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The Sitar: Early use in Jazz and The Beatles

Author: lucyinthesky

The Sitar: Early Use in Jazz and The Beatles

The sitar is a classical Indian instrument. Just like a guitar, you pluck the strings along a neck. At the bottom of the hollow neck is a round chamber which lets the sounds resonate and form a harmonious sound. The sitar is a type of lute. The sitar has been used in Hindu classical music since the Middle Ages.

The sitar became popular in Western countries through jazz in the late 1950s. People discovered the beauty of Indian music through the collaboration of jazz musician John Coltrane and sitarist Ravi Shankar.

After the sitar was taken up by jazz artists, it quickly gained popularity in pop music when Beatles member George Harrison took lessons from Shankar and played it on several song tracks. By the mid-1960s, the sitar was a phenomenon in music and used in many rock songs.

Jazz

The first recorded collaboration between Indian and Jazz musicians was in 1961: Ravi Shankar and saxophonist Bud Shank. Their album was called Improvisitions.

Indian music and jazz music are unique in that they have improvisation - yet composition is integral to both. In both forms of music, their improvisation takes place in cyclical frameworks. It is said that modal jazz is inspired by Indian music.

Miles Davis and John Coltrane loved this stuff. Coltrane met Shankar in 1965, after a long period of letter-writing and mutual admiration. Coltrane even named his son after Ravi!

The Beatles

Beatles member George Harrison was deeply inspired by Ravi Shankar and Indian music. The group was also influenced by the Maharishi Yogi, seen in the photo above. Check out these songs filled with the sounds of sitar! You can also click on the names to visit these video pages.

Norweigan Wood
George: "I bought a cheap sitar from a shop called India Craft in London. I hadn't really figured out what to do with it. But when we were working on 'Norwegian Wood' it just needed something."

Love You To
This song was The Beatles' first attempt to seriously incorporate classical Indian music with a grinding rock rhythm. George played the sitar like a guitar, using blues bends rather than intricate Indian methods. The song also features a tabla (Indian drum) and a tambura.

Asian music commentators wrote: "One cannot emphasize how absolutely unprecedented this piece is in the history of popular music. For the first time an Asian music was not parodied utilising familiar stereotypes and misconceptions, but rather transferred in toto into a new environment with sympathy and rare understanding."

Within You, Without You
This song features only George Harrison and a group of uncredited Indian musicians. The song's lyrics are obvious references to Hindu concepts, such as dharma, Maya and monism.

The Inner Light
The instrumental track was recorded in Bombay, India. The lyrics in this song are a rendering of Chapter 47 in the Laozi's tao te ching, a book in Taoism.

Tomorrow Never Knows
There isn't a sitar played in this song, but an electrical guitar using a sitar-like musical scale pattern.

Across The Universe
This is one of my favourite tracks! The Beatles were greatly influenced by the Maharishi Yogi. The mantra "Jai guru deva om" is sung in this song, which is a Sanskrit phrase meaning "Victory to God divine". Lennon said it was the most poetic song he ever wrote. Watch the video below - notice in it that they're actually in India!