Persian musical instruments or Iranian musical instruments can be broadly classified into three categories: classical,

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

. Most of Persian musical instruments spread in the former

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

s states all over the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

and through adaptation, relations, and trade, in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and far regions of

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. In the ancient era, the

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

had an effective role in this distribution.

String instruments

Orchestral *

Tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...

Setar A setar (, ) (lit: "Three String (music), Strings") is a stringed instrument, a type of lute used in Persian traditional music, played solo or accompanying voice. It is a member of the tanbur family of long-necked lutes with a range of more than ...

Kamancheh The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) (, , , ) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Turkmen, and Uzbek music with slight variations in the structure of the instrument. Th ...

Ghaychak The ''ghaychak'' or ''gheychak'' () is a bowed lute used in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. The name is similar to the Central Asian ghijak, but that instrument is more closely related to the kamancheh. Double-chambered bowl lute A ...

* Barbat *

Chang (instrument) The chang (; ; ; ''al-ǧank'' or صَنْج ''ṣanǧ''; Georgia (country), Georgian: :ka:ჩანგი, ჩანგი ''changi'') is a Persian traditional music, Persian musical instrument, a vertical angular harp. It was very popular and ...

Angular harp Angular harp is a category of musical instruments in the Hornbostel-Sachs system of musical instrument classification. It describes a harp in which "the neck makes a sharp angle with the resonator," the two arms forming an "open" harp. The harp ...

Santoor The Indian santoor instrument is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer, and a variation of the Iranian santur. The instrument is generally made of walnut wood and has 25 bridges. Each bridge has 4 strings, making for a total of 100 strings. It ...

* Qānūn *

Shurangiz The ''shurangiz'' is an Iranian musical instrument based on the setar. It was developed during the 20th century. It differs from the setar by having skin as part of the soundboard and in the number of strings. It has a unique sound table consist ...

Safavid-style portrait, female musician plays a tar.jpg, Tar Woman with a setar, Safavid Iran, Isfahan (ca. 1600-1610).jpg, Setar, ca. 1610 A court musician playing the kemanche, painting by Abul Qasim, Qajar Iran.jpg, Kamancheh Woman playing a santur, Qajar Iran, artist named Ahmad.jpg, Woman playing a santur, 19th century File:Ralamb-89.jpg, Qanun, from Rålamb Costume Book, 1657 Folklore *

Dotar The ''dutar'' (also '' dotar''; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a traditional Iranian long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and Central Asia. Its name comes from the Persian word for "two strings", دوتار ''do tār'' (< دو ''do'' "two",تار ...

Tanbur The term ''Tanbur'' can refer to various long-necked string instruments originating in Mesopotamia, Southern or Central Asia. According to the ''New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', "terminology presents a complicated situation. Nowa ...

Tar (Azerbaijani instrument) The Azerbaijani Tar is a long-necked, plucked lute, traditionally crafted, and performed in communities throughout the Republic of Azerbaijan. The tar is featured alone or with other instruments in numerous traditional musical styles. It is also ...

Divan A divan or diwan (, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meaning "Oriental cou ...

(diwan or divan sazı, type of Bağlama) *

Sallaneh The sallaneh () is a newly developed plucked string instrument made under the supervision of the Iranian musician Hossein Alizadeh Hossein Alizadeh (; born August 24, 1951) is an Iranian musician, composer, radif-preserver, researcher, teach ...

Sorahi The Sorahi ( Persian صراحی) is a new Iranian musical instrument. A member of the family of bowed string instruments developed by the Iranian musician M. R. Shajarian, This string instrument can cover the sound range produced by soprano, alto, ...

Suroz The suroz ( Balochi: سُروز or سُرود) is a bowed string instrument with a long neck, similar to a fiddle or sarangi and played vertically. It is considered the traditional instrument of the Baloch people in Balochistan. Suroz is a Ba ...

Rubab (instrument) The rubab (, ) or robab is a lute-like musical instrumentDavid Courtney, 'Rabab'Chandra & David's Homepage/ref> of Central Asian origin. It is the national musical instrument of Afghanistan and is also commonly played in India and Pakistan, mo ...

Jean-Paul Flandrin - Odalisque with Slave - cropped to show dutar.jpg, Dotar (2 courses of strings)

Wind instruments

Orchestral *

Ney The ney ( ; ) is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in traditional Persian, Turkish, Jewish, Arab, and Egyptian music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played for over 4,500 ye ...

