The Musical Instruments of Radif Music

Setar

Setar is an instrument with a playful resonance and a charming sound.  It's sound is the voice of Iran brooks, clear and transparent rivulets that bring the elegant resonance of sunshine to the thirsty roots of trees in the desert.

The Setar as a member of the Tanbur or long neck lute family.  The Tanbur is stringed instrument an ancient instrument, and research shows that its origin was in Iran and spread from there.  The setar is played with fingernail of the index finger with the other fingers resting on the instrument.  Setar means three strings and originally the setar had three strings.  About two hundred and fifty years ago, a Sufi mystic, Moshtagh Ali Shah added the fourth string.  Today the setar has four strings.  (See CD track 13, Delkesh, Dastgah Mahour, Abolhasan Saba-setar)

Tar

The Tar is a plucked stringed instrument of the rabab family.  It is a long neck attached to a body in the shape of two hearts.  The bridge rests on a thin skin stretched across the two hearts.  In the past the tar had five strings in three courses, and four of the strings were tuned in unison.  With the great tar master, Darvish Khan we see the introduction of six string tars which tried copying the sound of the setar.  Today we can see both tars, each with their own playing style.  The tar is played with a metal plectrum. (See CD track 14, Dastgah Rast Panjgah, Ali Akbar Shahnazi-tar)

Santour

One of the oldest and most perfect musical instruments is the santur, which is a trapezoid and has many strings and is played with two wooden hammers called mezrabs. (38).  The Santour is an ancient eastern instrument, which is over 3000 years old (39).    The Santour has seventy-two strings that are divided into eighteen sets of four strings.  It is a trapezoid box with two sets of bridges.  Each set of four strings is tuned to one note. It is played with two light wooden hammers or mezrabs.  When the mezrabs hit the strings, a brilliant bright sound is produced which is a reminder of the stars in the Persian night sky.  (See CD track 15, Dastgah Shour, Habib Somaie-santour).

Kamanche

The kamanche is one of the oldest instruments of Iran. The Kamanche is a bowed instrument with the body in the shape of a bowl with a skin covering.  The bow is made of horsehair.  In the past the Kamanche for Radif had three strings, today a fourth string has been added imitating the violin.  (See CD track 16, Dastgah Chahargah, Mansoori, Hossein Khan Esmail Zadeh-kamanche).

Ney

The Ney or flute is one of the simplest and oldest instrument of Radif music. It is an instrument with variants found throughout the entire world.   Its simple form and perfect method of playing makes learning easy.  The ney style of today was created by Nayeb Asaddollah.  (See CD track 17, Avaz Abou Ata, Mehdi Nayayee-ney). 

Tonbak

The Tonbak or Zarb is a goblet shaped drum with a skin covering.  The Tonbak is played with the fingers and is used to accompany other instruments of the Radif.  Tonbak players must have the ability to memorize rhythmic structures and to vary them at the moment to create beautiful and unique music.  Today the Tonbak is also used as a solo instrument.  (See CD track 18, Malandagh-zarb).