistic attitude, and understanding reality doesn't mean that Murray is going to keep her leads from falling in love. It's a tough balancing act, and I think she executed it well.

--That said, these two do move pretty fast. And I'm not someone who loves a slow burn, right? I enjoy reading sex on the page early. It's not that the sex happens so EARLY in this book. It's more that I don't think there was quite enough build up between Damian and Anya. The chemistry was there, but when it began I was pretty surprised.

It's not a huge issue, but if I had to give a critique, that would be my main one.

--One thing I really appreciated was the way Murray dealt with Anya's trauma surrounding her separation from her sisters. She knows where they are, she loves them--but she can't really bring herself to be close to them because of this chasm of years apart. She wants to be! She feels guilty! But that doesn't make her reluctance built on years of separation go away.

--The mystery and murder stuff here is pretty light; there's nothing that's too much to bear here. But I found it entertaining, and I can be a hard sell with mystery, so that's a good sign.

The Sex:

This is an open door romance. It's not super explicit, it's not over the top. There are a few scenes, nothing super wild, and I do think Murray could go into a bit more detail with it. But as it is: if you enjoy a Lorraine Heath level of heat (and I do too, I could always appreciate more though), you'll enjoy these.

Moving along at a clip, Unladylike Rules of Attraction is both romantic and astute. I see it being compared to Bridgerton, and while I get that on paper... First off, this is a lot smarter in general than that show. Second, it's certainly more attentive to the issues of race. If you want something fun and different and very much its own thing, check this out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

from a (half) south asian american who's dark skinned, i think one of the best examples of south asian representation in video games as of recent is frye from splatoon 3.

i think they did so many things great with her. even though she's not really desi considering human culture has been extinct for over 1000 years in the splatoon universe, they did a great portrayal of her as a south asian. the inclusion of her dark skin really adds to that, because as someone who's half south indian, with dark skin, colorism and racism against dark skinned ppl in south asia is a really big issue, and is rooted in the caste system. and even though i doubt the inclusion of her dark skin was meant to break that stigma and stereotyping, it really adds to her regardless!

some other great examples of south asian influence in frye that makes her great rep:

- her singing in splatoon 3 is based on indian vocal music, especially carnatic (south indian) music. there's also traditional indian instruments such as sitar/veena, dholak, and nadaswaram used in songs where she performs. her dancing performance is also reminiscent of indian dances like bharatanatyam, odissi, and kuchipudi.

- her fighting style in her boss battle is based off of snake charming, using a pungi flute to control her moray eels to fight the player, in a manner similar to snake charming

- her outfit is based off of western-south asian or indo-western fashion and clothing, wearing a dupatta over what looks like a choli, and her pants resemble patiala pants. her headpiece also resembles mango chutney or another south asian condiment

- the locker decoration received from story mode that depicts her, sunken scroll 11, is based off of traditional indian art, especially from south india. the pose she strikes and the surrounding motifs are reminiscent of south indian and sri lankan sculpture and art depicting hindu figures; an example of a work of art similar to this depiction of frye is the bronze statue Shiva Natarāja, depicting the god shiva as nataraja, the cosmic lord of dance.

- and although i don't know for sure if her big forehead is based in south asian traditional beauty traditions, i still think it adds to her greatly as south asian representation. video game characters from any underrepresented culture are often depicted under western beauty standards, and frye's appearance that defies both western beauty standards AND colorist standards of south asian beauty truly makes her a great example of south asian rep in video games.

special thanks to twitter user rosierajin, who also compiled a list of examples of south asian influence in frye's character

anyways, that's my conclusion about why frye is an amazing example of south asian rep, hope you enjoy :3

Listening to a sitar player right now and it is a complex 18+ string instrument which has me thinking of how no one gives Demyx enough credit for how skilled and intelligent he actually is

also they showed the picture of george and bob at woodstock together when he was talking about coming back to england after seeing ravi in los angeles and stopping in new york (?) which i assume is in reference to the woodstock thanksgiving visit and he was saying at that point he was really thinking about just becoming a sitar player and not doing songwriting or guitar anymore but that he changed his mind . after that. after that trip

Hariprasad Chaurasia, George Harrison, and Shivkumar Sharma, 1973; photographer unnamed, photo courtesy of hariprasadchaurasia dot com.

