Description: The sehtar is a four stringed lute which belongs to the Persian family of long necked lutes, its related to the tanbur. Though is believed to be the predecesor of the Indian Sitar (used in Indian classical music). In Farsi to English the name "Sehtar" maybe translated to "three strings". A fourth string was added in the 19th century by a "Moshtagh Ali Shah". The sehtar is mostly played solo, or can be accompanied often by vocalists. This instrument is in the same family as the tanbur. No picks are used in when playing the sehtar only the fingernails are used after allowing the fingernails to grow for a while, this to achieve the delicate sounds of this instrument.

Anatomy: The sehtar is hand carved from mulbery wood, the top is a seperate piece or two pieces of wood which then creates the sound board (depending on maker). The body nowadays is usually staved with thin staves usually about nine staves. Also inlay patterns of bone are often found especially on higher quality sehtar's. The 23 movable frets (on my specimen) of the sehtar like the tar, tanbur, dutar, are gut or nylon-string tied onto the instrument. In which the frets can be moved around according to the desired scale in use with the melody performed. The first two strings are steel and the other two strings (drones) or symepathic strings are brass. The tuning pegs on most including sehtars made today are handcarved of wood.

Citations: tanbur.org, http://www.tanbour.org/gallery/instruments/setar/index.htm - Article on Sehtar, other Persian instruments and Persian music by http://www.duke.edu/~azomorod/persian2.html - (web site articles created by Created 4/22/96 By Ali Zomorodi