Central Asia

For this website I regard "Central Asia" as the area around the mountains of North Afghanistan and India (the Pamirs, Karakoram and Himalayas) - as all the instruments in that region look remarkably similar. But although most of them are long-neck lutes - they differ quite enough to make this for instruments a very interesting region.

Remember that in this area all instruments are locally made, so there is a wide variety between makers and you may encounter quite some differences from the descriptions given here. Also the spelling of names is often slightly different. As the different peoples (tribes) in this area are living in mixed groups, do also not take the official borders very sharply. For some background information about this area see : Advantour.

Click here to hop straight to : Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, West China (Uyghurs), Afghanistan, Pakistan (NWFP and Baluchistan), Ladakh, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan.

For more similar long-neck lutes (from Iran, Turkey and the Caucasian countries), see the page Middle East.

The komuz is one of the few fretless lutes of Central Asia. It is mainly used in Kyrgyzstan, but can also be found in neighboring countries.

The body, neck and pegbox of the komuz are carved from one single piece of hollowed out wood. The back is quite flat. The front is covered with some thin piece of pine wood, the neck (flush with the front) with a thin piece of different wood as fingerboard, which also covers the front of the pegbox. Another thin layer of wood is covering only the front of the pegbox. Everything, except the front and the fingerboard, is painted dark brown.

There are 3 rounded T-shaped friction pegs on the left side of the (open from the back) pegbox. The 3 nylon strings run over a metal zero-fret through little holes to the back. They go over a small loose wooden bridge and are tied to a small piece of leather which is fixed to the edge of the body. There is one very small soundhole in the front. The tuning is usually a e a.

The komuz is played mainly by strumming with the index finger; the two lower strings are mainly used as drones. Music includes (virtuoso) instrumental pieces and accompanying epic singing.

	In the 1950s the Soviets designed a factory made komuz, with a body built like a guitar, a fretted fingerboard and machine tuners. These instruments were made in different sizes like soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
seen during concert in Holland in 2009	For more information see kyrgyzmusic.

The dombra (or dombyra or dombira or dombora) is an instrument that looks quite similar to the dutar. However it is made of staves, and it has a flat peghead instead of a neck extension. In West-China it is often called dongbula. Notice there is a 3-string dumbyra in use by the Bashkir of the Ural (see Europe East)

The body of the dombra is made from 7-10 ribs, glued together, with a spruce front. Usually the top and bottom of the front is decorated with figures : either painted on, or made from different coloured pieces of wood. Around the edge of the body is a narrow strip of veneer. It has a small round soundhole.

The neck is separate, with also the flat tuning head joined on, slightly backwards. The two violin type friction pegs are inserted from the back. The neck has a fingerboard, flush with the front. The frets are tied-on nylon (single binding), joined to each other from one long piece of string. The back of the body and the neck and peghead are painted dark brown.

The two nylon strings run over a loose small wooden bridge to one pin at the bottom of the body. Tuning could be : b e'.

Playing the dombra is mainly by strumming with the finger, occasionally hitting the scratch plate. The left hand only fingers the first string, with the thumb occasionally the second string. Music is sometimes instrumental but mainly to accompany singing.

dombra example : bought via internet from Kazakhstan 2009 L=920 B=200 H=65 scale 690mm

There is a second type of dombra, used in South Kazakhstan (called Abai dombyra), which has a different body, with an almost flat back (slightly rounded with the top halfway the neck and the bottom) and with a flat end (like the panduri in Georgia - see Middle East). The sides are slightly tapering : the back is smaller than the front.

Another type of dombra has 3 strings and is much larger (see under).

There is also a triangular shaped version with metal frets (see Kalmykia dombra under Middle East), which is used to accompany throat singing.

The sherter is an old Kazakh instrument which body looks a bit like its bowed cousin the Kazakh kylkobuz. The sherter is made in the usual soprano ("prima"), alt, (tenor), and bass sizes (see also next item).

The back of the body of the sherter is slightly curved, and usually made from several (3-6) ribs, glued together, ending in a flat rectangular base. The sides are shallow.
Other models have the bodies carved from one piece of wood.

The top half of the front is made of thin (spruce) wood.
The bottom half is also covered with thin wood, but with a large square opening, covered with (camel-) skin. Usually the soundholes in the wooden top are in Kazakh folk-art decoration.

