Se tar is one of the traditional Iranian musical instruments, which is included in the category of stringed and percussion instruments. In ancient times, there were three tars in the family of tanbur and two tars, but now this instrument is more like a tar. The first found samples of this instrument were from 1200 AH. Of course, in the pottery works found in Susa, which date back to two thousand years BC (about four thousand years ago), signs of the existence of the Setar family have also been found.
Three tars are among the national instruments of Iran and belong to the general culture of Iran, not ethnic instruments. In the past, this instrument was more common among the people of the wealthy class and nobles, but in the Qajar period, Mirza Abdullah Farahani, who is considered one of the master music teachers, started teaching three strings to the general public and improved it. became common among all classes.
The history of three threads
The oldest image related to Setar belongs to one of the wall paintings of one of the Egyptian tombs, which dates from 1411 to 1420 BC. In this picture, an instrument similar to three strings is painted along with the musician. Although the instrument in the picture is similar to a three-stringed instrument, it should be noted that all wound instruments have a similar structure and consist of a bowl, a handle, and strings stretched from the beginning of the handle to the end of the bowl. These types of instruments have many different types and with changes in the shape and size of the bowl, handle or the number of strings, they become a different instrument with a different name in some part of the world.
By leaving aside the images left of instruments similar to three strings in different civilizations and lands, and limiting the images to the images found in Iran, we arrive at an extremely beautiful miniature painting that depicts the scene of the execution of Zahak. has drawn This picture, drawn in Baisanghari's Shahnameh, shows a three-string in the picture, which a musician is playing. The instrument depicted in this miniature is very beautiful and drawn with all the details. The bowl of this instrument is slightly bigger than today's three strings and has three strings.
The oldest three strings
One of the oldest three tars that have been seen is the three tars that belonged to Naseruddin Shah Qajar and by chance reached Ahmad Ebadi. The story of these three strings is that after Naseruddin Shah gives his three strings to someone, that person's son goes to Mirza Abdallah's (father of Ahmad Ebadi) to learn three strings. After a few years, when he hears Ahmad Ebadi, the son of his master, playing three strings on the radio, Naseruddin Shah gives him the instrument as a gift.
The three-stringed instrument, because it looks easy to play, has generally become the second instrument of musicians, especially stringed musicians. For this reason, the correct techniques of playing this instrument and the correct method of strumming have not been fully investigated and studied.
All instruments evolve over time, and both the physical characteristics of the instrument and the methods of playing it change and improve over time. These improvements have been passed down from person to person and generation to generation and cause the ways of playing, appearance, how to play with mallets, carving details and other things to change and progress bit by bit. In fact, it is the effort and genius of each and every musician and musician throughout history that makes the instrument survive and over time its defects and additions are reduced and its efficiency and strengths are added.
Why does it have three strings and four wires?
The fourth string has been added to this instrument over time. According to many reliable sources, Abul Hasan Saba narrated that a dervish named "Mushtaq Alishah Kermani" added the fourth string to the three-string structure for the first time. That's why trio players call the 4th string "passionate string".
Adding the fourth string to the three strings could expand and improve the playing abilities of this instrument and make this instrument more popular. It is noteworthy that the added string, although it is the fourth string in terms of time, it will be the third string in the counting of the strings from the bottom to the top. The third and fourth strings are placed next to each other and are played at the same time, the set of these two strings together is called "Bam" string.