Description: The tanbur is a long necked lute having a total of 5-strings. Two courses on each side are doubled. The central string is single. When the tanbur is played mostly the single pair of strings facing the bottom are the melody strings. The other total of three-string are; mainly sympathetic strings added onto the instrument. The tanbur may have its origins most likely in Ancient Persia (modern day Iran). Today the tanbur is spread through Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Northern Iran, and in Turkey. The tuning of the Uigur tanbur is Cc-Gg-Cc in fifths

The Tanbur in Iran: In Iran the ancient tanbur used gut-strings tuned to 4-ths and 5ths.around in the 19th century a 3rd string was added by various Sufi masters. In Iran the tanbur is very ancient and is believed to have originated in the times of the Zoroastrians and Sassanid courts AD 224–651. In Iran the tanbur was considered sacred and was not to be played by any one outside the Ali-E-Haqq Sufi order. The sound of the Persian tanbur is quite distinct very fast playing, with the fingers, the tanbur-E-Khorosan has movable frets and also metal strings.

The Uigur Tanbur: The tanbur played by the Uigurs is highly ornate with inlayed camel bone, and in this case on my specimen the frets are plastic. Some have metal frets. In Uzbekistan the tanbur its self has 3-strings, some may have variations. In Turkey the body of the tanbur is almost round in shape and is also used to play the makamlar and Sufi music. The tanbur-E-Khorosan is believed to be the origins of the modern day tanburs that we see in central Asia. In Afghanistan the tanbur is popular through out Northern Afghanistan.

Tanbur Tunings

Uigur Tanbur	Gg-Cc-G'g"
	Dd-Aa-D'd"

The tanbur in Turkistan is used to play the classical music of Uigur the On-Iqqi-Maqam (a vast repertoire known as the (the 12-maqam). In Uzbekistan and Tajikistan the tanbur is used to play the Shash-maqam "art-music". The influence of the tanbur is quite wide and it is believed the tanbur may have influenced the development of the Croatian Tanburica, the Bulgarian Tambura, and the Albanian chiftelli and sargija lutes and also the Greek bouzouki.

In the Uigur orchestras the tanbur is often the lead or solo instruments accompanied by the gichek, similar to Persian Kamenche, the chang (a hammered dulcimer an offshoot of the santur), the dutar often added to accompany melodic lines and percussion this is usually the daira a frame drum. The tanbur its self also can be played solo or to accompany vocals. In the Central Asian tanbur notably the Uigur tanbur the fretting scale is chromatic.

Construction: The tanbur is staved (my specimen has 10 staves) this does depend on individual makers. The Uigur tanbur has about 33 frets in total this is including the frets on the pick guard. The pick-guard is attached to a resonance peg (similar in what you would find in. The tanbur is constructed from multiple number` of peaces of mulberry wood and is inlayed with geometrical designs. The over all length of the Uigur tanbur is around 142cm. The bridge is raised approx 2cm in height and which yields a high action. In Uigur music and Uzbek music this is suited for solo notes, and periodic vibrato.

citations: Atlasofpluckedinstruments.com, Central Asia > tanbur: CAIS Tanbur article : Arash Dejkam's Iran Pages > Tanbur: Tanbursociety.com > history; Music in Afghan North: Afghanland.com (Instruments of Afghanistan).