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Santur

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This article is about the Musical instrument. For other uses, see Santur Corporation.
See Santoor for the Indian variant of the instrument.
File:Santur babylon.jpg
The archetype of the instrument carried horizontally and struck with two sticks, found in iconographical documents in ancient Babylon and neo-Assyria
String instrument
Classification Struck
Related instruments
Qanun
The Iraqi Santur

The santur (also santūr, santour, santoor ) (Persian: سنتور) (Arabic: سنطور) is a hammered dulcimer, of Babylonian origin[1]. It has strong resemblances to the Indian santoor. It is a trapezoid-shaped box often made of walnut or different exotic woods. The original classical santur has 72 strings. The can be roughly described as one hundred strings in Persian. The oval-shaped mallets (Mezrabs) are feather-weight and are held between the index and middle fingers. A typical santur has two sets of bridges, providing a range of approximately three octaves. The right-hand strings are made of a combined mixture of copper and brass, while the left-hand strings are made of stainless steel. Two rows of 9 articles called "Kharak" (18 kharaks) divide the santur into three positions. Each lead four unitone strings to the right and left side of the instrument. Each note repeats three times in three positions [making (9*3) 27 tones all together and doubles in frequency going to the left. As four notes are repeated in tonation there are 23 tones in Santur. The Persian santur is primarily tuned to a variety of different diatonic scales which utilize 1/4 tones (semi-tones). However, the Iraqi santur has, since its inception, been fully chromatic since it uses 12 bridges of steel strings on both sides and supports all of the Iraqi scales without the need for manual retuning.

Derivations

File:Hasht-Behesht Palace santur.jpg
Woman playing the santur in a painting from the Hasht-Behesht Palace in Isfahan Iran, 1669

Many instruments around the world at least in part, derive from the santur. Similar forms of the santur have been present in neighboring cultures like India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Armenia, Turkey, and Iraq for centuries. The Indian santoor is thicker, more rectangular, and has more strings. Its corresponding mallets are also held differently. The Chinese yangqin originated from the Persian santur. The Iraqi santur has, since its inception, been chromatic and allows for full Maqam modulations. The Roma people introduced a derivative of the santur called the cymbalum to Eastern Europe. The Greek santouri is also derived from the santur, and in Nikos Kazantzakis' classic novel Zorba the Greek Zorba plays the santouri.

History

Ancient Babylonian Santur Drawing of Relief

The santur was invented in ancient Babylonian (1600–911 BCE) and neo-Assyrian (911–612 BCE) eras. This instrument was traded and traveled to different parts of the middle east and each country customized and designed their own versions to adapt to their musical scales and tunings. The original santur was made with tree bark, stones and stringed with goat intestines.

Notable santur players

File:Persian santur.jpg
Santur
Greece
India (see Indian santoor)
Iran
Iraq

See also

References

  1. ^ http://santoori.com/santoor_tuning_chart.html
  2. ^ http://www.wesamalazzawy.com/indexhomee44_en.htm

External links

Template:Link GA

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