On old sherters the entire front was covered with skin, but nowadays sherters may also be made with the front entirely covered in wood, especially the larger sizes (see under).

The neck is separate, with a flat tuning head (often a mirror of the body shape). Three friction pegs are inserted from the back, but nowadays they may also use three separate guitar-tuners. The neck has a fingerboard, raised to the front. The frets are guitar-like, in a western scale.

The three steel strings run over a loose wooden bridge (on the skin) to three pins at the flat bottom of the body. Tuning could be like : e a d.

Playing the sherter is mainly by plucking the strings separately with the fingers.

The sherter (see above) comes also in some large sizes, like bass and even contra-bass sizes. However these sizes are often not made with a skin front, but a front completely made of wood. The decoration looks more like the dombra and these instruments are called bas dombyra (with a length of about 115cm) and the large one : kontra bas dombyra (with a length of about 170cm). Notice there is also a large roundish bass domra (Russian style), see Europe East.

The back and sides of the large Kazakh instruments are made like the sherter, but more rounded : several staves glued together, ending in a flat base. The general body shape is like the sherter, but they have a small round soundhole and the decoration on top and bottom of the front is painted or in contrasting wood.

The neck is also like the sherter, separate - with a raised fretboard with metal inlayed frets in a western scale. The flat tuning head has usually large machine tuners. The three thick strings run over a loose wooden bridge to tree pins at the flat bottom of the body. Tuning could be like : E A D. Playing the bas dombyra (and kontra bas dombyra) is mainly by plucking the separate strings with a plectrum to accompany other instruments. right : relative size of (alt)sherter, bas dombyra, and kontra bas dombyra. ( picture from Zethigen)

(Turkmen) dutar

The Turkmen dutar looks in shape very much like the Iranian tanboor (see page Middle East), but it has only 2 strings.

The body of the Turkmen dutar is carved from one piece of mulberry wood. The thin top is also made of mulberry wood, and slightly rounded. There are several small soundholes drilled in the front in some pattern, and one small hole on the back. The entire instrument is left unvarnished.
The neck is quite short (for a dutar) and oval round. It includes the pegbox, which is in a slight angle to the back.

The frets are made from round metal hoops, welded together - in a chromatic scale. There is a groove on the left side of the neck.

The two thin metal strings go over a small metal nut, under a fret-like hoop to two Y-shaped brass (!) tuning pegs on the front of the pegbox. The strings run over an extremely tiny bridge (half a matchstick thick !) to some plastic device on the edge of the body.

Playing is mainly strumming with the index finger; the left hand fingers both strings. Music can be instrumental, or to accompany singing.

The afghan rabab is the main plucked lute of Afghanistan and one of the few short neck lutes of Central Asia. Quite similar instruments are also used in neighbouring countries like Iran, Tajikistan, Kashmir,and North Pakistan. More to the North, in Uzbekistan, factory-made rababs are used, with guitar-style frets (see under).
The afghan rabab (or rabob or rubab, or also Kabuli rabab or Herati rabab) is the predecessor of the Indian sarod (see India). Recently a different type of rabab is made in Iran (see Middle East).

The body and neck of the afghan rabab are carved from one big piece of mulberry wood. It is rather narrow but deep (like a boat). The body and neck is hollowed out from the front. The body has (between the skin and wood top) on both sides a deep ridge which would suggest a bowed origin. The bottom half of the front is covered with some glued-on (goat) skin and the top half (including the hollow neck) with a thick piece of wood. The intricate carved sickle shaped pegbox is a separate piece of wood, joined to the neck.

The instruments are often decorated. Usually there is bone inlay (mainly in black-and-white) of the fingerboard and the back of the neck, at the edges of the pegbox, and at the back and sides of the body. On expensive instruments the fingerboard is completely inlayed. The body usually also has some wood-carvings. Often the entire instrument is painted dark brown or black, but not varnished. Often some colourfull tussles are hanging from the top.

The rabab has 4 frets, made from several windings of tied-on gut or nylon. Some rababs have an extra half-tone fret between the first and second fret). The strings are fixed to friction pegs on both sides of the open, decorated pegbox, which bends back. All pegs are flowershaped. The 3 main strings are made of (twisted, coloured) nylon and are fixed to the pegs on the right side; the 2 or 3 metal drone strings (next to them) are fixed to pegs on the left side of the pegbox.