Folklores *

Balaban (instrument) The ''balaban'' or ''balaman'' () is a double- reed pipe with cylindrical bore, about in length, with eight finger holes and one thumb hole, which is played in the eastern part of Iran's historic Azerbaijan region as well as in the Republic of ...

Donali Donali (Persian: دونَلی) is an Iranian folk instrument from the Balochistan province in Iran, a pair of fipple flutes that are put in the mouth at the same time to play. The instrument is from the Ney family. The doneli's body is made of ree ...

Doudouk The duduk ( ; ) or tsiranapogh (, meaning "apricot-made wind instrument"), is a double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood originating from Armenia. Variations of the Armenian duduk appear throughout the Caucasus, the Balkans, and the ...

Dozaleh The Dozaleh (Persian: دوزَله) is an Iranian folk instrument. The dozaleh is made of two Pipe (instrument), pipes. One of them produces melody and the other harmony. It sounds like a Ney-anbān and it is very dynamic. The instrument is playe ...

Garmon The garmon ( rus, гармо́нь, p=gɐˈrmonʲ, links=yes, from rus, гармо́ника, p=gɐˈrmonʲɪkə, r=garmonika, cognate of English ''harmonica''), commonly called garmoshka, is a kind of Russian button accordion, a free-reed w ...

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-Raja, Sutaputra and Radheya, is one of the major characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahābhārata''. He is the son of Surya (the Sun deity) and princess Kunti (later ...

Ney-anbān Ney-anbān (, numerous Latin spellings), is a type of bagpipe which is popular in southern Iran, especially around Bushehr. The term ''ney-anban'' literally means "bag pipe", - ''Nai, signifies a reed, pipe, &c, and Anban or Anbanah, a bag made ...

Sorna The sornā or sornāy (, also ''surnā'', ''surnāy'' and also ''Zurna'') is an ancient Iranian woodwind instrument. Etymology The word was most likely borrowed from an unknown Indo-European cognate of Luwian ''𒍪𒌨𒉌'' (zurni, “horn ...

Historical *

Nafir ''Nafir'' (Arabic نَفير, DIN 31635, DMG ''an-nafīr''), also ''nfīr'', plural ''anfār'', Turkish ''nefir'', is a slender shrill-sounding straight natural trumpet with a cylindrical tube and a conical metal bell, producing one or two note ...

File:Qajar Iran scene with women playing ney, tar and dancing.jpg, 19th century C.E.

Qajar Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic peoples, Turkic origin,Cyrus G ...

scene with women playing ney (flute), tar (lute) and dancing.

Percussion instruments

While Arabic and Persian are separate languages, to a great extent the cultures intermixed during and after the

Muslim conquest of Persia As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...

. Arabic became the

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...

from the Middle East to the edge of China and into India, much as Latin was in Europe. As a result, the list below may contain Arab words that don't belong, but may also include words shared by both languages. An example is ''daf'' (دف), for which the Arab word is also ''daf'' or ''duff'' (plural ''dofuf''). Similarly, conquests and cultural intermixing have made Turkish words available, such as kudum. File:Persian woman playing the Daf, from a painting on the walls of Chehel-sotoon palace, Isfahan, 17th century.jpg, Persian woman playing the Daf, from a painting on the walls of Chehel Sotoun Palace,

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

, 17th century File:Persian miniature of Woman with Daf in Qajar Iran, 19th century.jpg, Persian miniature of Woman with frame drum in Qajar Iran, 19th century. Possibly a

daf Daf (), also known as dâyere and riq, is an Iranian frame drum musical instrument, also used in popular and classical music in Persian-influenced South and Central Asia, such as in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, many ...

