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Tanbur (spelled Tambur in keeping with TDK conventions) is a fretted string instrument of Turkey and the former lands of the Ottoman Empire. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs In Music, the range of a Musical instrument is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it can play A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The term tanbūr ( Persian: تنبور) can refer to various long-necked Fretted Lutes originating in the Middle East The bağlama is a stringed Musical instrument shared by various Cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean, Near East, and Central The saz (from Persian:) is a family of Plucked string instruments popular in Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the The yaylı tanbur is a bowed lute from Turkey. Derived from the older plucked tanbur, it has a long Fretted neck and a round Tanburi Büyük Osman Bey (1816–1885 was an Ottoman Composer and tanbur player Tanburi Ali Efendi (also spelled Tamburi or Tambouri) (1836 Midilli - 1902 İzmir was a Turkish tanbur virtuoso and composer one of Tanburi Cemil Bey (Tambouri Djemil Bey (1873 Istanbul &ndash July 28 1916, Istanbul was a Turkish tanbur, Yaylı tanbur, Necdet Yaşar (approximately "nej-det ya-shar" nedʒd̪et̪ jɑ̟ʃɑ̟ɾ or Necdet Yasar in the West (born 1930 is a Turkish The Turkish Language Association (Türk Dil Kurumu - TDK is the official regulatory body of the Turkish language, founded on July 12, 1932 and Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish Like the ney, the armudi (lit. The ney ( Persian: نی; Arabic: ناي; also nai, nye, nay, pear-shaped) kemençe and the kudüm, it constitutes one of the four instruments of the basic quartet of Turkish classical music aka Sanat Musikisi (lit. Kudüm is one of the most fundamental rhythm instruments in classical Turkish music Ottoman classical music ( Klâsik Türk Mûsikîsi, Sanat Mûsikîsi, Saray Mûsikîsi) developed in palaces mosques and Mevlevi Art Music). Of the two variants, one is played with a plectrum and the other with a bow. The player is called a Tanburî.
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History and development
There are several hypotheses as to the origin of the instrument. One suggests that it descended from the kopuz, a string instrument still in use among the Turkic peoples of Central Asia and the Caspian region [1]. The komuz ( Kyrgyz: комуз koˈmuz is an ancient Fretless String instrument used in Kyrgyz music closely related to other The name itself derives from the Arabic tunbur which in turn might have descended from the Sumerian pantur. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The name and its variants (tambura, dambra) denote also a wide spectrum of pear-shaped string instruments in Persia and Central Asia, yet these instruments share only their names with the Ottoman court instrument, and in fact are more akin to bağlamas or sazes. The bağlama is a stringed Musical instrument shared by various Cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean, Near East, and Central The saz (from Persian:) is a family of Plucked string instruments popular in Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the In ancient Hittite texts, we come across a string instrument called tibula, [2] which is most likely to have been the ancestor of the Ottoman court instrument via Byzantine tambouras. The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established This latter hypothesis could also account for the favor the instrument received in the Ottoman court vis-à-vis its rival, the oud. The oud ( عود ʿūd, plural أعواد, a‘wād; kaban; Persian: بربط barbat; ud As of the 17th century AD, the tanbur had already taken its present form and structure and assumed the preponderant role it still holds in Classical Turkish Music performance.
Description of the instrument
Tanburs are made almost entirely of wood. The shell (Tekne) is assembled from strips of hardwood called ribs joined edge to edge to form a semi-spherical body for the instrument. The number of ribs traditionally amounts to 17, 21 or 23, yet tanburs with slightly wider and consequently fewer ribs (7, 9 or 11) can also be found among older specimens. Traditionally, thinner strips called fileto are inserted between the ribs for ornamental purposes, but are not obligatory. The most common tonewood veneers used for rib-making are mahogany, flame maple, Persian walnut, Mecca balsam wood (Commiphora gileadensis), Spanish chestnut, Greek juniper, mulberry, Oriental plane, Indian rosewood and apricot. The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored wood originally the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Flame maple, also known as flamed maple curly maple fiddleback or tiger stripe is a feature of Maple in which the growth of the wood fibers is distorted in an undulating Juglans regia (the Common walnut, Persian walnut, or English walnut) is the original Walnut tree of the Old World Balsam of Mecca (or balsam of Gilead or balm of Gilead) is a Resinous gum of the tree Commiphora gileadensis (syn Balsam of Mecca (or balsam of Gilead or balm of Gilead) is a Resinous gum of the tree Commiphora gileadensis (syn The Sweet Chestnut ( Castanea sativa, family Fagaceae) also known as the Spanish Chestnut Portuguese Chestnut or European chestnut is a species of Chestnut Juniperus excelsa ( Greek Juniper) is a Juniper found throughout the eastern Mediterranean, from northeastern Greece and southern Platanus orientalis, also known commonly as the Oriental plane, is a very large widespreading and long-lived deciduous Tree in the Platanaceae The Apricot ( Prunus armeniaca, "Armenian plum" in Latin syn Ribs are assembled on the bottom wedge (tail) and the heel on which the fingerboard is mounted.
The soundboard (Göğüs) is a rotund thin (2. 5-3 mm) flat three-, two- or single-piece plate of resonant wood (usually Nordmann, silver or Greek fir). Nordmann Fir ( Abies nordmanniana) is a Fir native to the Mountains south and east of the Black Sea, in Turkey, Georgia For the tree known as Silver Fir in western North America see Abies concolor. Greek Fir ( Abies cephalonica) is a Fir native to the Mountains of Greece, primarily in the Peloponnesos and the island This circular plate measuring about 30 to 35 cm in diameter is mounted on the bottom wedge and the heel with simmering glue and encircled with a wooden ring. A soundhole is either wanting or consists of a very small unornamented opening (mostly in historical specimens), giving the instrument its peculiar satiated sonority.
