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 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 lots of background information about this area see : Stylusmagazine .

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

For more similar long-neck lutes (from Iran, Turkey and the Caucasian countries), see the 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 instrumental pieces and accompaniment for epic singing.

For more information see kyrgyzmusic.

The dombra 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.

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. There is a small round soundhole.

The neck is separate, with also the flat tuning head joined on, slightly backwards. The two 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.

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

(Turkmen) dutar

The Turkmen dutar looks in shape very much like the Iranian tanboor (see 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 Kashmir and North Pakistan. More to the North, in Uzbekistan, factory-made rababs are used, with guitar style frets and only 3 courses. The afghan rabab (or rabob or rubab) is the predecessor of the Indian sarod (see India).

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). It is hollowed out and the bottom half is covered with some glued-on (goat) skin and the top half (including the hollow neck) with a thin piece of wood. The body has (between the skin and wood top) on both sides a deep ridge which would suggest a bowed origin. The intricate carved pegbox is a separate piece of wood, joined to the neck.
It has 4 frets, made from tied-on gut or nylon. The strings run to friction pegs on both sides of the open, decorated pegbox, which bends back. All pegs are flowershaped, with bone inlay on both sides. The 3 main strings are made from twisted (coloured) nylon and are fixed to the pegs on the right side, the 2 metal drone strings (next to them) are fixed to pegs on the left side of the pegbox.

From pegs in the side of the body run 9 (to 12) thin metal strings, tuned to the notes of the particular scale of the music piece. These strings are fixed invisibly (inside) to these pegs, through small holes and over a tiny individually bone pole bridge.

The main strings and drones run over the loose wooden bridge (low on the skin), to a big pin at the bottom of the body. The resonance strings go through holes on a lower level in the same bridge.

There is bone inlay (mainly in slanting black and white strips) around the edge of the soundboard and the neck, at the edges of the pegbox, and at the back of the body. The body also has some wood-carving. The entire instrument is (probably) painted dark brown or black. As with many folk instruments there are some colourfull tussles hanging down from the top.

Playing is with a heavy plectrum, in a kind of mandolin/banjo style. Only the first 3 strings are fingered and occasionally the drones in certain rhythmic passages. 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 play songs.

at left : a rabab I saw being played in Herat (Afghanistan), 1975 at right : a rabab 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 drone and resonance strings. 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 front, 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 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 is different from the tanbur that is in use in Uzbekistan. It is mainly played in the North, near Mazar-i-Sharif and Kabul.
The older ones can be quite small, the newer ones are much bigger and look more like Indian sitars. Neck and body are wider than the Herati dutar.

The tanbur is usually carved from one piece of wood, with a hollow round neck. At the left side of the neck are 7 -12 extra pegs for the extra resonance strings.

The tanbur is played in the same style as the normal tanbur, with a wire finger plectrum. The music can be accompanying singing and dancing, or classical ghazals.

	left : from book by Slobin right : from book by Jenkins     right : detail of the inlay on the example instrument

The dambura is mainly played in the North of Afghanistan. In fact two slightly different kinds exist : the Turkestani and the Badachstan one.

The body of the Turkestani dambura is carved out of a single block of mulberry wood and covered with a thick wooden soundboard. There is one small sound hole on the back, and several tiny ones drilled in a pattern on both sides of 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. As with all Afghan instrument there is usually some decoration. The instrument is left unfinished - just filed, not sandpapered or varnished.

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

The dambura is mainly played in the North of Afghanistan. In fact two slightly different kinds exist : the Turkestani and the Badachstan one.

The Badachstan dambura is similar to the Turkestani dambura, but it is a bit smaller, and the neck and body are carved from one single piece of mulberry wood (expensive ones are made from apricot, walnut or something). Only the front is separate and made of some softer wood. There is a small soundhole in the back, and several tiny ones drilled in the centre of the front. The neck widens a bit at the end of the pegbox.

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. As with all Afghan instruments there is usually some decoration. This same instrument is also played on the Soviet side of the border, by the Tadjik mountain people, where it is called dumbrak.

