wikipedia.orgTraditional Instruments of Iran
Welcome to my site. As part of the project on the music of Iran I chose to focus on the instruments that are used. I hope that you enjoy looking at the different instruments used in this music. Please also explore the links below for further study.
Purpose
In helping to bring to light the music of Iran it is my intention to provide you with an introduction to the main instruments used in the music as well as provide and in-depth comparison to one instrument that is of particular interest to me. I have come to notice, in my study, that the Iranian Tar has some stark similarities to my instrument, the guitar. The Tar, which is an ancient precursor to the modern day guitar, stands out above the other instruments because of its place in antiquity, its connection with even the most recent pop culture in today's world, and its close relation to the guitar. The Tar is also the main instrument upon which all of the radifs (classical repertoire) were either written or played in the most in depth way.
The Tar
The tar is a lute used in the traditional music of Iran. It is one of the primary, and most ancient, instruments used in the classical tradition. The tar is known for its characteristic sound, which is one of the primary definers of Persian classical music, as well as its highly individual characteristics. It is considered one of the most complete instruments because of the over arching ability to play most, if not all, of the radifs and because most of the radifs used came directly from the tar. It is also held in relatively high esteem compared to other Iranian instruments because of this.
Its body is made of two wooden bowels of either Indian berry or walnut wood covered with thin sheep skin. The neck is a separate piece altogether containing the finger board and the frets. In its earlier forms the tar only had four or five strings. The sixth string was added in the mid-eighteenth century by a master musician named Darvish-khan thus completing what is now the modern tar. The melodic strings of the tar are organized in three sets of two strings. Each set is tuned to the same pitch. Two of the sets of strings are made of steel and the lowest set is made of either brass or steel wound in copper. In addition to the sets of strings the tar also has a bass string that runs outside of the finger board for drone type affect. This low string is most often tuned to a G one octave below the middle set of melodic strings. The tuning of the tar is variable depending upon the dastgah being played though it is usually tuned in a succession of fourths and fifths with a G as the lowest note i.e. G C G C (from bottom to top) with the single copper wound string standing alone from the other sets.
Another device that the tar has to adapt to the particular dastgah that is being played is the convention of twenty-eight moveable frets made of animal gut. This gives the tar player the flexibility to better refine their tunings and timbres to fit the dastgah that they are playing in and to maintain an individual voice through the timbre that they prefer.
The tar also has another feature that lends to its characteristic sound. That feature is the fact that it is played using a plectrum (pick) that is usually made of brass, though it can also be made of pieces of animal horn. This gives it a bit more of a harsh, twangy, or nasally type sound that is common in Iranian classical music.
For sound bites of the Tar click here. back to top
Tar or Guitar?
Now that you know what the Iranian tar is I would like to explore the differences between the western, or European, guitar and this Iranian precursor. Before we continue, however, I would like to qualify, in my comparison, that when I talk of the guitar I am referring to the modern acoustic guitar only. It seems to me that it would be unfair to place the Iranian tar along side all of the other types of guitars, such as the electric guitar, because these are more modern in invention and use. Comparing the tar to the acoustic guitar seems to be a better comparison because they are more closely related to each other.
As we have already explored, the Iranian tar is an ancient instrument that is thought to be a ancestor to the family of instruments known as lutes. The guitar, in all of its forms, is a direct descendant of the family of lutes that were built and played throughout Europe, particularly in Spain and Italy.
One of the obvious differences between the tar and the guitar is the fretting system. The traditional guitar has twenty-two fixed frets divided into intervals of half-steps. The tar has up to 28 moveable frets which can be tuned according to the requirements of the dastgahs. The tunings of the tar are also quite different from that of the guitar (for tar tunings please refer to the above description). The guitar is tuned mostly in fourths which both the highest and lowest strings tuned two octaves apart and the strings in between each at a different pitch. This lends itself to a more versatile use in every key without the need to retune for each key. Any retuning of a guitar is available but this is normally done for aesthetic reasons or specific requirements of a composition.
Another difference between the tar and the guitar is the shape of and the way that the body is made. As previously discussed, the tar is made with two bowels of wood with a thin layer of sheep skin on the face. The body of the guitar, on the other hand, is on chamber made entirely out of wood. One type of wood, like sturdy mahogany, is used for the back and sides and another springier type of wood, like spruce or western red cedar, is used for the top to provide for increased resonance and better tone. This use of wood instead of sheep skin for the top also lends to a warmer timbre that that of the tar.
Interestingly enough the melodies played on the tar were often thought to help with a variety of ailments. As well, the thought that this instrument can help to induce a relaxed state of mind is also present. This is much the same thought that people generally have when they think of the acoustic guitar. Both of these instruments have, inherent in their sound, an intimate quality that lends itself to these ideas of healing or relaxing properties in their melodies.
As you can see the Iranian tar and the western guitar have quite a few similarities. Both their histories and uses provide quite an interesting comparison. Now I would like to turn your attention to the rest of the instruments used in Iranian music.
Santur, Tombak, Oud, Tanbur, Setar, Ney, Daf, Kamanchech
wikipedia.org
The Santur is a trapezoidal wooden instrument similar to the western hammer dulcimer. It has seventy-two strings grouped in eighteen sets of four. Each of the strings in a set are tuned to the same pitch totaling twenty-seven individual pitches. The lower pitched strings are made of bronze and the middle ranged strings are mad of steel. The Santur covers a range of three octaves and is played by two delicate wooden hammers called mezrabs. The body of the instrument can be made of several different types of wood including walnut, betel palm, rosewood, or others depending on the desired tone and timbre. In addition to the wood for the body, the Santur also has several carefully placed sound posts inside the body and two small rosettes (or sound holes), similar to that of a guitar or lute, for increased resonance and amplification.
