Reviews

'As always, it was sheer pleasure to observe Robin Hill's remarkable fluent technique: everything looks easy when he plays it.' Colin Cooper- Classical Guitar Magazine ----- 'Wonderful for their (Hill & Wiltschinsky) precision, touch and clarity of sound... refined virtuosity, the achievement of a long interpretive process.' Il Giornale D'Italia (Rome) ----- 'I loved your CD and thought your technique and performance were fabulous...' Rick Wakeman

Monday, May 12, 2008

Take a Break - Play the Sitar

Today the house has been filled with the sound of the sitar.
As Robin enjoys his first day at home, he allowed himself to relax for a while, by playing his sitar.
It's a beautiful instrument in every way, with an exotic sound and intricate decoration.
Here's a photo I took a while ago:



As I worked this morning, he pulled up a chair, and proceeded to play, warming up with 'Norwegian Wood', and swiftly making up his own arrangements, particularly enjoying the sitar's ability to bend a note up a complete major third, and even beyond, which he did repeatedly.
I'm not to sure that he even noticed me leaving the house for a couple of hours, in search of a birthday present for him, (it's on Wednesday) as he was still sitting there playing on my return.

He did take a break at one point, made his way into the lounge, and watched a DVD of Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, just to keep the momentum flowing.
There is an upside to a day off from playing his guitar.
It allows his nails a rest.
When playing the sitar you wear a mizrab on your finger, which is a strange device, and one that I find rather uncomfortable.
I'm not alone in this, George Harrison once described wearing a mizrab as feeling like, "a weasel holding onto the end of your finger."

I knew Robin couldn't stay away from the guitar for an entire day though. He's currently back in the music room and working on his right and left hand exercises.

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