Tar

Tar is one of the most ancient classical Iranian string instruments known for its highly original and traditional characteristics. It has six cords and is played by a metal plectrum or horn. The body, which is the instrument’s main bowel, is usually made in two wooden pieces (of walnut or Indian berry trees). The handle is made separately and then connected to the bowel. The word “tar” was originally obtained from the Sanskrit word “tarah”. It was made for the very first time with four cords, while the number was then increased to five and eventually to six. Its plectrum is either made from metal or a tough horn. Besides the conventional tars, two other types, alto (outar) and soprano, have also been made recently. It should be noted that tar is one of the most complete musical instruments.

***************

Iranians consider the tar the “sultan of instruments.” Its present form was developed in 18th century and has been the choice of Persian classical masters since. It has a double-bowl body of mulberry wood with a lambskin face. The fingerboard has 28 frets and the three double strings are played with a plectrum.

***************

The long and narrow neck has a flat fingerboard running level to the membrane and ends in an elaborate box with nine wooden pegs of different dimensions, adding to the decorative effect. It has three courses of double “;singing”strings (each pair tuned in unison: the first two courses in plain steel, the third in wound copper), that are tuned in fourths (C, G, C) plus one “;flying”bass string (wound in copper and tuned in G (an octave lower than the singing middle course) that runs outside the fingerboard and passes over an extension of the nut. There are also two pairs of shorter sympathetic strings that run under the bass and over two small copper bridges about midway the upper side of the fingerboard: their tuning is variable according to the piece to be played and with the performer’s tastes: (the tuning is somewhat imprecise also because both strings of the same pair are tightened by the same peg.)

Setar

Setar is one of the Iranian plectrum-type string instruments, which is plucked by the player’s forefinger’s nail. Setar or Setouyeh is a three-cord instrument, which was converted into a four-cord instrument under the reign of the Qajars. It is, in general, an ancient and gnostic instrument usually played at the gathering of dervishes most often held at Khaneqahs (monasteries or houses of dervishes), which makes the listener feel high. In view of its special vocal features, Setar is known as the instrument appealing to the listener’s heart and the Iranian musical instrument ranking second among Iranian musicians. It is simpler than other instruments both in appearance and the method of playing. Its low tune, compactness and tenderness are the main reason for its great appeal in the course of the past centuries. It is made in various types and sizes including large, small, flat and zir-abai. Sehtar is generally made from berry wood, while at some occasions that of pear or walnut tree might be used as well. Its bowel is a pear-shaped semi-sphere, while its thin and delicate handle is tenderer than that of other instruments.

Santur

The Santur is a trapezoid-shaped hammered zither, which is struck with light wooden hammers. Originating in Persia, it has traveled the world from North Africa to Spain, throughout Eastern Europe, and to China, Korea and Japan.

The Santur has seventy-two strings which are arranged on adjustable tuning pegs in eighteen sets of four. The strings are made of bronze (9 in the low register) and steel (9 in the middle register). Each set of four strings creates one single tone. There are a total of 27 tones available covering approximately three octaves. The body of the Santur is usually made of walnut but can be made of various types of wood depending on the desired sound.

The Santur is played with two very fine wooden hammers, sometimes covered with felt, and held with 3-4 fingers. In contrast to the playing technique of the similar Turkish or Indian instruments, where heavy hammers create tremolo by “falling” on the strings, with the Persian santur, tremolo is created and directed by the musicians wrist.

The Santur can be made from various kinds of wood (walnut, rosewood, betel palm, etc.) depending on the desired sound quality.

The front and the back of the instrument are connected by sound posts whose positions play an important role in the sound quality of the instrument. Although the Santur is very old, it was neither depicted in miniatures, nor presented in any other medium until the nineteenth century. The secret of making the trapezoid-shape sound box lies in the quality and age of the wood, as well as in the arrangement of the sound posts which connect the table of the instrument to its back.

http://www.iranmehr.com/music/instruments/

Tombak

It is the chief percussion instrument of Persian classical music. It is a one-headed drum carved from a single piece of wood. It is placed under the player’s arm and held in-between the fingers of his two hands. Its body is made from wood, ceramic or light metals. But wood is the most convenient material. Tombak is comprised of various sections including the hide, a big mouth and a small one. It is the only percussion instrument in the world that might be played by making full use of all the fingers of both hands. It became known as Tombak during the reign of the Sassanids. It is placed horizontally on the player’s leg and is played by two hands in a special way. The tune played by Tombak has no definite pitch, but as far as its playing technique is concerned, it is one of the most advanced instruments which its structure contains hide.