“George used to always say that if ever you are not feeling right, you should listen to Bob Dylan’s ‘Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie’ and [Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma and Brij Bhushan Kabra’s] ‘Call of the Valley.’” - Olivia Harrison, The Hollywood Reporter, October 22, 2011 “‘Bhoop Ghara’ from Call of the Valley, recorded in 1967 by Shivkumar Sharma, Hariprasad Chaurasia and slide guitar player Brijbhusan Kabra, was ‘something George had on our juke box. We played it as a remedy in our home if you were feeling a certain way. Kabra was one of George’s heroes as a slide guitarist, up there with Ry Cooder,’ [Olivia explains].” - Songlines, June 2018 “[Ry Cooder] inspires me to try and play that [slide] better. At the same time, I’m into this Indian music and there’s a guy called Brijbushan Kabra who plays a guitar but he plays it like a lap steel, he lays it on his leg, and plays it with the slide on top, like, and restrung it and plays sort of groovy Indian stuff on it.” - George Harrison, Rockline, February 10, 1988 “[Hariprasad] Chaurasia’s face lights up as The Beatles guitarist and songwriter George Harrison’s name is mentioned. ‘We were very close friends, or, at least, that is what I believe. He used to come to India every year, especially to go to Vrindavan. And, whenever he came, he would come to my Bandra residence at times, with his then-girlfriend, Olivia. Every time we met, we used to play music together,’ says Chaurasia. [...] ‘One of the best musicians I ever met, George loved Indian music and had a deep understanding of it. He made an attempt to learn the sitar, and though he played it for himself, he did not want to play it in front of an audience,’ says Chaurasia. When asked what Harrison was like as an individual, the maestro was quick with his response: ‘George was a great human being. He treated everyone equally, irrespective of his or her race or nationality. I remember George would always remove his shoes or chappals before entering anyone’s house,’ he says. Harrison loved everything Indian — culture, traditions and food. 'So much so that he that he wanted to be born in India in his next life. He used to go to the Lord Krishna temple at Mathura, with his face covered with a shawl to avoid recognition. He enjoyed going to the temple alone and collecting prasadam. He loved listening to the dholak and the singing and dancing. His favorite place in India was Vrindavan and said that he could never find such an environment anywhere else in the world,’ says Chaurasia.” - The Week, February 17, 2018 (x)

Nicolas Mortelmans - MĀYĀ - Indo-jazz fusion from Belgian sitarist & band

Nicolas Mortelmans is a passionate sitar player and multi-instrumentalist from Antwerp, Belgium. Nicolas is a fusion sitar player and student of Indian classical music. In 2010, he bought his first sitar and left for India. He fell in love with the mystical sounds of the sitar and immersed himself in it. For the next 7 years, he went to India every winter to study the traditional way with different sitar masters. Since 2017, he has been trained by the world-renowned Anoushka Shankar. Live, Nicolas plays an electric sitar with which he tries to build a bridge between his recent love for Indian music and his roots in rock, jazz and electronica. Nicolas has an open mind and literally any musical style or tradition can inspire him. His concerts can be both meditative and explosive. MĀYĀ is his debut album as a leader of his own band. Musicians: Nicolas Mortelmans (electric & acoustic sitar, tanpura) Tarang Poddar (tabla&vocals) Ravichandra Kulur (flute) Benny Bettane (handpan) Joeri Wens (tombak) Jonas Meersmans (guitar) Roland van Campenhout (guitar) Stef Kamil Carlens (bass) Tim Vanhamel (guitar) Simon Segers (drums) Surya (vocals) Artwork & Graphic Designy by Pieter Pan.

Productivity music #6: Video game soundtracks

What is it?

Video game soundtracks might be even better than movie soundtracks for productivity. They’re longer and stronger, baby! Designed to withstand the stress tests of being replayed on long loops, in any conceivable order, with a consistent volume.

Don’t play video games? Fine, your loss—just don’t sleep on their soundtracks.

Where to start listening

Bitch-approved favorites include:

Life is Strange: Puts the acoustic guitar at the center of its sensitive, gentle, reflective indie sound. Listen here.

Final Fantasy X Piano Collections: Engaging, emotive, highly listenable piano solos from the most respected composer in gaming. Listen here.

