Virtual Sitar — Play Online Free
Pluck the six strings of India’s iconic long-necked lute. Click a fret to play a note, then drag along the string for meend — the soulful sliding ornament of Hindustani music.
💻 Keyboard: press 1–6 to pluck the six open strings · Click + drag a string for meend (pitch slide)
Screen Recording
Record your performance and download it as a WebM video.
Ready to record screen.
✅ How to Play the Virtual Sitar
- Pluck: Click or tap anywhere on a string. Your horizontal position picks the fret — further right = higher pitch.
- Meend (slide): Click and hold, then drag left or right along the string to bend the pitch smoothly — the classic sitar ornament.
- Keyboard: Press keys 1–6 to pluck the six open strings.
- Jawari: Toggle the buzzing bridge simulation on or off for a drier tone.
- Reverb: Turn on reverb for a concert-hall sitar sound.
- Hit Start Recording to capture your performance.
What is a Sitar?
The sitar is perhaps the most famous instrument of Hindustani (North Indian) classical music, known worldwide through legends like Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan. It is a long-necked plucked lute with a gourd resonator at the base, a wide, curved jawari (bridge) that creates its unmistakable buzzing timbre, and a set of sympathetic strings running beneath the frets that ring softly in harmony with every note you play.
The frets on a real sitar are curved and movable, tied to the neck with thread so the player can push the string down past the fret — producing meend, a continuous glide between pitches that mimics the human voice. This virtual sitar recreates that feel with a click-and-drag neck: pluck at any fret, then slide along the string for expressive bends and microtonal ornaments.
This virtual sitar uses 37 real sitar samples (C3–C6) with Web Audio pitch selection for every fret position. The jawari toggle engages a gentle high-mid emphasis that approximates the buzzing contact of string on bridge, while the reverb places the instrument in a warm concert space — perfect for raga phrases and meditative melodies alike.
Frequently Asked Questions
What tuning does this sitar use?
Six strings tuned C3, G3, C4, G4, C5, G5 from lowest to highest — a practical open tuning that covers melody and chikari (high drone) roles across the fretted neck. Real sitars vary by gharana and raga; many use a lower bass string (kharaj) down to C2.
What is meend?
Meend is a continuous slide between two notes, made by pulling the string sideways past the fret. It is one of the most important ornaments in Indian classical music — giving sitar lines their vocal, elastic quality. On this page, click and drag along a string after plucking to hear it.
What is jawari?
Jawari (literally “living”) is the buzzing, overtone-rich tone produced as the string grazes the wide, gently curved bridge. Sitar bridges are carefully filed so the string touches along part of its length, generating bright harmonics that decay into a warm growl. Toggle Jawari on this page to hear the difference.
How many strings does a sitar have?
A standard sitar has 6 or 7 playing strings on top plus 11–13 sympathetic strings (tarab) that run underneath and vibrate automatically in sympathy with the played notes. This virtual version focuses on the six main playing strings with a fretted melodic neck.
References & Notes
- Samples:
sitar-sf— 37 notes, C3–C6 (chromatic) - Open tuning: C3, G3, C4, G4, C5, G5
- Fret range: 15 semitones per string (nut → +15)
- Meend: continuous pitch bend via sample playback-rate
- Jawari: high-mid peaking filter (~2.4 kHz) for bridge buzz
- Reverb: ~2.5s hall impulse, 25ms pre-delay
This is a simulation tool for learning and entertainment.