Kamancheh

Derived from the Persian words kaman, ‘bow’ or ‘arc’, and cheh, ‘little’ is an ancient spiked fiddle which is ancestor to most modern European and Asian bowed instruments. It can now be found throughout the area stretching from North Africa to China. The instrument’s name varies from region to region (e.g. kamange, saz-e Keshmiri, joze, ghiczak), as does its shape (it can be spherical or cylindrical and have an open or closed back.)

The Iranian classical Kamancheh has a spherical shape, its bridge resting on the surface of a soundbox covered by a membrane of animal skin. The soundbox has no standard size and can be made entirely from one piece of wood or from many ribs. Its rounded body, made from different kinds of wood (e.g. mulberry, walnut, oak, or maple), has a spike on bottom to support the instrument.

The kamancheh’s four metal strings are generally tuned in fourths or fifths. The instrument is held vertically and the bow, made of horsehair, moves horizontally, with the performer rotating the instrument when he or she moves from one string to another.

Ney

The Ney, which is probably the oldest pitched instrument known to man, is an oblique rim blown reed flute with five finger holes in front and one thumb hole in the back. One of the principle instruments of Traditional Persian Music, the Ney has a range of two and a half octaves. The upper end is covered by a short brass cylinder which is anchored in the tiny space between the upper incisives of the player. Sound is produced when a stream of air is directed by the tongue toward the opening of the instrument. In this way, sound is produced behind the upper teeth, inside the mouth, which gives the Ney a distinct timbre than that of the sound produced by the lips on the outside of the mouth.

Barbat / Oud / Ud / Lute

In Persian the word “bat” means duck, while “bar” is the duck’s breast. Lute is one of the most ancient Iranian instruments. It is called “roud” by the Persians and Arabs call it “oud”. Some believe that lute has either come from Hairah to the west of the Euphrates river near Mada’en, the education center of the Sassanid princes, or from a city known as “Bab”. It has also been referred to by many other names including “oud”, “mozhar”, “motar” and “keran”. Lute is considered to be of Persian origin and playing it has been quite common in Iran since the ancient times. Once the Iranian lute was taken to Saudi Arabia, the Arabs, likewise, started making it from wood and called it “oud”. Its bowel is very large and pear-shaped. It has an extremely short handle, so that the cords mainly extend along its bowel. It has 10 cords or five pairs of cord and is played by a plectrum. A chicken or peacock feather serves as plectrum. Lute produces a dull, soft and melancholy tone.

Daf

The Daf is a type of frame drum that is depicted in many Persian miniatures and has reliefs from centuries ago. Although it appears at first sight to be a relatively simple instrument, the Daf has the potential of producing intricate rhythmic patterns and sounds. The Daf is equipped with metal rings on the inside which add a jingle effect to the sound. The frame is covered with goat-skin.

http://www.iranmehr.com/music/instruments/

Tanbur / Tanbour

The Tanbur is the ancestor to most long-necked, plucked stringed instruments. Its pear shaped belly is normally carved out of one piece of mulberry wood with a long neck and fourteen gut frets. Some modern Tanburs are made of bent ribs of mulberry wood. The sound board, 3-4 millimeters thick, is also made of mulberry wood which has numerous small holes for better resonance.

The tanbur has a unique playing technique by which the strings are strummed with the fingers of the right hand to produce a very full and even tremolo called shorr (literally meaning the pouring of water). This technique along with various kinds of plucking, usually with the index and pinky fingers, enables the musicians to produce different effects and various rhythmic accentuations which imitate the natural sounds of their environment such as a running stream, a water fall, a bird chirping or a horses’ gallop, all translated into musical rhythms and sounds.

