Description: The sehtar is a four stringed lute and a member of the long necked lute family. The sehtar is also one of the closest relatives to the tanbur. Although not to be confused with the Indian sitar, the name for the Indian sitar is said to derive from the name. Some say the Indian sitar has earlier roots in the Persian sehtar. In Farsi the words "Seh" and "tar" are translated to "three strings". In the 19th century a fourth string was added by the master Sehtar player and Sufi Moshtagh Ali Shah". The strings of the sehtar are very thin and delicate only the finger nails are used. This method of playing gives the sehtar its delicate tone. The Sehtar is also found in neighboring Azerbaijan although the Azeri sehtar is much longer in length the shape of the body is quite different in appearance.

Anatomy of the Sehtar: The body of the sehtar assembled from staves, in which each stave of wood are glued to a frame created by ribs this creates the acoustic chamber. The soundboard is made from two separate pieces of wood that are glued together. Currently available sehtars are either highly ornate or plain. 27 to 29 frets are tied on to the neck and they are made of animal gut. The frets are adjusted according to the desired scale in which a melody is to be performed. The first two strings are steel and the other two strings (drones) or sympathetic strings are brass. The tuning pegs on most sehtars are hand carved of wood.

Citations: Article on Sehtar and Persian music [article written by Ali Zomorodi 4/22/96] > Kereshmesh Records [Sehtar article] > tanbour.org [Sehtar description]