| Name | Image | Description | Video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbat |  | The barbat is a lute of ancient Persian origin. The barbat originated in Persia in ancient times, and was refined during the Arab age into its current form, called the oud. After the tanbur, it is the oldest string instrument in Iran. The barbat is held similar to a guitar, but care must be taken to have the face vertical so that it is not visible to the player, and to support the weight with the thigh and right arm so that the left hand is free to move around the fingerboard. | |
| Daf |  | A daf, or daff, is a large-sized frame drum covered with goat-skin. It is used to accompany both popular and classical music in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Azerbaijan, Kurdistan and other countries of the Middle East. Some dafs are equipped with rings or small cymbals, making them a form of tambourine. When the daf drum is tilted forward, the rings can touch the skin to make a buzzing sound. Snapping the fingers against the head and shaking the frame creates additional rhythms. | |
| Dap |  | The Pahlavi (an ancient Iranic language) name of the daf is dap. The word daf is therefore the Arabicized form of the word dap. Some pictures of dap have been found in the paintings to be painted before the birth of Christ. The presence of Iranian dap in the reliefs of Bisotun is enlightening and is hard proof that dafs existed long before the rise of Islam. Dafs were part of religious music in Iran much before Sufism. In fact, Iranian music has always been a spiritual tool. It shows that dafs played an important role in Mazdean Iran emerging as an important element during the Sassanian times during the Kâvusakân dynasty. The image shows a Persian woman playing the daf, from a painting on the walls of Chehel-sotoon Palace, Isfahan, 17th century. | |
| Dayereh |  | A dayereh (or doyra, dojra, dajre, doira,dajreja) is a medium-sized frame drum with jingles, used to accompany both popular and classical music in Iran (Persia), The Balkans, and many Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This single headed percussion instrument is formed by attaching a skin cover onto a wooden ring with glue and cloth ties. This is similar to the Persian daira and the Turkish def. | |
| Dohol |  | Dohol is a big cylindrical two-sided drum to be played by two special drumsticks. One is wooden thick stick that is bowed at the end and its name is Changal (or Kajaki). The other is thin wooden twig and its name is Deyrak. (In Hormozgan province of Iran, Dohol is played by two hands.) Dohol is the main accompaniment of sorna (Persian oboe). The Iranian dohol is a famous form of cylindrical drum. Many music areas nears in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia include variations on the dohol and cylindrical drum forms, including the dhol of Armenia, daval of Kurdistan and the tabl ballady of Egypt. | |
| Dutar |  | The dutar (also dotar or doutar) is a traditional long-necked two-stringed lute found in Central Asia. Its name comes from the Persian word for "two strings", dotar (do "two", tar "string"), although the Herati dutar of Afghanistan has 14 strings. When played, the strings are usually plucked by the Uyghurs of Western China and strummed and plucked by the Uzbeks, Tajiks, Turkmen, and Afghan people. | |
| Ghaychak |  | The Ghaychak or Ghijak is a round-bodied musical instrument with 3 or 4 metal strings and a short fretless neck. It is used by Iranians, Afghans, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Turkmens and Qaraqalpaks. It is also known as a Kamancha (Kamancheh), an important instrument in Iranian and Azeri classical music and popular music in Iran. The soundbox is carved out of a single piece of wood. The upper orifice is partly covered in the middle by the handle and the lower one is covered by a skin membrane against which rest the bridge. | |
| Naqqara |  | The naqqara (also naqareh) is a drum with a rounded back and a hide head. It is thus a membranophone. The term naqqara comes from the Arabic verb naqr- that means "to strike, beat." The rounded section of a naqqara is made of baked clay, while the flat side consists of treated skin fastened around the rim with string which is tightened over the back of the bowl. This percussion instrument is often played in pairs, where one naqqara will produce low pitch beats called nar and the other for the high pitch beats (the female). The instruments are beaten with short wooden sticks bent outward at the upper ends called damka. Naqqara are also found in India, where the word is pronounced nagara or nagada. | |
