Tanbûr Long-Necked Lutes along the Silk Road and Beyond

'Tanbur Long-Necked Lutes Along the Silk Road and beyond' explores the origin, history, construction, and playing techniques of tanbûrs, a musical instrument widely used over vast territories and over many centuries. The diffusion of the tanbur into musical cultures along the Silk Road resulted in a variety of instruments with two or more, occasionally doubled or tripled courses, and a varying number and variously tuned frets, each having its own characteristic sound, playing technique, and repertory. Since the last century, tanburs have spread beyond the Silk Road, and new versions continue to appear due to changing musical and tonal demands required from them. Similar or identical instruments are also known by other names, such as 'saz' or 'baglama', 'dotar' or 'dutar', 'setar', 'doembra', and 'dambura'. This book is divided into two main parts: 'The Tanbur Tradition' which discusses the origin, history, construction and playing techniques of tanburs; and 'The Tanbur Family' which focusses on the long-necked lutes of the tanbur, dotar, saz, setar, doembra, and dambura family of instruments. After a short introduction, the construction, playing technique, and musical traditions are briefly discussed. The book concludes with a glossary of musical instruments, discography, bibliography, illustration credits and index.