; the red and white circles are links of chain attached to the inner edge of the drum. File: Dancing girl percian hermitage.jpg, Woman playing Kastan (کاستانیـِت), or possibly ghashoghak or

zill Zills, zils, or sagat, also known as finger cymbals, are small metallic cymbals used in belly dance, belly dancing and similar performances. They are similar to Tibetan tingsha bells. In Western music, several pairs can be set in a frame to make ...

s. File:Woman with Zarb drum, Qajar Iran,19th century.jpg, Woman with Zarb drum, Qajar Iran, 19th century File:Woman playing drums, Qajar Iran, 19th century.jpg, Woman playing drums, Qajar Iran, 19th century File:Woman playing Dayereh-zangi (دایره‌زنگی) or tambourine, ca 1820.jpg, Woman playing Dayereh-zangi (دایره‌زنگی) or tambourine, ca 1820

Membranophones

Idiophones

Shaken idiophones

Lamellophones

Images from Turkestan

These images are from the

Russian Turkestan Russian Turkestan () was a colony of the Russian Empire, located in the western portion of the Central Asian region of Turkestan. Administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship, it comprised the oasis region to the south of the Kazakh Steppe, b ...

, circa 1865-1872, an area in which Persian, Turkish, Arab/Islamic and Mongol peoples conquered and settled over the ages. When the Russians conquered, both Turkish and Persian languages were being spoken. The images of musical instruments show the mixing of cultures; some such as the ''

tanbur The term ''Tanbur'' can refer to various long-necked string instruments originating in Mesopotamia, Southern or Central Asia. According to the ''New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', "terminology presents a complicated situation. Nowa ...

'' appear normal for Persian culture. But there are variations, such as a ''

kamanche The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) (, , , ) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Turkmen, and Uzbek music with slight variations in the structure of the instrument. The ...

'' that appears to be a bowed ''tanbur'', and the ''kauz'' or ''

kobyz The kobyz or qobyz, also known as the kylkobyz, is an ancient Turkic bowed string instrument, spread among Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Bashkirs, and Tatars. The Kyrgyz variant is called the ). The kobyz has two strings made of horsehair. The resonat ...

'', which is a Turkish word for an instrument that is closely related to the ''

'', a Persian instrument. File:Pastimes of Central Asians. Musicians. A Man Playing a Surnay, a Small Flute-like Instrument WDL10822.png, Russian Turkestan, about 1872.

or "koshnai" File:Dayra player.jpeg, Dayra File:Troupe of Musicians. A Woman Holding a Dayra, or Frame Drum WDL11114.png,

Dayereh Daf (), also known as dâyere and riq, is an Iranian frame drum musical instrument, also used in popular and classical music in Persian-influenced South and Central Asia, such as in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, many r ...

File:Musical Instruments and Musicians. A Man Playing a Koshnai, a Clarinet-like Instrument WDL10768.png,

. File:Pastimes of Central Asians. Musicians. A Man Playing a Karnay, a Long-necked Trumpet-like Instrument WDL10827.png,

Karnay The karnay or kerana is a metal natural trumpet. The name is first mentioned in the biblical book of Daniel, used in the Middle Ages to the Persian military bands and in the Indian Mughal Empire to the representative orchestra naqqāra-khāna a ...

File:Pastimes of Central Asians. A Musician Playing a Kauz, a Small Two-Stringed Instrument with a Bow WDL10823.png, Kauz or

Kobyz The kobyz or qobyz, also known as the kylkobyz, is an ancient Turkic bowed string instrument, spread among Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Bashkirs, and Tatars. The Kyrgyz variant is called the ). The kobyz has two strings made of horsehair. The resonat ...

. Also spelled ''qobuz''. File:Musical Instruments and Musicians. A Man Playing a Nagara, a Double-Headed Folk Drum WDL10772.png, Nagara File:Musical Instruments and Musicians. A Man Playing a Dutar, a Long-Necked Fretted Lute WDL10767.png,

Dutar The ''dutar'' (also ''Dotara, dotar''; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a traditional Iranian long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and Central Asia. Its name comes from the Persian language, Persian word for "two strings", دوتار ''do tār'' (< � ...

File:Pastimes of Central Asians. A Musician Playing a Gydzhak, a Stringed Instrument WDL10821.png, Gydzhak. Instrument in the

Kamanche The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) (, , , ) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Turkmen, and Uzbek music with slight variations in the structure of the instrument. The ...

tradition. Not a

; the name variation applied to two different fiddles. File:Pastimes of Central Asians. A Musician Playing a Nai, a Flute-like Instrument WDL10825.png, The ''nai'' in Turkestan was side-blown, like the flutes in

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

, and

Karakalpakstan Karakalpakstan, officially the Republic of Karakalpakstan, is an autonomous republic and part of Uzbekistan. It spans the northwestern portion of Uzbekistan. Its capital is Nukus (' / ). Karakalpakstan has an area of , and has a population of a ...