The dambura 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 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 the Sovjet Union.
This rabab, which is called after the main town where it is found (Kashgar), is a long-neck lute - unlike the afghan rabab, which is a short-neck lute.

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 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.

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 tembor 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 is done with a wire finger plectrum on the index finger. The tembor 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 rawap is used for this instrument).

The body and beginning of the neck of the Dolan rawap 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 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 rawaps it maybe 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. The entire instrument is extremely decorated with inlay (even more than the other Kashgar instruments), including circles and dots.

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 rawap is used for classical muqam pieces. The sound is even more echoing than the kashgar rabab, because of the special extra resonance strings.

the back of the body with the decorated inlay

sugudu / hubo / huobusi

Not much is known about this long-neck lute, but it seems quite similar to the dramyen of Tibet. It is only used by the Naxi people in China and it is apparently now quite rare.

The body is probably made from one piece of wood, hollowed out. The bottom half is covered with snake (python) skin, and the top half with a thin piece of soft wood. There is a small open slit between the two halfs.

The neck is long and fretless. It has 4 silk (?) strings that are tuned by 4 long friction pegs, all on the left side of a straight (open ?) pegbox, which is the only plucked instrument with this feature.

At right a modern huobusi guitar from Sound-of-Nature

This is the rubab of the mountain people of Tajikistan; it is also known as the Pamir rubab. It looks rather similar to the kashgar rabab of the Uyghurs, but it is fretless, and has 3 courses of double strings of nylon, with one string starting from a peg halfway the neck. In the NWFP area of Pakistan (Chitral) it is used as a a kind of percussion instrument and called gharba; in Hunza it is called charda.

The body of the rubab and the beginning of the neck is made from a hollowed-out piece of mulberry wood, with on the top two extensions. Here not bended (like the Kashgar rabab) or straight (like the dolan rawap), but slightly sloping down. The neck is also hollow at that spot and has a few soundholes. The fretless neck is long and has a turned-back pegbox like the Kashgar rabab. The pegs are 2 on the right side, and 3 on the left side of the open pegbox. The pegs are ball shaped. A sixth smaller peg is halfway the neck on the left side, for the 6th string.

The 6 nylon strings are in 3 courses, and run over a loose wooden bridge on the skin, to 3 metal nails in the end of the body. There is no decoration. A plastic plectrum is fixed with a rope to one of the nails.
Tuning is probably : C(?)C CC FF.

The instrument is played with a 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 rababs, as shown on this picture on a Soviet CD. My Tajik example instruments came via Tashkent; they may even be made there, and the shape been influenced by the Uzbek craftsman. Here a picture of some original Tajik instruments : left the tanbur and right the rubab. Note the difference in size. Compared with the examples : the body of the tambur is a bit rounder and has a more pronounced corner near the soundholes; also the pegbox is really sickle shaped. The wings of the rubab are more pronounced.

tanbur

The tanbur is another Tajik instrument, seemingly derived from the kashgar rabab. However it also has similarities (like the sickle-shaped pegbox) with the Tibetan dramyen.

The body of the tanbur and the beginning of the neck is carved from one piece of mulberry wood, hollowed out and the bottom half covered with a thick skin. The top half is covered with thin wood, with some tiny soundholes drilled in it, in a pattern.

The neck and pegbox are one piece of wood, joined straight to the body. The pegbox is sickle-shaped, without a scroll. The 7 pegs are violin type, with 3 on the right and 4 on the left side of the open pegbox. Except for the back of the neck, all the wood is varnished in a dark brown colour.
The 6 nylon strings are evenly, but quite closely spaced; they run over a small loose wooden bridge on the skin, to 5 nails on the end of the body. A plastic plectrum is fixed with a rope to one of the nails.

Playing the tanbur is usually only fingering the first two strings (tuned the same) and the rest are drones and only occasionally strummed. The music can be instrumental, in a ensemble.

Here a maker is carving the body, neck and pegbox of a tanbur from one piece of wood. (from the CD : Tajik Music of Badachshan)

The Tajik setor is quite a big instrument and because of the metal strings and the use of a wire fingerplectrum more similar to the Uzbek tanbur, but also to the Indian sitar, which is probably the reason for the similar name.