| Ney |  | The ney (also nai, nye, nay) is an ancient end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian and West Asian music. The depictions of ney players appear in wall paintings in the Egyptian pyramids and actual neys have been found in the excavations at Ur. This indicates that the ney has been played continuously for 4,500–5,000 years, making it one of the oldest musical instruments still in use. It is a forerunner of the modern flute. The ney consists of a piece of hollow cane or reed (ney is an old Persian word for reed--the reed comes from Arundo donax plant--with five or six finger holes and one thumb hole.) The image shows a painting dated 1669 from Hasht-Behesht palace, Isfahan, Iran. | |
| Santur |  | The santur (سنتور – also santūr, santour, santoor) is a hammered dulcimer of Iran. It is a trapezoid-shaped box often made of walnut, with 72 strings. The name means one hundred strings in Persian. The special-shaped mallets (mezrab) are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers. A typical santur has two sets of bridges, providing a range of approximately three octaves. Many instruments around the world at least in part derive from the santur. Similar forms of the santur have been present in neighboring cultures like Armenia, Turkey, and Iraq for centuries. The Indian santoor is thicker, more rectangular, and can have more strings. Its corresponding mallets are also held differently. The Chinese yangqin may have originated from the Persian santur. The image shows a part of a painting dated 1669 at Hasht-Behesht palace Isfahan, Iran. | |
| Saz |  | The saz is a family of plucked string instruments, popular in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, and the Balkan countries. The saz is descended from the kopuz. The Saz is used in Ottoman classical music, Turkish folk music, Kurdish music, Azeri music, and Persian music. | |
| Setar |  | Setar (Persian: literally three string) is an Iranian musical instrument. It is a member of the lute family. Two and a half centuries ago, a fourth string was added to the setar, which has 25 - 27 moveable frets. It originated in Persia around the time of the spread of Islam and is a direct descendant of the larger and louder tanbur. The setar is significantly different from the Indian sitar, with which it is sometimes confused due to the similarity of their names. | |
| Shurangiz |  | The shurangiz is a newly Iranian musical instrument, a member of the lute family, developed under supervision of the Iranian musician Hossein Alizadeh. It has a skin face, six strings, a longer finer fingerboard and increased number of frets comparing with its original prototype setar. The image shows Hossein Alizadeh at a concert in London. | |
| Sorna |  | The sornā or Sarnā (also Surna and Zurna) is an ancient Iranian woodwind instrument. The instrument's history dates back to the Achaemenid Dynasty (550-330 B.C.E.), and was used to play at the end of the day from the city gate or from the local administration building. This custom persisted in England until the 19th century, the town waits playing shawms to mark the hours. The instrument was mainly played in outdoors in regional music of Iran in the festive ceremonies (the famous Persian poet Molana Rumi has mentioned the sorna and dohol in his poems). | |
| Tar |  | The tar is a long-necked, waisted lute found in Azerbaijan, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, and other areas near the Caucasus region. The word تار tar itself means "string" in Persian. This is claimed to be the root of the names of the Persian setar and the guitar as well as less widespread instruments such as the dutar and the Indian sitar. Tar is one of the most important Iranian and Azerbaijani musical instruments. The formation, compilation, edition, and inheritance of the most authentic and most comprehensive versions of radif are all worked on tar. The general trends of Persian classical music have been deeply influenced by tar players. The image shows a woman playing the tar in a painting from the Hasht-Behesht Palace in Isfahan, Iran, 1669. | |
| Tombak |  | A tombak (also known as tonbak, donbak, dombak and zarb, in Persian تمبک) is a goblet drum from Persia (ancient Iran). It is considered the principal percussion instrument of Persian music. The skin is usually glued to the body. Goat or lamb skin is the most popular material for the skin. The body of a tonbak is made of mulberry wood which gives it its distinctive sound. The body may be decorated with carved furrows. The throat is almost cylindrical and it is connected from top to the body. The throat and the small opening together are in the form of a trumpet. The large opening is in the top and is covered by the skin. |
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