Bouzouki  (also spelled bazouki; Turkish:  bouzouk)

The bouzouki is a Greek long-necked lute; the 19th-century version of it is identical to the Turkish bouzouk.  (At some point, it was the same instrument as the saz, but the two then diverged; the Turkish saz evolved into the Greek bouzouki, which in turn evolved into the smaller Greek baglama.)  Traditionally, it has a carved wood or carvel-built bowl resonator (now exclusively carvel-built) shaped something like a wide teardrop, movable gut frets (now fixed metal frets), and wooden tuning pegs (now metal tuning heads).  It may have three or four double courses (pairs) of metal strings, tuned e-b'-e' and d-g-b-e respectively. The modern Greek tuning is d-a-f-c (top to bottom), the upper two courses in unison, the lower two in octaves. Nowadays, a popular tuning for three-course bouzoukis is d-a-d. The version of the bouzouki with the four courses of strings predominates now because it is more condusive to playing Western melodies. Its sound is ringing and jangly. Bouzoukis, especially electric ones (like the one pictured here, which has no soundholes), may have flat backs. Irish bouzoukis typically have flat backs.   Musicians who use the bouzouki include:  Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hadjidakis, Ben Mandelson, Mike Scott (of the Waterboys), Attila the Stockbroker, Janne Lappalainen (of Värttinä), and Eric Odier-Fink.   Links to more information and instruction: Wikipedia: Bouzouki history, description, links Sam's Bouzouki Pages (archived) history, techniques, tunings, musicians, links Greek Scales What's an houzam?  A hijaz, or an ousak, or a niaventi?  Find out! Kalis & Company history, description, construction, and tunings Ancient Tones history and construction, with links to luthiers Yahoo's Bouzouki links  links to pages on the bouzouki Bouzouki World sales, info Sources: Sadie, Stanley, ed.  The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. London:  Macmillan Press; New York:  Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 1984. Gore, Joe.  "Mandelson & Mustafa."  Guitar Player Magazine 25 (January 1991):  65-70.   About this photo:  Taken March 3, 1999 at the Lemon Tree (Aberdeen, Scotland) of Ben Mandelson and his electric bouzouk.

Saz (Persian and Turkish for "musical instrument")

The saz is a long-necked Turkish lute with 10-19+ movable frets made of knotted strings.  It shares an ancestor with the bouzouki, and has many different names ("saz" merely meaning "instrument").  The neck is usually made of fir, and the teardrop-shaped resonator is usually made of a single piece of mulberry wood.  Small soundholes may appear in the thin wooden soundboard, and openings may also be carved in the sides of the body.  Alternately, there may be no soundholes.  Strings are either steel or brass, and are plucked by a long cherry bark plectrum.  The deepest tuning is in the middle (e.g., d'-g-a; but there are numerous possible tunings).  The sounds created by the saz are metallic and buzzing. This instrument comes in many sizes, the main ones being: cura:  smallest; 3 strings; most frequently used by street-singers baglama:  mid-sized; 6 paired strings; most popular size (pictured here) divan saz and meydan saz:  largest; 9 strings   Musicians who use the saz include:  Talip Ozkan.   Links to more information and instruction: Saz and Baglama history of the sazSaz (by David Brown)  history, description, and tunings of various types of saz Erol Parlak: Baglama  history of the baglama and related instruments Eraydin Sazevi: Baglama description and manufacturer IGS Guitar Forum: Cumbus Saz   how to tune a cümbüs or a saz   Sources: Baines, Anthony.  The Oxford Companion to Musical Instruments.  Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Lentin, Jean-Pierre and Randall Barnwell.  "An Introduction to Talip Ozkan and the Turkish Saz,"  liner notes to The Dark Fire, by Talip Ozkan.  Island Records compact disc 314-512 003-2. Sadie, Stanley, ed.  The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. London:  Macmillan Press; New York:  Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 1984.   About these photos:  Lu Edmonds's electric baglama saz, (top) taken April 19, 2002 at Park West (Chicago, Illinois) and (bottom) September 29, 2000 at the Aladdin Theater (Portland, Oregon).

Ud  (plural = idan; also spelled oud; Turkish:  ut; Arabic for "twig"/"flexible rod"/"aromatic stick")