From (9 to 15) pegs in the side of the body run thin metal strings, tuned to the notes of the particular scale of the music piece. These strings are fixed invisible (inside) to these pegs, come out of the neck through small holes, and run over a tiny individual bone pole "bridge".

The main strings and drones run over the loose horn bridge (very low on the skin), to one or two big pins at the bottom of the body. The resonance strings go on a lower level through holes in the same bridge. The highest tuned resonance string goes over a special higher part of the bridge. Tuning of the afghan rabab could be : ff G c f.

Playing is with a heavy plectrum, in a kind of mandolin/banjo style. Only the first 3 strings are fingered, and occasionally the drones are plucked for certain rhythmic accents. Chords are never played.
The sound is quite strong, with lots of echo from the resonance strings. The music is instrumental in ensemble for dancing, but also classical ghazal (kind a raga's) music is popular. In Kashmir it is also used in an ensemble that plays songs.

	afghan rabab example : bought in Peshawar, Pakistan 1992
	L=800 B=150 H=190mm scale 610mm

at left : a rabab I saw being played in Herat (Afghanistan), 1975   at right : a rabab I saw being played in Srinagar (Kashmir), 1975.

In Afghanistan a dutar is used, in size similar to the one from Uzbekistan. As it is mainly used in the town of Herat (West Afghanistan) it is often called herati dutar. Is has no silk strings, but metal strings, and most of them have extra drones and resonance strings, so in sound it resembles more an Indian sitar than a dutar.

The body of the herati dutar is not made from staves, but carved from one block of mulberry wood (like other dotars from Iran and Afghanistan), to a very thin shell (less than 2 mm !!). Around the body and straight over it are black-and-white bone strips for decoration. Inside the body is under the soundboard, a wooden cross for strengthening.

The body of my example instrument was split during transport, so I could see the inside, and measure the thickness of the shell in mm - the crack is now repaired

The soundboard is also made of mulberry, and has many small soundholes in a pattern. The neck is separate, and wider than the Uzbek dutar, as it has 14 strings on it. Often the front and back of the neck are inlayed with black and white (horn) decoration with typical Afghan motifs. The body and the neck are left unvarnished.

The frets are tied-on nylon strings (in red and some in black) in quadruple windings, in a full western scale. The two main silk strings of the normal dutar are replaced by 4 metal strings (one melody string and 3 drone strings) and at the left side of the neck extra pegs are fitted to accommodate (usually 10) thin metal resonance strings, which run parallel to the main strings. The strings can be tuned with T-shaped friction tuners, two on the front, two on the side of the neck extension.

All strings run over a small loose bone bridge to 2 bone pegs at the end of the body. The bridge has a small raised edge on the left side, so the higest resonance string on the left can be plucked separately for rhythm effects (like on the afghan rabab).

Playing the herati dutar is with a wire finger plectrum, with similar music as played on the afghan rabab.

top : from LP Afghanistan left : the herati dutar and afghan rabab played during concert by Gada Mohammad, 2004

In Afghanistan the tanbur (or tambur) is different from the tanbur that is in use in Uzbekistan. It is mainly played in the Northeast, in Mazar-i-Sharif and Kabul.
The Afghan tanbur used to look a bit like Indian sitars (wide hollow neck and gourd-like body), but nowadays they seem to resemble more the Herati dutar. Although these two instruments look quite similar, the body contour of the tanbur is rounder, and the neck is hollow. It is similar to the Tajik setor.

The body of an Afghan tanbur is usually carved from one piece of (mulberry) wood, with a thin wooden soundboard. The neck is separate, and also hollowed out. A thin piece of wood is glued on top of it (like a fingerboard, or inlayed in the neck), flush with the soundboard. The frets are tied-on gut (several windings), in a scale that differs between makers and/or players.
There is often some decoration like inlay on the neck and some woodcarvings, but no large soundholes - just small holes in a pattern in the front. The instrument is left unvarnished (but with a colour coating).

It has 3 courses (either single or double) of metal strings (all the same gauche), which run over a bone or horn bridge to two pegs at the end of the body. The bridge is either flat with all strings over it, or with the main strings separate over it, and the resonance strings running through holes with a slightly higher end for the rhythm strings, like on the Afghan rabab.

