Foundations
Instruments
Cümbüş, oud, setar, tanbur, tar, saz, kemençe, ney, and santur — construction, history, and playing technique.
- 01The Oud: History, Construction, and Playing TraditionsA guide to the oud — its deep history, bowl-back construction, fretless technique, and the distinct Turkish and Arabic traditions it anchors.
- 02The Ney: Construction, Technique, and TraditionA guide to the ney — the end-blown reed flute central to Turkish makam and Persian dastgah traditions, its demanding embouchure, and its place in Ottoman and Mevlevi musical practice.
- 03The Kemençe: Classical and Black Sea TraditionsTwo instruments, one name — the pear-shaped classical kemençe of Ottoman court music and the narrow-bodied Karadeniz kemençesi of the Black Sea coast, their construction, playing technique, and distinct musical roles.
- 04The Santur: Hammered Dulcimer of Persian and Turkish MusicConstruction, tuning, and technique of the trapezoidal hammered dulcimer — its central role in Persian classical music, its presence in Turkish and Iraqi traditions, and how striking rather than plucking shapes its approach to makam and dastgah.
- 05The Kamanche: Persian Spiked FiddleConstruction, technique, and musical role of the Persian bowed instrument — its spherical body, spike construction, and central position in the dastgah ensemble alongside tar and santur.
- 06Frame Drums: Bendir, Daf, and RiqThe frame drum family in Middle Eastern classical and folk music — construction, technique, and the distinct roles of the Persian daf, North African bendir, and Arabic riq in makam and dastgah performance.
- 07The Cümbüş: Turkey's Metal-Bodied OudHow a 1930s Istanbul workshop turned the oud into a louder, cheaper instrument with a spun-aluminum body — its invention, construction, variants, and contested place in Turkish music.
- 08The Kudüm: Kettledrums of Ottoman Classical MusicThe paired copper kettledrums of the Ottoman court and Mevlevi lodge — construction, playing technique, and role as the primary rhythmic instrument of the Turkish classical tradition.
- 09The Qanun: A Mechanical Solution to MicrotonalityA guide to the qanun — the large trapezoidal zither whose mandal lever system provides a physical mechanism for microtonal pitch adjustment, anchoring ensemble music across Turkish and Arabic traditions.
- 10Zurna and Mey: Double-Reed InstrumentsThe outdoor zurna and the softer mey — two double-reed wind instruments that span Turkish musical life from wedding processions to concert stages, their construction, technique, and distinct musical roles.
- 11String Courses and ConfigurationsWhy Middle Eastern instruments use paired strings, how course configurations affect timbre and technique, and the logic behind the string arrangements of oud, tanbur, setar, tar, qanun, and saz.
- 12Sound Production Methods: Plucked, Bowed, Struck, and BlownHow the four fundamental ways of producing sound — plucking, bowing, striking, and blowing — shape the timbral identity, technical possibilities, and musical roles of Middle Eastern instruments.
- 13The Bağlama (Saz): Anatolia's Long-Necked Folk LuteA guide to the bağlama — its moveable frets, regional tuning systems (düzen), family of sizes from cura to divan sazı, and its central role in the âşık bardic tradition and Turkish folk music.
- 14The Tanbur: The Instrument That Maps the CommasThe Ottoman long-necked lute whose frets physically embody the Holdrian comma system — its ancient lineage, exacting construction, mızrap technique, and central role in Turkish court music.
- 15The Setar: Construction, Tuning, and the Persian Classical TraditionThe Persian long-necked lute of the dastgah tradition — its three-to-four-string history, mulberry-wood construction, four standard tunings, and quiet, fingernail-plucked technique.
- 16The Tar: Construction, History, and the Persian Classical TraditionThe Persian long-necked lute — its figure-8 double-bowl body, lambskin soundboard, six strings in three courses, moveable gut frets, and central role in the dastgah tradition alongside the setar.
- 17Fret Systems Compared: Fretless, Fixed, and MoveableHow the three main fret designs — fretless necks, densely spaced tied frets, and moveable tied frets — shape microtonal intonation across Middle Eastern and Central Asian instruments.