The ''tembor'' (; ) is a long-necked

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

used in the music of Xinjiang, a diverse region of

western China Western China ( zh, s=中国西部, l=, labels=no or zh, s=华西, l=, labels=no) is the west of China. It consists of Southwestern China and Northwestern China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers six provinces ...

. Specifically, it is used by the Uyghur ethnic group. It has five strings in three courses and is tuned A A, D, G G. The strings are made of steel and the instrument is roughly 1.5 m (59 in) long from the top of the headstock to the horn string plate at the other end. The player attaches a metal wire pick under the fingernail of the right index finger with thread. The instrument features a guard for the playing hand in the shape of a fish, and the whole instrument is, as is common with most Uyghur instruments, covered in fine

marquetry Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of wood veneer, veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns or designs. The technique may be applied to case furn ...

in geometric designs. One of the most challenging Uyghur instruments, it is known as "the father of music". It is an important instrument in the

Ili Valley The Ili River (, , ; ; ; zh, 伊犁河, ; , ; , ) is a river in Northwest China and Southeastern Kazakhstan. It flows from the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region to the Almaty Region in Kazakhstan. It is ...

, where it is used alongside the

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'' (< � ...

and accompanies vocal performances.

References

{{reflist
The Stringed Instrument Database

ATLAS of Plucked Instruments

External links

Video. Uyghur musician playing a western pop song his Tembor.
String instruments Chinese musical instruments Uyghur musical instruments

See also

References

External links