The ud is a short-necked Arabic lute, a direct ancestor of the European lute, and very likely a relative of Chinese instruments (e.g., the Chinese pipa lute; in addition, the tenth-century four-course ud's dominant courses were silk, and the figures/widths of the lower two courses correspond with the two upper strings of the Chinese qin).  Its name is derived from al-oud, "the lute."  It is used primarily in Somalia, Djibouti, and Arabic regions; it is of secondary importance in Turkey, Iran, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.  It is also used in Greece. This instrument consists of a large soundbox connected to a short neck.  It has a swollen, rounded body made of lightweight wood, and it has 16-21 ribs.  The soundboard has either one large soundhole or two or more ornately carved ones.  The belly is protected from potential scraping from the plectrum by a raqma (made of fishskin or leather) between the bridge and the soundhole.  The twisted or spirally reinforced strings are attached to tuning pegs. The number of strings on an ud may vary.  Two-string and seven-course (paired strings) uds are archaic.  Other varieties include: Four-course:  Moroccan; tuned bass to treble; has gut or silk strings Five-course:  most popular kind of ud Six-course:  consists of two-types: Six-paired strings Five-paired strings plus one extra low string (this type is common in Istanbul and Baghdad) The ud is usually plucked with a plectrum made of an eagle's feather, shell, or plastic held between the thumb and the index finger.  However, the Egyptian musician Ahmad al-Laythi (1816-1913) invented a different technique called basm ("imprint"), in which touches from the fingers of the left hand replace the plectrum.  Other musicians such as Munir Bashir use a modified version of basm — they use the basm technique with their right hand, and produce harmonic pitches with their left.   Musicians who use the ud include:  Richard Hagopian, Ahmad al-Laythi, and Munir Bashir.   Links to more information and instruction: Wikipedia: Oud  history, description, tunings, links Oud Cafe  playing instructions, audio samples, pictures, links Gregor Schaefer's Ud Web/Oud Web  many, many ud-related links, including ones to background information, musicians, culture, vendors The Oud David Parfitt's extensive history, tuning, and related instruments pages Ouds (by David Brown)  history, description, technique, and tunings MHN Instrument Encyclopedia: Ud  description and links Lark in the Morning's Tunings for the Oud and Cümbüs  tunings A Guitarist's Introduction to the Oud  instructions Yahoo's Oud links  links to pages on the oud   Sources: Sadie, Stanley, ed.  The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. London:  Macmillan Press; New York:  Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 1984.   About this picture:  Taken April 21, 2001 at the Double Door (Chicago, Illinois) of Lu Edmonds and an electric ud.

Bagpipes

Versions of bagpipes exist across Europe and India.  While one of the Scottish versions is probably the most well-known, there are also Spanish, French, Italian, Bohemian, Hungarian, Greek, and Tunisian varieties. In general, a bagpipe is sounded by reeds to which wind is fed by arm pressure on a flexible bag (traditionally sheep- or goatskin).  This is kept filled with air from the mouth or small bellows strapped to the waist and to the other arm.  Most bagpipes have at least two pipes: chanter:  used to play melodies; has fingerholes drone(s):  all other pipes — sustain single notes only   Links to more information and instruction: Blows-A-Bellows, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2  Steve Winick's article on bagpipes of the world and contemporary performers   Sources: Baines, Anthony.  The Oxford Companion to Musical Instruments.  Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Sadie, Stanley, ed.  The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. London:  Macmillan Press; New York:  Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 1984.

Darbuka

A darbuka is a goblet drum with one head that is used in Turkish music. Similar instruments are used in the Middle East.   Links to more information and instruction: Wikipedia: Goblet Drum   Sources: Wikipedia: Goblet Drum

Norwegian flute

I'm horrendously uninformed about Norwegian instruments, and only know of one Norwegian willow flute, called the seljefløyte.  It has no fingerholes; it is a single-harmonic flute played by rapidly covering and uncovering the lower end by the finger or thumb to create a fast, near-diatonic melody.  It is like a willow whistle, but the blowing hole is in the side so that it can be held sideways, bringing the lower end of the long flute within arm's reach. There is also a flute called the tusselføyte, but I don't have information on it at this time.   Sources: Sadie, Stanley, ed.  The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. London:  Macmillan Press; New York:  Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 1984.

Bass-Pulur

I am unfamiliar with this instrument, but Kerry Yackoboski (who maintains the Friends of Tuva pages) and Alan Leighton (who has translated Otto J. Mänchen-Helfen's account of travels in Tuva, and who has a copy of Süzükei's book on traditional Tuvan instruments) have suggested that a bass-pulur may be a version of a Tuvan stringed instrument, the doshpulur (also called a toshpulur or doshpuluur), with a lower range. A doshpulur (sometimes described as a Tuvan banjo) is a mid-range instrument.  It sounds twangy but is not as loud as a Western banjo.  It has two strings, and is "made primarily of wood but can have either a wood top (like a guitar) or a gut or skin top (like a banjo)."  The shape of the resonator varies widely, but is often square or rectangular with either rounded or squared edges.   Sources: Leighton, Alan.  Email, 13 February 2000. Yackoboski, Kerry.  Email, 10 May 1999. —.  Email, 20 May 1999.

 

Tüngür (also spelled tünggür, düngür, or dünggür; Tuvan for "shaman drum")

While "kenggirge" is the term for "drum" (used in Lamaist temple ceremonies) in Tuvan, the term "tüngür" is used to refer to a shaman drum.  Both are approximately two feet in diameter. Drums used by Tuvan shamans frequently have a skin on one side and a handle on the back; they are similiar to sub-contrabass tambourines. They have small bells or jingles tied to their handle. Kerry Yackoboski has indicated that "Tüngür" is the name of a shamanic clinic in Kyzyl, the capital of Tuva. He adds, "The phrase is that 'the shaman rides his drum', like riding a horse or a bird. As he goes into his trance (shamans are almost always men) his drum takes him soaring over the landscape so that he can drive away or appease the troublesome spirits. They don't play it in what I'd call a musical way - more like the occasional series of strokes that coax the spirits into the drum so they can be carried away." A picture of a tüngür can be found here, as part of a series of travel narratives.   Musicians/musical groups that employ the tüngür include: Yat-Kha and Huun-Huur-Tu.   Sources: Leighton, Alan. Email, 10 February 2000. —.  Email, 13 February 2000. Yackoboski, Kerry.  Email, 28 May 1999.