Learning Indian Classical Music with Mita Nag | Exploring Music Series

Hi, I'm Jeff Starr, a filmmaker and sitar student. In February 2022 I had the pleasure of interviewing the world famous Sitarist Mita Nag. If you are a student of Indian classical music you will learn a lot. I hope you enjoy this conversations as much as I did.
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Mita Nag's KZbin Channel and website:
kzbin.info/door/wJ4W9i5IGHEJ-K4rfImmHg
www.mitanag.com
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:42 History Lesson The Bishnupur Gharana
01:16 The next steps of learning
12:47 Bending notes and Sitar Meend
18:05 Starting to learn Indian Classical Music
22:48 Mita Nag's Mother
26:31 Pandit Manilal Nag as father and Guru
38:09 Progress and Process
43:41 Talking about Ragas
46:13 Common mistakes when learning Sitar?
50:41 How to practice the sitar
55:38 The influence of Social Media on Indian Music
01:07:05 What do you need to improve?
01:12:24 Ice Cream and final thoughts.
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Please subscribe to my KZbin Channel:
kzbin.info
Help support me on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/JeffStarr
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Watch more of my guitar demos, reviews and songs:
kzbin.info/aero/PLaTbnoUuEbU13IzfvajrEPhcxJszjIbE9
Watch my short films:
kzbin.info/aero/PLaTbnoUuEbU1l7fOCgya0-OLMV9jGQ4Dl
Watch my sitar videos:
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Social:
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[@ab-zg8pt]

Mita Nag is a global treasure! For me, she is the golden standard. Great interview, Jeff!!!!!!!

[@JeffStarr]

Thank you very much for the kind words! It was an honor to interview her.

[@RVHello]

Wonderful to see Mitaji being interviewed in depth. Manilaljis alaaps are magnificent and hope this gharana continues for many many years.

[@jayantighosh2377]

Thank you Mita ji and Jeff for this lovely conversation that enlightened us with knowledge we lacked. I wish I can One day Learn Sitar from Mita Nag ji.🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@krazybubbler]

Fantastic interview. Thank You Mita Ji and notbadfilms.

[@urmilaapte9853]

🎵 I liked this interview very much !! 🎶 🎵I also have same thinking, same habits and same life style as Vidushi Mita ji has 🎶❤🎉

[@Joedeath69]

Mita ji is such an Inspiring woman and artist!! She is the Guru of my Guru Madhuvanti Pal. So glad this interview will be available to the world!! Thanks to the both of you for this interview!!! ✨🙏✨

[@rk_fly]

This is a wonderful interview! Informative, yet informal and inspiring! Thanks to Jeff and Mita Ji!

[@JeffStarr]

Thank you for watching! May I ask what moments from this video you liked the most?

[@rk_fly]

@@JeffStarr I really liked the way she, in the most polite way emphasized learners to be grounded, especially the beginners. That is something not many people talk about, given the era of instantaneous popularity on social media. The next best thing to me was to progress bit by bit, and not attempt everything at one go. That would for sure have the roots dug deeper in the mind. I liked it when she said that it's essential to play what one can't play or isn't adept at yet. So that gives learners a breathing space and accept the fact that it's okay to falter time 'n' again on the road to dexterity. Thanks for asking :)

[@psrinivasan100]

Amazing interview! Thank you, Jeff!

[@abhisheksrivastava712]

Lovely interview Jeff. Thanks for bringing up so much about Mita ji to the fore. Helps all of us listeners to understand her music and herself more. Would have loved to know how Dhrupad and Khayal interact and intersect with each other. Thanks a lot again!

[@08ashishmisra]

Wonderful Conversation!!!! Just started learning Sitar, Got Many insights from this. Thanks Jeff !!! Keep doing such deep conversations. :))))

[@JeffStarr]

I’m glad you enjoyed it. 😃

[@urmilaapte9853]

🎵The description of Keertan(कीर्तन) could be *more like a ballet of the mythological stories of the avatars of various Gods & Goddesses*; which used to be performed in the tamples ; Keertans are not merely songs !!🎶.... I believe😍🎼

[@iralandgarten7394]

Mita, as well as being an extraordinary Sitarist, is a wonderful Historian & Archivist of her family's great musical heritage, the Bishnupur Gharana of West Bengal, India.

[@JoelVeena]

This was a very enjoyable and educational interview, my heartfelt thanks to Mita Nag ji for candidly sharing her valuable insights and experience in music and to Jeff bhai for putting in great effort to present authentic and quality content about Indian classical music and presenting in a skillful fashion. The term 'drilling' certain exercises is a very helpful term for communicating the rigor required to bring the phrases, shapes and personality of a raga into our own being. It's a particularly good word choice as 'drills' are not supposed to be mindlessly repetitive, they are to train a specific technique or procedure through conscious repetition.

[@Rudrakshiva]

Such a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. So beautifully explained. Thoroughly enjoyed this interview and learnt so much. Mita di has such mastery over the English language as well , precision, depth, and flow. Just like her music :)

[@theempty2319]

Very interesting, thanks

[@JeffStarr]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@writabratamukherjee3941]

Beautiful interview

[@sagnikpaul1811]

Really informative interview.

[@stevebuffington6534]

JEFF!! HELP….I am severely disabled and cannot travel.. I am learning the sitar from videos like yours (Thank you!) but my JAWARI needs fine tuning. I UNDERSTAND how it is does what it is meant to do, but I can only get so far. I have been “learning” in my head since I heard sitar in 1966, Played pro guitar till I was 30, finally got a sitar when I was 45, took about 6 months of lessons, but had to quit work at 53 years of age from a progressive spinal disease that has left me home bound at 70. I can still play, but not for very long at any one time. Sitar remains the true musical love of my life, and the internet is bereft of jawari videos, just that written tutorial from Manfred Junius that only gets you so far. Maybe 80% there. Are there ANY English speaking videos of up close and personal content? My goal is the Ravi Shankar glorious sparkle, like a true single coil of 5.9K in the neck of a Strat (I know you know what I mean!) On a personal note, I’ve always gravitated toward Peter Green and Matt Scofeild gharana of guitar playing. Nikhil Banerjee, Ravi Shankar, Manilal Nag, Sujhatt Khan are some of my most honored favorites, alap being also my favorite part of any performance. I’ve searched everywhere and cannot afford to hire someone (there being maybe two) in a 500 hundred mile radius of where I live to help me. Love you pr channel and found you through guitar but thrilled when you went to the Sitar. Yes, I do prefer the Maihar Gharana style, but love them all. Thank you in advance, good Sir! Steve B.

[@thskendjeo134]

Check sitar gurukul nishit dey and pampa sitar for their jawari doing videos. Do exactly as they demonstrate!

[@stevebuffington6534]

Thank you!

[@nitikarani3701]

Vry nice 🙏

[@dimepia123]

Woah she is great