The neck (Sap) is a mince (only 4-4. 5 cm in diameter) 100-110 cm long D-section fingerboard made of light wood and carries catgut frets adjusted to give 36 intervals in an octave. Catgut frets are fixed on the neck by means of minute nails. The main bridge is trapezoidal and mobile, and since the shell lacks braces to support the soundboard, the latter slightly yields in under the bridge. The smaller upper bridge between the pegbox and the neck is traditionally made of bone.
The plectrum is made of tortoise shell and is called "bağa" (meaning turtle). Cut in an asymmetrical V-form and polished at 45° on the tip, it measures 2-2. 5 mm x 5-6 mm x 10-15 cm. Nowadays it has seven strings. In the past tanburs with eight strings were not uncommon.
A variant: the yaylı tanbur
The yaylı tanbur has a similar physical appearance, although the shell -a nearly perfect semi-sphere- might be made of metal. The yaylı tanbur is a bowed lute from Turkey. Derived from the older plucked tanbur, it has a long Fretted neck and a round It is played with a bow instead of a plectrum. The technique was introduced by Tanburi Cemil Bey in the end of the 19th century. Tanburi Cemil Bey (Tambouri Djemil Bey (1873 Istanbul &ndash July 28 1916, Istanbul was a Turkish tanbur, Yaylı tanbur, Ercüment Batanay is at present the most outstanding virtuoso of this instrument. The yaylı tanbur is held vertically on the knees, as opposed to the regular one where the neck is maintained horizontal to the ground at all times.
Performers and techniques
Owing to its long past, the tanbur has let flourish several schools of interpretation. Oldest description of tanburîs is reported by the French traveller Charles Fonton who describes the use of catgut frets[3]. A Turkish musical theory written in the beginning of the 18th century by the famous Kantemir Pasha -first an Ottoman citizen of Polish-Moldovian origin, then voivode of Moldovia- elucidates for the first time the proper intervals to use on a tanbur. Dimitrie Cantemir ( October 26 1673 &ndash August 21 1723) was twice Prince of Moldavia (in March-April 1693 and in 1710–1711 Yet there is little mention of playing styles and the first tanbur master recorded by chronicles and of whom we have solid information is Tanburi İzak Effendi, who is said to have brought the tanbur playing technique to maturity. Today, he is considered as the reference of the "old style" in tanbur playing, partially recovered in the 20th century by Mesut Cemil. Mesut Cemil (approximately "may-soot jay-meal" mes̟ut̪ dʒemil (1902–1963 was a Turkish composer and a notable ''tanbur'' lute and cello player Sheikh of the Rifai Tekkesi in Kozyatağı (Istanbul) Abdülhalim Efendi was his pupil and carried on the same tradition. In the 18th century, among the notable tanbur players we could name Numan Agha, Zeki Mehmed Agha, Tanburî Küçük Osman Bey, all of whom remained representatives of this allegedly old style. The first virtuoso to claim renovation was Tanburi Büyük Osman Bey who broke up with his father Zeki Mehmed Agha's technique to present his own. Tanburi Büyük Osman Bey (1816–1885 was an Ottoman Composer and tanbur player Later on, this later style became so prevalent that the older technique came to suffer oblivion. The musical heritage transmitted to Suphi Ezgi by Abdülhalim Efendi, and from the former to Mesut Cemil, an eminent figure in 19th Turkish Classical Music, has helped retrieve the essentials of this old technique. Mesut Cemil (approximately "may-soot jay-meal" mes̟ut̪ dʒemil (1902–1963 was a Turkish composer and a notable ''tanbur'' lute and cello player One last important tanburi successfully performing according to principles of the old school was Cemil Özbal (1908–1980) from Gaziantep.
Yet the most renowned and probably the most prolific of tanburis is Tanburi Cemil Bey, who not only excelled in virtuosity, but who also bequeathed a heritage that later prominent figures of Turkish Classical Music such as Niyazi Sayın and Necdet Yaşar claimed. Tanburi Cemil Bey (Tambouri Djemil Bey (1873 Istanbul &ndash July 28 1916, Istanbul was a Turkish tanbur, Yaylı tanbur, Niyazi Sayın (approximately "nea-yah-zea suh-yewn" nijaːˈzi sʌˈjɯn or Niyazi Sayin in the West (born 1927 is a Turkish Necdet Yaşar (approximately "nej-det ya-shar" nedʒd̪et̪ jɑ̟ʃɑ̟ɾ or Necdet Yasar in the West (born 1930 is a Turkish
See also
- Category:Tanbur players
References
- Sources consulted
- Endnotes
- ^ ÖZKAN, İsmail Hakkı, Türk Mûsıkîsi Nazariyatı ve Usûlleri, Ötüken Neşriyat : Istanbul (Turkey), 2000 (6th Edition).
- ^ GOETZE, Albrecht, "Hethitisches Wörterbuch. 3. Erganzungsheft by Johannes Friedrich" in Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Vol. 22, No. 1 (1968), pp. 16-24.
- ^ FONTON, Charles, Essai sur la musique orientale comparée à la musique européenne : où l'on tâche de donner une idée générale de la musique des peuples de l'orient, 17th c. in NEUBAUER, Eckhard, Der Essai sur la musique orientale von Charles Fonton mit Zeichnungen von Adanson, Frankfurt am Main : Institute for the history of Arabic Islamic science , 1999.
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