Practice

On riyaz, and the hour before it

The sitar at rest between takes
Photograph: Bhagirath Bhatt

Riyaz is not the interesting part of this work, which is exactly why it is the part worth writing about. The hour before practice is where most of the decisions are made: whether to sit at all, whether to tune properly or approximately, whether to begin with the thing that is difficult.

The instrument is honest about all three.

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