SITAR

SITAR The Sitar is a plucked stringed instrument mainly used in Indian Classical music. Materials used in construction include teak wood or tun wood (Cedrela toona), for the neck and faceplate (tabli), and gourds for the resonating chambers. The instrument's bridges are made of deer horn, ebony, or very occasionally from camel bone. Synthetic material is now common as well. A sitar can have 18, 19 or 20 strings. Six or seven of these are played strings which run over curved, raised frets, and the remainder are sympathetic strings. The instrument is balanced between the player's left foot and right knee. The hands move freely without having to carry any of the instrument's weight. The player plucks the string using a metallic pick or plectrum called a mizraab. The Sitar is normally used to play the melody of back up the melody instrument or singer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmE-WoIzWQ0