For sound bites of the Santur click here. back to top
dejkam.com
The Tombak is a grail shaped drum that is often used as the primary rhythmic instrument. The body of the drum is carved from a single piece of mulberry wood and can be ornately decorated. The top, or drum head, is made from sheep or goat skin which is stretched and glued to the wooden body. This is different from wooden hand drums from countries like Africa which are often made with ropes or metal frames that hold the head on. The ropes/frames provide easy ways to tune where as the glued top must be tuned by heating the animal skin head. The Tombak is played by rolling and snapping the fingers of both the right and left hands in specific rhythmic patterns. These patterns are often used to ornament or end phrases in music.
For sound bites of the Tombak click here. back to top
Oud (Barbat)
iranmusic.tv
The Oud is an eleven stringed ancestor the European lute. It is played with a plectrum (pick) like a modern day guitar, though it has no frets, and is used as a bass instrument in Persian music. It is most commonly tuned thusly: GADGCF or in fourth intervals. The top of the instrument has three sound holes for better increased projection. The eleven strings are grouped in five pairs of two with the lowest string left by itself. Tradition says that the oud was originally invented by Lamek, the sixth grandson of Adam, while he was grieving over his dead son.
wikipedia.org
The Tanbur is a pear shaped stringed instrument made of mulberry wood. It is the ancestor to most long necked lute instruments and was traditionally used in Kurdish sacred ceremonies held in what is now western Iran. The Tanbur has 14 gut frets and is most often tuned in intervals of fourths or fifths, much like the western guitar or violin. It is played by either strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers of the right hand. Sometimes the Tanbur is used to musically represent elements of nature such as the sound of a running stream or chirping birds.
For sound bites of the Tanbur click here. back to top
wikipedia.org
The modern Setar is a small four stringed fretted lute made of mulberry wood. In its original form the setar had only three strings. It is thought that the fourth string was added only in the last two-hundred years. The setar is thought to have been in use since before the rise of Islam in Persia. It has between twenty-five and twenty-seven moveable frets made of animal gut and is played by plucking the strings with the right hand fingers. Since the setar is a small instrument its timbre is one of the more intimate of the Persian instruments. It is the chosen instrument of the Sufi mystics because of this intimate sonority.
For sound bites of the Setar click here. back to top
iranmusic.tv
The Ney is one of the main instruments in Persian music. It is thought that the ney could be the oldest pitched instrument known to humanity. The ney is a reed flute with a range extending any where between two to three octaves. It contains five finger holes on its top face and one thumb hole on its reverse side. The upper end is covered by brass making a mouth piece of sorts. The brass mouth piece is placed behind the upper front teeth when the ney is played. The placement of the mouth piece allows the air from the player to enter the flute behind the teeth producing the signature timbre that makes the ney flute stand out from other types of flutes that most people are familiar with.
For sound bites of the Ney click here. back to top
iranmusic.tv
The Daf is a Persian frame drum made of a wooden band with goat skin stretched over top of it. It is played with the fingers of either hand by tapping the skin in various ways to create different timbres. The Daf also has rings placed around the inside of the ring to add a tambourine like sound for even more timboral possibilities. It is often used as a secondary percussion instrument in Persian music.
iranmusic.tv
The Kamancheh is a small bowed instrument about the size of a viola. It has four strings tuned in either fourths or fifths depending upon the region of the country. It is often known as the spiked fiddle because of the spike protruding from the bottom of the sound box. The sound box is round, has no standard shape or size, and is covered with a thin layer of animal skin. It can be made either of one piece of wood or of many ribs. The kamanchech is played by drawing a bow across the strings and turning the body of the instrument to change strings instead of changing the bow like the viola or violin.
In addition to the previous information any readers are also invited to check these following links for further study.
Personal Impact
I have really enjoyed learning about Iranian music. Before learning about this music I had no idea that there were other classical music traditions in the world. It is so incredible that a completely different system of music could be considered classical. The tradition runs so many hundreds of years into the past that it has influenced entire cultures in traditions that are far longer standing than many that we have in the west. I also was amazed at the connection that the Persians place between their music and their spiritual beliefs. As a Christian I want to learn from that and bring it more into the culture of my church in a way that goes beyond just singing songs. As a jazz musician I am always trying to connect my faith with my music. I was really inspired with the way that the Iranians approached this. Also, the way that they learn the music by internalizing the entire repertoire until it becomes almost completely a part of the player was fascinating to me. In jazz much the same thing is aspired to and learning that that is part of other cultures gave me a broader understanding of how that is useful in the process of making music.
I really think that everyone should have the experience of learning the music of other cultures. It is helpful to learn about other cultures because it provides a broader understanding of how our own culture works. As it pertains to music, learning about other cultures can help us have a broader understanding of our own musical culture. We see in Iranian music that the classical tradition is more of a folk type culture than our own even from its early development. It is interesting to note the more commercialized nature of our own classical music as apposed to the Iranian music which seems to be a bit less commercial. Learning about this music creates the need for us to rethink our ideas of what music really is. Is it just something to listen to for fun? Is it just another means to distract ourselves from the reality of the world through ear buds? Is it something to be performed and held in such high esteem that the performers themselves are almost worshipped? I encourage any one who is interested to learn more about Iranian classical music and its traditions. Your musical horizons will most certainly be broadened and you will reap the benefits from your learning for years to come.