At the left side of the neck are 7 to 12 extra pegs for the extra resonance strings. These strings are tied inside the neck to the pegs, and each runs over its own a metal pin bridge. On other tanburs they are just fixed to the side of the pegs.
The Afghan tanbur is played in the same style as the normal tanbur and sitar, with a wire finger plectrum. The music can be accompanying singing and dancing, or (more rarely) playing classical ghazals.

	tanbur and dutar
		picture from book by Jenkins (tanbur and dambura)     under : detail of the inlay on the small example instrument
small scale display instrument bought via eBay 2005 L=700 B=115 H=90 scale 555mm

The dambura is mainly played in the North of Afghanistan. In fact two slightly different kinds existed : the Turkestani (or Hazaragi) and the smaller Badachstani. The last one is now replaced by the similar looking dotar from Tajikistan (see there).

The body of the (Hazaragi) dambura is carved out of a single block of mulberry wood and covered with a soundboard usually also made of mulberry. There is one small sound hole on the back, and several tiny ones drilled in a pattern on the front. The neck is made of mulberry, apricot or something, and joined to the body.

The dambura is fretless, and has two gut or nylon strings fixed to T-shaped flat pegs, both at the front. The strings run over a small wooden bridge to a pin at the end of the body. The instrument is usually left unfinished - just filed, not sandpapered or varnished.
As with all Afghan instruments there is usually some decoration at the back of the body and the neck and tuninghead. On older ones pieces of bone or metal (even coins) were used, nowadays colourfull plastics and beads are the norm.

The dambura is played with lots of banging and scraping on the soundboard, to give a strong rhythmic and percussion effect.

In South West China (called Xinjiang) - at the end of the Taklaman desert, near the Pamir mountains - live the people of the Uyghurs (related to the Turks). They have some special instruments, which can also be found (in slightly different shapes) at the other side of the mountains, in Uzbekistan.
This rabab, which is called after the main town where it is found (Kashgar or Kashi), is a long-neck lute - unlike the afghan rabab, which is a short-neck lute. It is also known as Uyghur rawap (or rawapu or rawab or rewap or rawafu).

The body and the beginning of the neck is carved from one piece of mulberry wood, in a kind of half coconut shape, with two bended horn-like extensions at both sides at the beginning of the neck. The front is covered with a thick skin, often made of python skin. The long half round neck is joined by a V-join to the horns. The frets are tied-on nylon in 3-double windings in an almost chromatic scale. At the left side of the neck is a groove.

The pegbox is glued to the neck, and turns quite sharply backwards in a curve. There are 2 pegs on the right and 3 pegs on the left side of the open pegbox. The pegs are T-shape, but rounded. There are 5 metal strings, with only the first one fingered and a bit separate from the others which serve as drones and resonance strings. The strings run over a small loose wooden bridge on the skin to two pins at the end of the body. There is lots of inlay decoration of black and white horn in fishbone, triangles, stripes, etc. Also the back of the body has inlayed lines.

Playing is with a plectrum, and mainly a kinds of "riffs" to accompany singing. The sound is extremely echoing due to the resonance strings via the skin. The left hand is held quite low under the body, similar to playing the tar.

In Uzbekistan (in towns like Buchara or Tashkent) this kashgar rabab is also used. Here they are factory made, and the frets are inlayed metal, like on a guitar. It is often used to play classical maqam music on it. See Uzbekistan.

Left : The Uyghur maker of the example on the square in Kashgar, 1984 Right : An Uzbek player in Tashkent, 1985

The Uyghurs also use an instrument similar to the tanbur of the Uzbeks; however here it is much longer, and it is slightly different.

The Uyghur tambur is made like the dutar, with about 15 separate ribs of mulberry wood, glued together. The soundboard is some softwood. At the lower left edge is a special piece of wood fitted to protect the softwood while playing. The very long neck is joined to the body (sometimes it can be unscrewed, for easy traveling). The top of the neck is the peghead. The frets are made from pieces of white bone or plastic, glued on in some diatonic scale. The brown coloured fretboard runs a bit over the soundboard, and has also frets glued on it.

There are 3 friction pegs on the front, and 2 on the left. The strings go over a wooden nut, then under a tied-on nylon string fastener, to the pegs. The pegs are T-shape, but round. The 5 metal strings are in fact 3 courses : both first (fingered) and 3th are double.

