Search - Stevin McNamara :: Yogitar

Masterful musicianship and visionary sound exploration accentuate this vibrant and complex journey into the sacred realms of guitar virtuosity... a mystical merging of guitar into Sitar. As a recording artist whose influence is deeply rooted in North Indian classical music, Stevin McNamara's journey has been far from typical. Raised in South Africa, he grew to love the rich sound of traditional African music. Upon moving to the United States he furthered his musical pedigree studying at the elite Berklee College of music. In the early 1970's he met and studied Sitar under the tutelage of master teacher Ram Chakravarty (then professor of music at Wesleyan), starting a musical journey that culminates with the introduction of Yogitar. Combining the complex nature of Indian song structure with his insightful and unique musical stylings, Stevin McNamara has created a meditative guitar masterpiece for the ages. Many of the pieces have a distinct raga-like form. There is the drone (tamboura) that is critical to Indian music. It portrays the unchanging inner music to which we are all connected and provides a tonal center from which the melody emanates. The piece usually starts with what's called "Alap" a slow, pure introduction to set the mood. Then there is the "Gat" a melodic section set to a fixed rhythmic time cycle. From there, further inspiration takes one deeper into improvisation or spontaneous composition. Many performers of Indian music are improvising 90 percent of the time while still strictly adhering to the rules of the particular raga they are performing. This traditional way of portraying a raga has been in existence for centuries. The word Raga itself means "that which colors the mind." It is not only a scale, or some fixed sequence of notes, it is a living entity that, when correctly performed, produces a "sound manifestation" in the performer and their audience. It is an experience that is truly out of this world...