. File:Pastimes of Central Asians. A Musician Playing a Rubab, a Fretted Lute-like Instrument WDL10826.png, Rubab File:Pastimes of Central Asians. A Musician Playing a Tambur, a Long-necked Stringed Instrument WDL10828.png,

File:Pastimes of Central Asians. Musicians. A Man Practicing the Kamancha, a Long-necked Stringed Instrument WDL10824.png, The "Mashki"

, possibly related to the sato File:Musical Instruments and Musicians. Various Musical Instruments, Including a Koshnai WDL10771.png, from left: nagaras,

sorna The sornā or sornāy (, also ''surnā'', ''surnāy'' and also ''Zurna'') is an ancient Iranian woodwind instrument. Etymology The word was most likely borrowed from an unknown Indo-European cognate of Luwian ''𒍪𒌨𒉌'' (zurni, “horn ...

bülban The bülban is a historical musical instrument from the Caucasus, Middle East and Central Asia. It was a reed pipe, with an apricot wood body and tipped with a tubular single-reed. It had 7 fingerholes and a thumbhole and played a diatonic scale ...

ghoshmeh The Dozaleh (Persian: دوزَله) is an Iranian folk instrument. The dozaleh is made of two pipes. One of them produces melody and the other harmony. It sounds like a Ney-anbān and it is very dynamic. The instrument is played in the Middle Eas ...

, tas File:Musical Instruments and Musicians. Various Musical Instruments, Including a Dutar, a Long-Necked Fretted Lute WDL10769.png, From left:

dutar The ''dutar'' (also ''Dotara, dotar''; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a traditional Iranian long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and Central Asia. Its name comes from the Persian language, Persian word for "two strings", دوتار ''do tār'' (< � ...

, kauz or

, frame drum with drumstick,

karnay The karnay or kerana is a metal natural trumpet. The name is first mentioned in the biblical book of Daniel, used in the Middle Ages to the Persian military bands and in the Indian Mughal Empire to the representative orchestra naqqāra-khāna a ...

ney The ney ( ; ) is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in traditional Persian, Turkish, Jewish, Arab, and Egyptian music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played for over 4,500 ye ...

(horizontal variation, above drum). File:Musical Instruments and Musicians. Stringed Instruments and a Frame Drum WDL10770.png, From left:

, rubab,

(above rubab), gydzhak, mashki kamanche. File:Syr Darya Oblast. City of Tashkent and the Types of People Seen on Its Streets. A Dervish Playing an Instrument WDL10952.png,

, end-blown flute File:Women's Customs Among the Tajiks- Fortune-Telling WDL2516.png, Tajik women, "fortune telling", one with a

File:Women's Customs among the Tajiks. Group of Young Women, Sitting Together with Their Arms around Each Other and Their Eyes Closed. One Woman Holds a Drum WDL11183.png, Tajik women, one

File:Folk Festival at Kurban Bayram in Tashkent. Pastimes at the Tea Stand WDL10776.png, File:Troupe of Musicians. Group of Musicians and a Batcha, or Dancing Boy WDL11112.png, From left:

, nagaras, sorna, sorna, daf, tas, qairaqs.

Others

The

electronic keyboard An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument based on keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs and digital audio work ...

is a popular western instrument. There are numerous native musical instruments used in folk music.

References

*Abbas Aryanpur and Manoochehr Aryanpur, ''The Concise Persian-English Dictionary'', Amir Kabir Publication Organization, Tehran, 1990. *David R. Courtney, ''Fundamentals of Tabla'', Vol. I, Sur Sangeet Services, Houston, 1998. * Michael Kennedy, ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music'', Oxford Univ. Press, London, 1980. *Cemsid Salehpur, ''Türkçe Farsça Genel Sözlügü'', Tehran, 1996. *Mehdi Setayeshgar, ''Vazhe-Name-ye-Musighi-ye-Iran Zamin'', Tehran, Vol. I (1995) & Vol. II (1996).

External links

Introduction to Iranian Indigenous and Local Musical Instruments
by Kamran Komeylizadeh {{Musical radif

Musical instruments A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...