The strings run over a loose wooden bridge to 3 pins at the end of the body. The entire instrument (like all instruments made in Kashgar) are extremely decorated with inlay in black and white stripes, in herringbone, triangles, squares, etc.

Playing the tambur is done with a wire finger plectrum on the index finger. It is used to accompany singing and instrumental music for dance.

Near Kashgar live not only the Uyghurs, but also the Dolan people. They have their own type of rabab, which looks quite a lot like the kashgar rabab (usually the Chinese spelling/pronounciation of rawab (or rawap) is used for this instrument). Also compare the Pamir robab and the chardha (both see under).

The body and beginning of the neck of the Dolan rawab is carved from a single piece of mulberry wood, in the shape of a halfround ball (like a big coconut). It is hollowed out, and on the top are two extensions - in this case not bended, but straight to both sides. The body is covered with a thick skin. The entire instrument is extremely decorated with inlay (even more than the other Kashgar instruments), including circles and dots.

The neck is just as long, but wider than the kashgar rabab and it does not have any frets. It is glued with a V-join to the body part. The pegbox is separate and turns quite straight backwards.

It has 3 main metal strings (on some rawabs it may be nylon). One peg is on the right side, and 2 on the left side of the open pegbox. The pegs are T-shaped, but rounded. On the left side of the neck are 8 to 16 extra pegs for the metal resonance strings. All strings run over a loose wooden bridge on the skin, to some metal pins at the end of the body.

Playing is with a plectrum, mainly on the first (fingered) string, often hitting the skin with the plectrum in the same stroke. Besides accompanying singing and dance, the dolan rawab is used for classical muqam pieces. The sound is even more echoing than the kashgar rabab, because of the special extra resonance strings.

Music in East of Tajikistan (the Pamir) is mainly played in groups with some percussionists, and bowed ghijak, and several plucked instruments : the afghan rabab, the Tajik robab, the Tajik tanbur and the setor.

The Tajik setor (or setar) of the mountain people of Tajikistan is quite a long instrument and seems closely related to the Afghan tanbur. It also looks like a vague relative of the Indian sitar, which is maybe the reason for the similar name.

The body of the setor is made like a dutar, carved from one piece of mulberry wood. It is quite slender, but deep. The front is also made of mulberry wood, with a few soundholes drilled in it. The neck is made of some fruitwood, and quite wide and hollow, with a straight pegbox. It has a groove on the left side for tying the frets. The front of the neck is covered with a thin piece of wood, like a soundboard. The entire instrument is left unvarnished.
There are 7 T-shaped pegs on the peghead : 4 from the front and 3 from the left.
On the side of the neck (near fret 6, 11 and 16) are 3 more pegs for drone strings.

The neck has frets (in a western scale) made from wound-on nylon (5 windings each). The setor has often 10 metal strings, in an open tuning like : c' f c / fF CC c ff or something. The first two strings form a course, the rest are only drones. The third string runs underneath the 6th fret and has a separate tiny pole bridge on the neck. The 3 short strings also have their own small pole bridges.

The strings run (in almost equal spacing) over a loose wooden bridge low on the soundboard to three wooden pins at the end of the body.

Playing the setor is with a wire fingerplectrum (like the Indian sitar), fingering only the first course, and occasionally strumming the other strings.

For more information about Tajikistan instruments see Tajikistan.

left to right : setor, robab, tanbur (from CD Tajik Music of Badachshan)

tanbur

The tanbur is another Tajik instrument, played in the Pamir, with similarities (like the sickle-shaped pegbox, and the wood/skin body cover) with the Tibetan dramyen.

The complete body, neck and peghead of the tanbur is carved from one piece of abricot wood. The body and most of the neck is hollowed out. The bottom half of the body is covered with a very thick skin. The top half and the hollowed part of the neck is covered with a piece of thin wood. The neck is fretless. Some tiny soundholes are drilled in the front, in a decorative pattern. The back has some simple woodcarvings and the entire instrument is left unvarnished.

The pegbox is sickle-shaped, without a scroll. The 7 pegs are halfround violin type, with 3 on the right and 4 on the left side of the open pegbox.
The 7 nylon strings are evenly, and quite closely spaced; they run over a small loose wooden bridge on the skin, to sliths in the end of the body.
The tuning is usually in 4 courses, and could be : EE' BB G' CC.

Playing the tanbur is usually with a (wooden) plectrum, and mainly fingering the first course; the rest is used as drones and occasionally strummed. It is mainly used to accompany singing in an ensemble.

