Book excerpt: The sitar has been popular since the 1960s. Since that time it has always had a considerable mystique among musicians. It also has an undeserved reputation for being difficult to play. This book/CD set cuts though the mystique and misapprehensions and presents the material in a simple fashion that is easily understood both by Indians and non-Indian musicians alike.Learning the Sitar begins with basic background information, including a discussion of Indian music, the history of the instrument, the parts and other important terms It then moves on to basic exercises and finally finishes with some simple compositions in Bilawal, Kalyan and Kafi. This is covered in a mix of staff notation as well as traditional Indian Sargam notation.