The ancient tanbur used to have two silk or in some instances gut strings tuned in 4th or 5th, similar to the dotar (meaning two stringed), its close relative widely used in Eastern Iran. It has also been regarded as the tanbur of Khorasan in literary texts. Although these two instruments share a similar history and are basically the same, they have developed their own repertoires, playing techniques and functions. According to the master instrument maker Ustad Mehdi Kamalian the name tanbur is taken from the word tandur or tanur, meaning clay oven, as early instrument makers dried tree trunks chosen to carve the belly in tanours for several hours in order to perfect the sound. Gradually the instrument took on the name tanbur. The present tanbur has three strings and covers the range of one octave and two notes. The lower pair of strings, made of steel, are tuned in unison normally anywhere from a (flat) to (b) and are fingered together functioning as the melody strings. The top string made of copper or brass, slightly thicker, tuned in lower fourth or fifth, functions as a sympathetic string with occasional fingering by the thumb.

The tanbur has always been considered a sacred instrument associated with the Kurdish Sufi music of Western Iran and it is believed that its repertoire is based on ancient Persian music. Up until the last fifty years this instrument was used only during djamm gatherings (devotional or liturgic ceremonies) of the Ahle-Haqq (the people of truth), followers of a particular Sufi order.

By Keyhan Kalhor

Rebab / Robab

The word Rebab [robab] is an Arabic term that can be translated as bowed string instrument. Dating back at least to the 8th century, the Rebab has been closely associated with Islamic culture and is thought to be the earliest ancestor of the contemporary violin.

While its roots are in Persia, the Rebab’s influence has reached as far east as Indonesia and west to regions of Europe and Africa. Its diffusion is closely tied to the growth of the Islamic world and the development of extensive trade routes after the 10th century.

As part of the generic ‘lute’ family, there are two basic types of Rebab: wooden fiddles with pear-shaped or elongated bodies, and spiked fiddles, named for the extension or spike on the bottom of the instrument on which it stands when played. Generally, both styles have 2 or 3 gut or other strings.

Spike-fiddle Rebabs used in the Javanese gamelan are made from wood, or sometimes from a hollowed, half coconut shell covered with hide. This body is attached to a long, narrow wooden neck which has no frets; instead, the fingers of your left hand become moveable bridges. These instruments ornament the melodic line, creating a dialogue with the singers.

Qeychak / Qichak

It is one of the ancient Iranian classical instruments. The oldest sample instrument still remaining is comprised of a dual box and the surface of the lower one is covered by a hide. The produced tune is first transferred from the lower box to the upper one, from where it is broadcast through two wide openings. This part of the instrument is very interesting from the scientific point of view, since a second box has been added on its surface in order to amplify the tune. This makes the instrument much richer in producing a great variety of tunes. It has 4-6 cords, which similar to conventional Kamancheh, have been extended on a wooden box. It is played by a bow of particular shape, while the musician simultaneously creates the desired tune by plucking the cords by his/her left hand. The instrument’s box is made of berry wood.

Dohol /Davul

It is a big drum covered by a piece of goat hide. It is usually played in accompaniment to sorna in the villages, agricultural areas and plains and is made in various sizes. Its greater version is commonly played in Baluchestan. Dohol is played by a rather long wooden or osseous rod on one side, while on the other side tunes are produced by plucking the instrument with a few small bones tied to the fingers of the player’s other hand. The dohols played in southern Iran are cylindrical in shape and their two bases are covered by goat hide. Dohols commonly played in Fars province (Fasa) are different in form and quite similar to the western instrument known as timpani. Its body is metallic and made from copper, while its goat hide is fastened by leather band.

Sornay / Surna / Zurna / Zurla (oboe)

It is commonly played almost across the country in accompaniment to kettledrum and timbale in special traditional occasions. For instance, in Kurdestan, western Iran, the demise of people is announced by playing sorna along with kettledrum. Once the public is gathered around the grave of the deceased person, some verses pointing to the unstable material life are sung in accompaniment to the exciting tunes played by sorna and tambourine. Then to rise the spirit of the participants and to divert their attention from the sad event the musicians switch to fast tempos. In northern Iran the instrument is played in accompaniment to some special sports events including tightrope walking. Also a special tune is commonly played by sorna during a wrestling game.

source: nay-nava.blogfa.com