Left : a maker is carving the body, neck and pegbox of a tanbur from one piece of wood. (from the CD : Tajik Music of Badachshan). Right : the back of the example, which had some cracks repaired by the maker. He had also added a strengthening piece of wood over the weak sickle-shaped pegbox.

This is the robab (or rubab or rabab or robob) of East Tajikistan; it is also known as the Pamir robab. It looks rather similar to the dolan rawap of the Uyghurs, but it is shorter, and has 3 courses of double strings of nylon (with one string starting from a peg halfway the neck).

The body, neck and peghead of the robab is made from a single hollowed-out piece of abricot wood. Just above the body are two extensions (wings) on both sides of the neck; here not bended (like the kashgar rabab) or straight (like the dolan rawap), but slightly sloping down. The neck is also hollow (till the extra peg) and covered with a thin piece of wood, with some soundholes between the wings. The rounded body is covered with a thick skin. There is some woodcarving as decoration on the back.

The fretless neck is a bit tapering and has a straight turned-back pegbox (like the dolan rawap). The tuning head is closed - there is only a hole drilled from the front. The T-shaped pegs are 2 on the right side, and 3 on the left side of the closed pegbox. A sixth smaller peg is halfway the neck on the left side, for the 6th string.

The 6 nylon strings (all of the same gauge) are in 3 courses, and run over a loose wooden bridge on the skin, to 6 separate slits in the edge of the body.
Tuning could be : c' G cc ff.

The instrument is played with a (wooden) plectrum, and is mainly used to accompany singing or play instrumental music in an ensemble (see setor).

In the Pamir you can find some very decorated Pamir robabs, like this one (used by the group Samo), which was a museum instrument. left : difference in size between the robab, tanbur and setor [all instruments handmade by Shavqmamad Pulodov]

This dotar (or dutar or dotor) is mainly played in Tajikstan and the North of Afghanistan. In Afghanistan used to be a smilar instrument, with the name (Badachstani) dambura. In Tajikistan it used to be called dumbrak, but nowadays this name seems forgotten.

This dotar looks smilar to the Afghan (Hazaragi) dambura, but is quite a bit smaller and has a more pointed body end. The body is carved from a single piece of mulberry wood (expensive ones are made from apricot, walnut or something). The front is separate and made of some softer wood. There are several tiny soundholes drilled in the centre of the front, and sometimes a small soundhole in the back.

The neck is separate and usually made of apricot wood. It widens a bit at the end of the pegbox. The entire instrument is left unvarnished, although nowadays the body and the tuninghead may be painted black and even have lots of coloured inlay decoration.

The dotar is fretless, and has two gut or nylon strings fixed to T-shaped round pegs, both at the front. There is only one length of string which runs from one peg over a small loose wooden bridge to a slit at the end of the body and then goes back to the second peg, to serve as second string. On the pegs some extra length is tied as spare.

The dotar is played with the left hand fingering both strings and with the right hand with lots of banging and scraping on the soundboard, to give some rhythmic and percussion effect. (from website JanvanBelle)

In the far northern mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan province (bordering China) is the Hunza district. In this area they use an instrument called chardha (or chardah). It is a local rabab variant, and seems basically a combination of the Pamir robab (the shape of the round body with wings and usually the tuninghead) and the Afghan rabab (the tapering neck with the resonance strings). It is also called Hunza rabab. Compare also the dolan rawap of the Uyghurs.

The complete body and neck of the chardha is carved from a single block of mulberry wood. The front and the total length of the neck are hollowed out from the front. The tapering, wide neck is covered with a top of thin walnut wood : a roundish fingerboard. The shallow round body is covered with goat skin.
It has (like the Pamir robab) a "wing" on each side of the neck in a typical down bended shape. Often there is some simple decoration like tiny soundholes in a pattern in the front (in wood and/or skin). The instrument is unvarnished.

The (4 to 10) frets are tied-on nylon or may nowadays also be made of guitar fretwire. The tuning head is half open from the front, and the back often looks similar to the Tajik robab. It has 5 leaf-shaped pegs : two on the right side and three on the left side.
On the left side of the neck are (like on the Afghan rabab) 9 to 15 (leaf-shaped) tuning pegs for the resonance strings. Each string goes through a hole and over a small metal nut near the peg.