God of War: Viking-flavored ambient fantasy music that somehow feels both smaller and more cinematic than its peers. Listen here.

Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time, Hyrule Symphony: Straightforwardly gorgeous classical-inspired orchestrations. Listen here.

Breath of the Wild: Rightly one of the most praised soundtracks in gaming history. Inimitably eclectic, with a gentle, minimalist genre-defying sound. Listen here.

Animal Crossing, New Leaf: Light, calm, totally unchallenging music you can do hella chores to. Listen here.

Katamari Damacy: A bizarre, groovy, poppy weirdness. Some songs have lyrics, but they’re not in English, so whatever. Listen here.

Bastion: A very unique East-meets-West sound. Like a couple of grungy Spaghetti Western cowboys joined forces with a hip-hop producer and, I don’t know—a random sitar player? Listen here.

Mass Effect: Pounding synthy beats for space marines who need to catch up on their space paperwork. Listen here.

Tetris Effect: A game that’s literally built on a framework of spacious, pulsating, mesmerizing beats. Listen here.

Keep reading.

#mycollagelab IGNITE! Monthly Challenge - black & white - Sitar Player in the City

Happy Birthday George!

(there has been some confusion about George’s birth date, but we decided to go with the one on his birth cert.)

George, you would have turned 80 this year. We reckon you would have loved the chance for the world to notice that Paul is only nine months older.

In honour of George’s birthday we watched The Concert For George. Here are a few of our thoughts:

The first half of the concert is Indian music composed by Ravi Shankar and led by his daughter Anooshka. She was incredible, starting the whole thing with beautiful sitar playing, then conducting a large Indian orchestra, and a smaller Western one. Not to mention she was only 21 at the time, making this all the more admirable. We were particularly impressed that she was able to conduct a mixed Indian/Western group of musicians so well.

It was really interesting to hear the sitar part of The Inner Light, which Jeff Lynne joined the Indian musicians for, played by such a skilled player. Not that we think George plays it badly, but there’s definitely a different sense to it when it’s played with all the knowledge and experience she possesses.

There were likely many audience members who weren’t into the Indian section, but we think Anooshka and the musicians did a brilliant job, and that it was totally appropriate for George’s concert to start that way.

Which leads us to our first gripe. Er*c Cl*pton (called Asshole for the remainder of this post) was probably one of them. He was moving through most of the Indian pieces, but he wasn’t exactly moving to the music, so it more seems like he was moving as a form of self soothing. At the end of the last piece, he literally picked up his guitar and started upstaging the Indian melody. It didn’t fit at all. Anooshka was gracious, but irritated. We will say, if it was anyone else, we might be talking about how sweet it was that he was so moved, but the thing is, as you’ll read throughout this post, Asshole made the whole entire night about him. From where he sat on stage, to how the thing was edited, to how many songs he sang lead on. 

We were so impressed with Anooshka’s poise in the face of Asshole’s assholery, but it was kind of thrilling to watch the way she brushed him off as she left the stage. If anyone with giffing skills would like to help us out, we’d love to share how deftly she avoids thanking him or making any contact. We do mean any contact, she moved her hips in such a way that she didn’t even brush him accidentally. 

Onto the western portion of the night. It started with some Monty Python skits. The wiki page for the concert has two songs, but the version we watched only had The Lumberjack Song (the end credits list several more). We noticed that all the then-living Pythons were there except John Cleese. Neil Innes was there, but almost in disguise. 

This was followed by 26 songs: mostly by George, with one Travelling Wilburys song, two he wrote with Dhani, and two non-George songs. You’d think that because these are some of the best musicians in the world, every song would be mind blowingly good. Well, you’d be wrong. Maybe it was insufficient rehearsal (it’s unlikely everyone was there for the full three weeks), maybe it was too many cooks spoiling the broth, but most of the performances were weak. Some, even downright painful to listen to. Many of the singers tried to keep their version of the song as close to George’s as possible, which worked for no-one who tried. They sounded like karaoke singers, and not very good ones at that. 

Sam Brown was the first performer to try to make a song their own, and she did a brilliant job, though at times it felt like she and Jools were having to drag everyone else with them.

Notice Dhani’s kurta – maybe one of George’s?

Notable absence: Bob Dylan. Maybe he knew what Asshole would be like, maybe he was too emotional about it. 

