Sitar- The Sitar is probably the most famous traditional Indian stringed instrument in the West. The body of the instrument is calabash shaped, and indeed calabash gourds are used in its construction. It can have between eighteen and twenty-one strings, six or seven of which run over the curved frets on the neck. The remainder of the strings run beneath the frets and resonate sympathetically with the fretted strings. There are tuning pegs on the head for the fretted strings and along the sides of the neck for the sympathetic strings. The strings are plucked with a metal plectrum called a mizraab. Tabla- The Tabla is the most popular musical instrument in North India and consists of a pair of wooden hand drums with goatskin heads stretched taut. It can be played alone or together with other instruments, and the one drum, the Bayan, is slightly bigger than the other producing a deeper bass sound. The smaller one, called the Dahina, is used to create treble notes. The...