The 5 main nylon strings run over a loose horn bridge, while all the thin metal resonance strings go through holes in the bridge. The highest (left) string runs over a raised corner of the bridge. All strings are fixed to two nails at the end of the body. The tuning of the main strings is like the Afghan rabab : G cc ff .

Playing the Chardha is with a thick plectrum. It is used (like the Afghan rabab) to accompany singing, and for solo music.


The name chardha comes from the Persian "chahar-da" (14), as traditionally the number of strings is 14 (5 main plus 9 resonance strings).

In the mountainous North Western Frontier Provinces is the town of Chitral. In this area a long-neck folk lute is made, called the chitrali sitar.

The body of the chitrali sitar is carved from a single block of mulberry wood. The front is covered with a thin top of mulberry, with some tiny soundholes in the middle. The long thick neck (which is also used for the pegbox) is made of mulberry and joined to the body. The frets are tied-on nylon (in 3 windings), in a special scale (7 notes to an octave). The first 3 frets are coloured nylon. There is no groove along the neck. The back of the body has some woodcarving.

There are 3 pegs on the front, and 2 on the left side; they are T-shaped, but round. The 5 metal strings go over a wooden nut, underneath a copper winding to the pegs. The middle string goes underneath the 4th fret, and at that fret all strings are tuned to the same note (the middle one an octave higher). The first 3 frets seem a bit out of tune.

All thin metal strings run over a very small loose bridge to one nail in the end of the body. The 5 strings (of the same thickness) are at equal distance from each other, although it seems there should be 3 courses, with the first two played together. Tuning would be c c g cc.

Playing is most likely strumming with the index finger, and only left hand fingering the first "course". It is used for folk music, with singing, dancing and jerricans as percussion.

For a bit more information see Shara.

This instrument seems quite rare. While traveling through the mountains of North Pakistan with my newly bought sitar (from Chitral), I could not find anybody able to play it, though many people knew about the instrument. However the Lok Virsa Museum in Islamabad had quite a few Chitrali sitar on display. I can find only one song played on CD (Sounds of Hindu Kush).

In the Pakistan province of Baluchistan (south of Afghanistan and just east of Iran, with the main city of Quetta) musicians use a long-neck lute called tanburag [tanboorag] or dhambura, but also called damburo, or kamach(i).

The body of the tanburag is made from a hollowed piece of wood. It is quite deep. The neck is separate and joined to the body with a lip join.There is a typical small ridge at the join of the neck to the body. The thin plain front is nailed to the edge of the sides. The neck and body are sometimes painted in some bright (red) colours. Often the back of the body is highly decorated with silver colored stencils.

It has 3 metal strings, with 3 quite large round tuning pegs on the front of the straight pegbox. The strings run over a small loose bridge to 3 separate pegs at the end of the body. The long neck has no (or just a few) frets. As the topnut is only to press the strings down on the fingerboard, the (open) strings give a high buzzing sound.

The tanburag is mainly used as a rhythmic drone to accompany singing, or in an ensemble with sorud (fiddle), benjo (bullbull tarang) and drum, or with a donali (flute).

from the book : Music in the World of Islam

tambooro / tanburag

In the Pakistan province of Sindh (halfway in the east) musicians now also use the long-neck lute similar to the tanburag from Baluchistan, but with frets. It is often called tambooro, but may also be called tanburi or tanboora or even tanburag.

The body of this tambooro has the same shape and seems made in the same way as the tamburag from Baluchistan. However it has frets - either bounded frets from nylon or gut, or inlaid metal frets. It seems in a western scale.

It also has the three large tuning pegs to the front, and three metal strings.

This tanburag is played with a plectrum, and mainly used to accompany singing, or in an ensemble.

In the Sindh area they use a large drone lute, called tambooro (or tamburo, or tamboro, or damboro). The shape looks quite similar to the large Indian drone lute tampura, and especially the tandura from Rajasthan (see India).

The body of the tambooro seems made from a hollowed piece of wood and is quite deep and large.
The neck is separate and joined to the body with a lip join. Not sure if the neck is hollow. The tuninghead is the top end of the neck.

There are five large friction pegs : two on the front, two on the left en one on the right side. The neck is fretless, but there are two pole "frets" halfway under the second string, and two double pole "frets" near the nut under string three and four.
The instrument is decorated with often simple (painted) dots and lines, but not so much as the Indian tandura.