The body of the setor is made like a dutar, with separate ribs. The front is made of softwood, with a few soundholes drilled in it. The neck is wide and hollow, with a straight pegbox. There are about 10 metal strings, including a few extra drone strings starting from pegs half way on the left side of the neck. The frets are wound-on nylon or gut.

For more information about Tajikistan instruments see Tajikistan (slow website!).

Sorry for the bad example picture (which is in fact a kind of sitar): I was in 2004 at a concert with Tajikistan instruments, and afterwards even played their setor, but I had forgotten to take my camera.

left to right : setor, rubab, tanbur (from CD)

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 or dhambura, but also called damburo, or kamach(i).

It has 3 metal strings, with 3 quite large tuning pegs on the front of the straight pegbox. The long neck has no (or just a few) frets and is sometimes painted in some bright (red) colours. There is a small ridge at the join of the neck to the body.

It 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).

See for more info on Pakistani instruments Pakistanstudies and for lots of music Eurobaluchi.

from the book : Music in the World of Islam

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 top of mulberry, with two 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 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 pitch. 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 similar thickness) are at equal distance from each other, although it seems there should be 3 courses, with the firist two played together. Tuning would be c c g cc.

Playing seems 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 Kashmir (the mountainous area of North West India) exists a long-neck lute, which is a kind of hybrid between an Iranian setar and Indian sitar. There are two sizes : the long one is called bod, with 9 strings, and the small one : lokut with 7 strings. Only the big one is still used and even that one not often.

The body of the kashmiri setar is made of 12 ribs glued together, with a wooden front. In the front are several small soundholes. The neck is hollow (like the sitar) forming part of the resonance chamber of the body. There are 17 tied-on gut frets. The bridge is wide and flat, and slightly rounded (like on the Indian sitar and sarod).

The 7 main steel strings run to round pegs on the tuning head (3 on the front, 4 on the left side). Two shorter strings go to pegs at the left side of the neck, and pass over small separate bridges. Only the first two (double) strings are fingered (like on the tamburs).

Playing is with a wire plectrum on the right hand index finger. The melody is played on the first two strings, the other strings are only strummed for drones. The left hand only fingers with index and middle finger. In each ensemble there are two or more setars.

Notice that the now rare "saz-e-kashmiri" is a kind of fiddle.

The kashmiri setar is now quite rare and there are only a few makers left.   I have seen this instrument many years ago during a rare concert in Holland; in Kashmir I have only seen the (Afghan) rabab.

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

In fact the only real plucked lute of Tibet, is the dramyen (until recently mysteriously spelled : sgrna-snyan, but with the same pronounciation !).
It is often seen in the streets of Lhasa, played by beggars, who usually can play it quite well. In Bhutan a similar named, but slightly different instrument exists (see under). 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 is covered with thick skin; the top half (which has halfway a sharp point at both sides, over the entire depth of the body - not just a shallow extension like on the rababs) is covered with thin wood. Between the 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 neck of the dramyen is rather heavy, and glued with a lip-join to the body. It is fretless. The pegbox is sickle shaped, and usually ends on the front in a flat ending (and sometimes in the carving of a horse head). There are 6 long round pegs, three on each side of the open pegbox.

The 6 silk 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.

Playing is with plucking simple "riffs" to accompany usually quite jolly singing. Hardly ever does a player go up the neck, all is done in the first position.

The 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 ! Here is a more usual plain looking pegbox, without the horse head.

In Bhutan (a mountainous country to the East of Nepal) they play a similar looking dramyen as in Tibet.
However the Bhutan dranyen has not 6 but 7 strings, and the neck is rather a continuation of the body. The extra string comes from a peg halfway the neck, on the left side, but is in fact the 5th string on the bridge.

The much stronger curved sickle-shape peghead ends in a carved figure, usually of a beautiful dragon head. There is also a lot of painted decoration on all sides of the instrument.

		Playing is with a plectrum, short limited riffs to accompany singing. Tuning of the nylon strings could be : aa(a) dd gg.
top : from a book about Bhutan right : seen in shop Kathmandu, Nepal 2000 bottom : head of example dranyen