Persian Tar Players

Persian Tar Makers

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Persian Tar

When we are talking about the instrument Tar, it is really important that we use the adjectives Persian or Caucasian before the name Tar, because there are two kinds of this instrument: Persian Tar and Caucasian Tar. The word Tar means string in Persian and old Sanskrit. Persian Tar and Caucasian Tar are like each other, but they have also obvious differences. You can use the words Tar, Tar player (or Tarist), Tar maker, Tar tunings..., while it is clear for you which kind of Tar you mean. Persian Tar is named sometimes Shiraz Tar (Shiraz is the capital city of Fars province.) and Caucasian Tar, Ghafghaz Tar (Azeri version of Caucasia).

Persian Tar is the Tar that is mainly played in Iran for Persian Classical Music. Persian Tar belongs to the Chordophones category of instruments, and in more details to Plucked-Stringed Instruments or it can be said Persian Tar is a Persian Long Necked Lute and also a fretted instrument.

Persian Tar Strings

Persian Tar has three pairs of strings, that each pair is tuned (most of the time) unison. The two first strings (White strings or Do strings) are made of Steel, the two second strings (Yellow strings or Sol strings) of Copper or Bronze, the fifth string (Vakhan or Moshtagh) is made of Steel and sixth string or Bass String (Bam) is made of Copper or Bronze. Persian Tar used to have five strings. It is said that Darvish Khan, Persian Tar virtuoso of Ghajar era, added the sixth string. This String is the fifth string of Persian Tar. It is named Moshtagh as well, because it is also said that this string has been added by Moshtagh Ali Shah, a Dervish from Kerman, a central city of Iran.

Persian Tar Frets

Frets of Persian Tar are mostly made of gut embedded around the neck and located at the points that are determined according to the ears of the musicians. The frets are moveable, because we need sometimes to move the frets to get a new arrange of frets. There are no exact 1/4 or half tone in Persian Classical Music. Pressing a string against a fret determines the strings' vibrating length and therefore its resultant pitch. The pitch of each consecutive fret is defined at a half-step interval on the chromatic scale. Frets worn down from heavy use can be replaced. Frets are sometimes made of Nylon or metal. The frets of Persian Tar are between 22 and 30.
 

 

Persian Tar Tuning

If we put Diese next to a note, the note will become half note higher, Bemol, half tone lower, Sori, 1/4 tone higher and Koron 1/4 tone lower. The signs and definitions that we use here, are only to find the exact frets or to show the exact notes that we play in the mentioned musical culture. For example when we use Mi Diese, we do not mean the note, that is half tone higher than Mi, but we mean the note or fret between Re and Mi Koron. It means the usage and function of the signs are not exactly same as the definitions of the signs. We count the strings from down to up. The most traditional tunings come always first. We assume that the strings No. 1 & 2 have always the Do tuning.

Persian Tar Classical Tunings

Dastgah Mahur

Base Note Do

Strings No. 1 & 2 Do

Strings No. 3 & 4 Sol

String No. 5 Do

String No. 6 Do

Dastgah Rast Panjgah

Base Note Fa

Strings No. 1 & 2 Do

Strings No. 3 & 4 Fa

String No. 5 Do

String No. 6 Do

Dastgah Homayun

Base Note La Koron

Strings No. 1 & 2 Do

Strings No. 3 & 4 Sol

String No. 5 Re

String No. 6 Re

Dastgah Nava

Base Note Sol

Strings No. 1 & 2 Do

Strings No. 3 & 4 Sol

String No. 5 Re

String No. 6 Re

Dastgah Shur

Base Note Sol

Strings No. 1 & 2 Do

Strings No. 3 & 4 Sol

String No. 5 Do

String No. 6 Fa

Dastgah Segah

Base Note La Koron

Strings No. 1 & 2 Do

Strings No. 3 & 4 Sol

String No. 5 La Koron

String No. 6 Fa

Dastgah Chahargah

Base Note Do

Strings No. 1 & 2 Do

Strings No. 3 & 4 Sol

String No. 5 Do

String No. 6 Do

Avaz Bayat Kord

Base Note Re

Strings No. 1 & 2 Do

Strings No. 3 & 4 Sol

String No. 5 Do

String No. 6 Fa

Avaz Dashti

Base Note Re

Strings No. 1 & 2 Do

Strings No. 3 & 4 Sol

String No. 5 Do

String No. 6 Fa

Avaz Bayat Tork

Base Note Si Bemol

Strings No. 1 & 2 Do

Strings No. 3 & 4 Sol

String No. 5 Si Bemol

String No. 6 Fa

Avaz Abuata

Base Note Do

Strings No. 1 & 2 Do

Strings No. 3 & 4 Sol

String No. 5 Do

String No. 6 Fa

Avaz Afshari

Base Note Do

Strings No. 1 & 2 Do

Strings No. 3 & 4 Sol

String No. 5 Do

String No. 6 Fa

Avaz Bayat Esfahan

Base Note Sol

Strings No. 1 & 2 Do

Strings No. 3 & 4 Sol

String No. 5 Re

String No. 6 Re

 

How to Hold a Persian Tar Pick (Plectrum)

Click on the picture to watch!

 

Persian Tar Players

 

Mirza Hosseingholi

Mirza Hosseingholi (circa 1851-1915) is the youngest son of Ali Akbar Farahani, the legendary Persian Tar player. He was a very skillful Persian Tar player and also a great teacher. His Persian Tar performances (solo and accompaniment pieces) has been recorded in Paris. His arrangement of Radif, the classical Persian music repertoire, shows his skillfulness in playing the Persian Tar and his artistic taste.

Persian Tar Solo

 

Darvish Khan

Darvish Khan (Gholam Hossein Darvish, 1872-1926) was a Persian Tar player. His masters were his father and Mirza Hosseingholi and Mirza Abdollah. He went to London and Tbilisi for recording some works of Persian classical music. He has also some great compositions.

Persian Tar Solo

 

Ali Akbar Shahnazi

Ali Akbar Shahnazi was a Persian Tar player and teacher for nearly 60 years. He was the only person, who taught Radif (repertoire of Persian classical music) of his father, Mirza Hosseingholi, during his life. He also created his own Radif for Persian Tar. He has performed as soloist and accompanied vocal masters like Nakissa and Eghbal Azar.

Persian Tar and Tonbak Duet

 

Persian Tar Makers

 

Yahya Khan

Hovanes Abkarian (1876-1932) or famous as Yahya Khan is an Armenian, Tar maker from Iran, who can be named as the father of the modern Persian Tar. He has reformed the sound box shape of Persian Tar, that has resulted the most beautiful form of the sound box and the most pleasant sound.

 

Azeri Tar Players

 

Bahram Mansurov

Bahram Mansurov (1911-1985) was an Azeri Tar player and expert of Azerbaijani classical music repertoire (Mugham). He performed with different musical ensembles and accompanied famous singers like Jabbar Garyagdi, Seyyed Shushinski.

Azeri Tar Solo