About Tanbur instrument

Persian Tanbur is a string instrument in which the strings are installed on a long frame with a bowl shaped body. Player uses the hand fingers to play Tanbur. It is closely related to Setar and Dotar which are also played by fingers sometimes held together for strumming.

Tanbur has epic, mythical and mystical characteristics and it is often used to accompany the narration of epics. This instrument has traveled far and wide in time and space and it has taken on different names and shapes. The neck and body of Tanbur is one whole piece similar to Setar. Between 10 to 15 frets are placed on Tanbur. Iranian Tanbur has 4 strings and as mentioned before is played without a pick. Based on 3 statues found in the ruins of Shoosh, Tanbur can be dated back to 1500 B.C. Persian Tanbur travelled through Iran and Syria to Turkey and Greece and further west to Egypt. The Egyptian version has an elliptical body. It is known that Tanbur was widely used during the Sasanid dynasty and even before that. Today, Tanbur is used in mystical circles to accompany the Darvishes’ chants and mantras and is usually accompanied by Daf on such occasions.  

Tanbur Online lessons

Rhythmitica presents Tanbur online lessons via Skype by Masoud Arzanloo This music online class can be taken in Persian and English languages. In order to register for Online Tanbur lessons, please book a free consultation session first.In this session you can talk directly with the manager via Skype and ask your questions about the class, methods, discounts or Persian instruments.After this session, you can set a time for weekly classes.

Free 30 min consultation session to learn more about the online music classes