Tuning and playing technique

The tanbur is played without a plectrum. Its distinctive sound comes above all from the right hand, which strikes the strings with individual fingers.

Tuning

• The tanbur has several tunings. The interval between the lower string and the paired strings may be a fourth, a fifth or a second; each maqam has its own tuning.

• The paired strings are usually tuned in unison. In the farangi tuning popularised by Ostad Elahi, the paired strings are tuned a second apart from the lower string.

• The base note today is often A, but players raise or lower it to suit a singer or instrument.

The left hand

The left hand moves over the frets, and most of the melody is played on the paired strings. Some players use the thumb to stop the lower string.

The right hand and its techniques

• Single stroke (tak): one finger striking the strings, up or down.

• Panjeh: rapid strokes with several fingers, creating fast and complex rhythms.

• Riz: quick back-and-forth movement of a finger to sustain a note.

• Shor: a continuous rolling of four or five fingers across the strings, producing a sustained, wavelike sound. It is associated with Ostad Elahi and Darvish Amir Hayati, and many players use it today.

The names and details of these techniques differ between schools and teaching books; the best way to learn them is to watch and listen to a teacher.

Schools and styles

• Guran and Dalahu: the oldest home of the tanbur maqams, in Gahvareh, Kerend and the villages of Dalahu. The playing is plainer and close to the ritual kalam. Examples: Ali Akbar Moradi, Taher Yarveysi, Ghobad Ghobadi.

• Sahneh: usually described as livelier, with more panjeh and shor. Examples: Seyed Amrollah Shah-Ebrahimi, Seyed Khalil Alinejad, Mozaffar Mansourian.

• Concert and contemporary style: the tanbur combined with Persian classical singing, other instruments and ensemble playing, begun by the Shams Ensemble and Keykhosrow Pournazeri.

Many players today, such as Siavash Ashrafi, play in both the Guran and Sahneh styles.

Watch and listen

• Solo videos

• Learning videos

• The book Forty Fingering Exercises for Tanbur

Sources: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians; ostadelahi.com; interviews and artist pages on Tanburban.

About the tanbur: What is the tanbur? · History · Construction · Tuning and technique · Maqams · Makers and Fash village · Buying and care · Where to start