Our second major gripe is that they never put names on the screen. We had to do a lot of googling, even with the wiki page open the whole time, and we still don’t entirely know who was who. For instance, Klaus Voorman was there, playing bass, but only in one or two shots, and he never was front and center so it took us a while to even be sure it was him. 

Asshole continued to claim the limelight, singing lead or co-lead vocals on 6 of the 26 songs (for context, Paul sings on 5). He starts Isn’t It A Pity, despite it being much better suited to Billy Preston (who takes over the vocal later). Billy plays a blistering organ solo which Asshole can’t let be the end, so he follows it with a guitar solo.

The ending of “Isn’t It A Pity” was strange. Someone added the “nah nah nah” from Hey Jude and it was a really weird choice. It’s not that it didn’t work, it was just, well, strange. Made even more interesting by the fact that Paul hadn’t even taken the stage yet. 

Tom Petty got visibly upset during I Need You. Honestly, we’re surprised he wasn’t a blubbering mess.

Ringo and Paul waited until the 18th and 20th (respectively) songs to come on stage. This could be because it was a very emotional night for them, or to give other artists a chance to have the full attention of the audience. After their “solo” spots they both stayed pleasantly unobtrusive, allowing others to get their shot. Not like Asshole, who took over the vocal from Paul halfway through Something and again in While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

Ringo sang Photograph (again, how was he so calm singing this?) and Honey Don’t (George was a huge Carl Perkins fan) and sounded exactly the way he did in his early 20s. There was a noticeable improvement in the timing once Ringo sat behind the drums.

Paul walked onstage (dressed all in black) to screams. The audience was thrilled, and the musicians on stage were almost as excited. Maybe he was right to give other people the stage for a bit before coming on. Paul’s introduction to Something was sweet. It’s always nice to hear the first version of Paul’s stories before they become polished into blandness. 

We think it showed real personal growth for Paul to sing along with All Things Must Pass, especially under the circumstances. We also really enjoyed the way he smirked all the way through Wah-Wah. Tom Petty seemed to be enjoying that one too, but Asshole seemed to think he needed to be Mr. Serious about it.

After Wah-Wah, Dhani gave a lovely short thank you to all the musicians, and Asshole gave him one of the most awkward non-hugs ever. Again, we’d love a gif of this. We can provide timestamps if anyone wants to volunteer!

As the closing song was about to start, Paul asked for a quick go at the mic. You’d be forgiven for thinking he was about to hold court, or try to take the attention for himself, but he just wanted to share a comment from Olivia: “with Dhani up here it looks like George stayed young and we all got old”. Then he stepped back, giving control of the moment back to Joe Brown. It was really lovely, and we think it’s noteworthy that Paul was sitting close enough (physically) and Olivia felt close enough (personally) for her to share that with him. Also, she was so right.

The last song had us both almost in tears, especially when the camera cut from a photo of George to Dhani.

In contrast to Asshole’s earlier attempt, Tom and Dhani had a lovely hug, as did Paul and Olivia, and Paul and Ringo. Ringo had the presence of mind to thank the Indian musicians, which we noticed Asshole did not do.

There were a few interesting things in the credits too. Turns out one of the drummers was Henry Spinetti, yes, THAT Spinetti. Apparently, Victor’s much younger brother was a session drummer (he’s still alive, but he doesn’t drum anymore.) He worked for Tina Turner and Asshole among others, and played on both Gone Troppo and Tug Of War. And, another fun fact, he also cut his teeth at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg. Given the years it looks like he was there (we don’t have exact dates) it’s very possible that when Paul and John went to the Reeperbahn in ‘66 after their Hamburg show, they were going to see his band at the Top Ten Club. 

Another name that stood out was Linda Arias. Linda is Olivia’s sister, and she was artist liaison, so the whole film was a family affair, which is very cool. There were two Harrisons working on the film too, but Harrison is a common name so it’s very possible they’re not related. 

Finally, at the very end, there was the list of labels giving permission for the likeness of their artist to be used. Jim Keltner, however, wasn’t signed, we guess, so where all others said Warner Music or EMI or whatever, his line said he was given permission by his wife Cynthia. We thought that was adorable. 

Okay, so that was more than just a few thoughts, but, honestly, do you expect anything else from us?

Have you seen it? What did you think? Do you agree with our review?