The five metal strings run over a rounded loose wooden bridge to a stringholder at the end of the body. The rounded bridge will give a high buzzing sound. It is played with a metal fingerplectrum.

The tambooro is mainly used in a group of five (or even more) as a rhythmic drone to accompany their ceremonious temple singing, especially by faqeers in the shrine of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai in Bhitshah.

from YouTube

In Ladakh (the Tibetan-like mountainous area in the very Northwest of India, north of Kashmir) they use a kind of lute, which they call khopong (or kopong, or gopong, or the Tibetan name for this type of instrument : dranyen). The instrument was hardly used anymore, but recently there seems to be a strong revival, with several local makers - while also instruments from Tibet are used.

The body, neck and head of the locally made khopong is carved from from one piece of wood. The rather large size roundish body and the first part of the neck is hollowed from the front. The round body is covered with a goatskin, which is often coloured green and decorated with a floral motif painting.

The entire instrument is usually painted in bright colours, with often deep blue for the inside of the neck and for the horsehead.

The six nylon strings run in 3 courses over a loose wooden bridge on the skin to a wooden stringholder as extension at the end of the body.
Tuning could be like : aa dd gg.

Playing the khopong is with a plectrum (fixed on a rope) to accompany singing, often with many people and khopongs together. Playing is only in first position.

In spite of the many instruments sold on eBay called "Tibetan", these are really all basically Chinese instruments - although painted in some typical way.

In fact the only real plucked lute of Tibet is the dramyen (until recently mysteriously spelled : sgra-snyan, but with the same pronounciation !). The Chinese call it zhamunie. It is often seen in the streets of Lhasa, played by street musicians, who usually can play it quite well. Similar named, but slightly different instruments exists in Bhutan (see under) and in Ladakh (see above).
The body has some resemblance with the sugudu from China and the sickle shape pegbox with the tanbur from Tajikistan.

The body and beginning of the neck are carved from one piece of wood and hollowed out. The bottom half (which is round) is covered with thick skin - probably goatskin (sometimes painted green); the Chinese zhamunie usually has snake skin. The top half of the body extends at both sides of the neck to a rather sharp point, over the entire depth of the body - not just a shallow extension like on the Kashgar rababs. This half is covered with thin wood, as part of the fingerboard.

Between these two points is a cut-out rosette soundhole. There is a piece of wood under the top edge of the skin, with a gap between the skin top and the wooden top. The back of the body has carvings in such a way that it looks like it is made from separate ribs, with a narrow halfround strip over the "joins".

The long neck with the pegbox is glued with a lip-join to the body. It is fretless. The pegbox is sickle shaped, and usually has a flat ending at the front. Some models have a carving of (often) a horse head. There are 6 long round pegs with round knobs, three on each side of the open pegbox.

The 6 silk (or nylon) strings (in 3 courses) run over a loose wooden bridge to a wooden extension on the end of the body. A plastic plectrum is tied with rope to this extension. Tuning would be something like : aa dd gg.

Playing the dramyen is with a plectrum (fixed on a rope) picking simple "riffs" to accompany usually quite jolly singing. All playing is done in the first position.

	dramyen example : bought in Lhasa, Tibet 2000
	L=1120 B=180 H=120mm scale 870mm

This example instrument I bought from a group of musicians in Lhasa (playing near the Winterpalace of the Dalai Lama) and so is extra decorated: red paint all over, with blue edges; flower-like decorations and even a horse head carving on the pegbox. Even the silk strings are coloured : with accent pens in yellow and pink !

In Bhutan (the mountainous country to the East of Nepal and Sikkim) they play a similar looking dramyen as in Tibet and Ladakh. It is sometimes spelt as dramnyen.
However the Bhutan dranyen has not 6 but 7 strings, the tuninghead is very slender, and the body has three curves on both sides.

The body and neck are carved from the same piece of wood. The body is hollowed out from the front and so is the neck up to a point passed the extra peg. The top of the body and the hollowed out neck is covered with a thin piece of wood. The round bottom half of the body is covered with a (goat) skin.

The very strongly curved sickle-shaped peghead (usually made from two separate pieces of wood) ends in a carved figure, usually of a beautiful dragon head. The six long thin tuning pegs are three on each side of the tuninghead. They are often rather primitively carved.