I thought two of you might be interested to know that the Japanese guy who owns an Indian curry restaurant near my house has been playing Sitar for 8 years and gave me a demonstration, and that I asked if I could try, so he let me.
So, following his instructions, I rubbed the first and second fingers of my left hand in coconut resin to make them slide easier up and down the strings (because you only use those 2 fingers to push down the strings), fitted the metal pick-like implement onto the first finger of my right hand, took off my shoes, sat in the classic sitar sitting position on a mat he had laid down on the wood floor for me, and played around for 10 minutes while a few other patrons continued eating their dinners (it's a small restaurant, with a bar and 4 tables). I was surprised to see that there are 2 layers of strings: you strum and pluck the upper layer, while the layer underneath just resonates.
Seeing how skillfully I played, he asked if I played guitar, too. He also lent me a book he has explaining the basics of playing sitar.
I'm tempted to take either sitar or shamisen (like a traditional japanese banjo) lessons.
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18 comments:
Rock on!
Yeah, very cool.
You should record some of that sweetness (with a cool drum beat below it, of course; and, perhaps, a moose).
You should also take away that pesky temp. unavalible sign from your music page! I'm working on revamping my site (finally!) so that there's not just one "song of the week" for all ages.
You're right. It's been up too long.
Dave, where is your website? Did it move from verdack?
it's at davidnathanaeljones.com, I can't stand it right now, but hopefully in a few weeks it will have changed looks
Steve, are you currently visiting the US? Specifying that a guy near your house was Japanese struck me as odd. I'm probably reading too much into your words.
Opposed to the Indian guy who owns the Indian restaurant.
I was definitely interested... was I one of the two you had in mind?! Have you paid your phone bill lately? ;-) If so, I will try to give you a call in the very near future.
whoa! I was close guessing you had played tabla! I forgot what hint you gave me to think of that...but was close, wasn't I? :)
While we're talking about sites, here's mine: rgbanek.com. I hope to make it interesting soon, but even now I am proud of it in its bare utility.
Adam, I was thinking Aeijtzsche because he's all about sitar and tabla, and Ryan because we went to that restaurant sometimes. But I'm glad I was able to interest you with my story too. Adam, I have your phone number, so I might call you before you have a chance to call me. Wait, how did you know I hadn't paid my phone bill lately?
I am strongly resolved to re-open my music page by this weekend with my newest song. Let's see how good my resolve is.
Ryan, I hate to be the one to point this out, but I have some questions about your resume. Chief among them is this: unless this is an eliptical means of letting us know that you've invented time travel (and you've made yourself heard on the subject of eliptical revelations on the blog) it is possible that a typographical error exists regarding your experience in Funehiki, which you maintain took place from August 2003-August 2000. I am hoping that the former is actually the case, that you have invented time travel. If so, tell us more!
Yes, Ryan, if you have indeed invented time travel, I really need to go back in time to take care of something. Call my people.
For some reason, Andy using the word "maintain" to describe Ryan's typo made me crack up.
Steve, 'maintain' was the release valve for everything else that preceded it.
Bet you ten yen it was.
maintain
...with my fist!
I have caught a cold, so I take back what I said about releasing a song this weekend.
That cold's really haning on! : )
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