A setar (Persian: سه‌تار, pronounced [seˈt̪ʰɒːɾ]) is a stringed instrument, a type of lute used in Persian traditional music. It is played alone or to accompany singing. The setar belongs to the tanbur family, which includes long-necked lutes. It has a range of more than two and a half octaves. Originally, it had three strings. Later, a fourth string was added by Mushtaq Ali Shah in the mid-19th century. The instrument is played using the index finger of the right hand.

Some people think the setar was created in Persia by the 9th century AD. Others believe it may have originated in the 15th century or earlier. Although the setar is related to the tanbur, it has changed over time. In recent centuries, it has become more similar to the tar in both how it is tuned and how it is played.

Etymology

According to Curt Sachs, the Persians named their lutes by combining the word tar, which means "string," with words that show the number of strings. Du + tar creates dutār, a two-stringed instrument. Se + tar creates setār, a three-stringed instrument. Čartar has four strings, and pančtār has five strings.

The modern Iranian instrument called setār is made from se, meaning "three," and tar, meaning "string." This name shows that the instrument is meant to have three strings. However, the modern setār actually has four strings. A fourth string was added in the 19th century. The strings are grouped into three sets, or courses, so musicians play them as three groups instead of four separate strings.

Sharing a name

Other tanbur-family instruments also use the name "setar." Having the same name does not always mean the traditions are directly connected.

In Tajikistan, the Pamiri Setar is larger than the Iranian setar. It has 3 strings used for playing and 8–12 sympathetic strings. A small metal pick, shaped like a thimble, is worn on a finger to play it.

In Baluchistan, the setar is larger than the Iranian setar and acts as a "rhythmic drone" instrument to support singing. It has three strings arranged to look like the two strings of the dutar: one low bass string and two strings tuned a fourth higher.

In Pakistan, the Chitrali sitar has 5 strings grouped into 3 courses. The top two strings are used to play melodies.

In Xinjiang, China, the Satar (Uyghur: ساتار; Chinese: 萨塔尔, Sàtǎ'ěr) is an important instrument in 12 muqam. It is a bowed lute with 13 strings, one raised string for bowing, and 12 sympathetic strings. These strings are tuned to match the musical mode of the muqam or piece being played.

In India, the Sitar is an instrument with many forms. Its name comes from the Persian word "sihtār" as written in Urdu. The Indian version likely developed from instruments brought by Muslim empires and was later adapted locally.

Construction

• Peghead or headstock 2. Pegs 3. Fret above nut 4. Nut 5. Main Frets 6. Side Frets or Secondary Frets 7. Neck 8. Bowl 9. Sound holes 10. Bridge 11. String holder or wire holder 12. Strings

This instrument is a type of neck-bowl instrument. Strings run from the pegs at the top of the neck, across a bone or plastic nut that has grooves to separate them, down the neck, across the bowl, over the bridge, and are secured to a string holder at the end of the bowl. The pegs are placed directly into the end of the neck, similar to a headstock.

The bowl is similar in shape to the bowl of another instrument called the tanbur, but it is smaller and pear-shaped. The bowl is 26 to 30 cm long, 12 to 16 cm wide, and about 13 cm deep. It is usually made of mulberry or walnut wood. The bowl can be made from one piece of wood or from separate pieces that are glued together. The top of the bowl, called the soundboard, is made of thin wood sheets. It has sound holes to allow sound to escape. A musician may place their hand on the bowl while playing.

The neck is 40 to 48 cm long and 3 cm wide. A 12 cm section at the top of the neck is used for the pegs. The neck may be decorated with camel bone to make it more attractive and to help it last longer.

The wooden bridge is 5 to 6 cm long and less than 1 cm tall. It has shallow grooves for the strings to rest in. After passing over the bridge, the strings are attached to the string holder. The neck has frets made from thin threads made of animal intestines or silk. These threads are tied in groups of 3 or 4 across the neck. They divide the neck into sections, helping the musician locate notes. There may be 26 frets, with one located at the nut and not used to create a note.

Characteristics

The setar is part of the tanbur family. Today, it is very similar to the tar, sharing the same neck, number of frets, and tuning system.

The setar has a pear-shaped body. This body is made from thin strips of mulberrywood, which are glued together to form a bowl. Alternatively, the bowl may be carved from a single block of wood. The bowl is about 25 centimeters long, 15 centimeters wide at its widest point, and 15 centimeters deep.

The neck of the instrument is long and narrow. It is long enough to support a string that is 62 to 70 centimeters long (excluding the 25 centimeters where the string passes over the bowl). The neck has gut strings wrapped around it, which act as frets. These frets can be adjusted to change the notes the musician plays. Some sources say the instrument has between 25 and 27 frets, while others mention between 22 and 28 frets, depending on the musician’s preference.

The setar has four strings. From top to bottom, the strings are: (4) a bass string, (3) a drone string, (2) a yellow string, and (1) a silver string. The top two strings, called "bam," are played together. The other two strings are the gold string and the silver string. The silver string is used to play the melody.

Historically, the setar had only three strings: the bass, yellow, and silver strings. The addition of a fourth string was recognized centuries ago by scholars such as Abu Nasr al-Farabi, Abu Ali Sina, Safi al-Din Ermavi, and Abul Hassan Khan Saba in the 20th century.

The fourth string is sometimes called the "fourth string" because it was the last to be added. However, it was placed between the yellow string and the bass string. On modern instruments, it is the third string from the bottom, known as the drone string. This string is also called the "Mushtaq" string, named after Mushtaq Ali Shah, according to Abolhassan Saba.

Playing the setar

The setar is played while the musician sits, holding the instrument at a 45-degree angle on the right thigh. The left hand uses its fingers to press down on the frets, selecting notes on the bottom string, which is the white string. The right hand plays the setar, typically using only the index finger.

The musician uses the index finger of the right hand to strike the strings in a back-and-forth motion. This method is different from tanburs, which are plucked using multiple fingers or a homemade plectrum made from materials like plastic, quills, or razor blades.

In more complex music, the musician may use the index, middle, ring, and sometimes the little finger of the left hand to press notes. The thumb of the left hand may also be used to pluck notes on the bass strings.

Tuning the setar

The instrument is most commonly tuned using the notes C, C', G, and C' in a system called Helmholtz pitch notation.

The strings are tuned in different ways to match the key of a musical piece or the range of a singer's voice.

A simple example of one tuning pattern, written in scientific pitch notation from lowest to highest: C3, C4, G3, C4. The two lowest strings, played together as a group (C3 and C4), are the bass string (made of bronze or phosphor-bronze) and the drone string (made of steel). The highest strings are the "yellow" G3 (made of bronze or phosphor-bronze) and the "white" C4 (made of steel).

Players adjust the tuning of the strings and also move the gut or nylon frets tied around the neck of the instrument. These frets can be shifted to make notes closer together or farther apart. The instrument is designed to play microtones, which are very small musical intervals that fall between the standard notes found on a piano keyboard.

A Koron lowers a pitch by a quarter step, and a Sori raises a pitch by a quarter step. These adjustments are smaller than the half-steps used in Western music.

The strings are tuned to fit the tonal needs of a musical system called Dastgâh.

The instrument's four strings are not always set to the same pitch. Instead of fixed pitches (as with some Western instruments), the strings are tuned in relation to each other as intervals. Each string's sound is compared to the first string to determine its pitch.

A table can be used to position the frets on the instrument's neck. The frets are made of tied string and can be moved. The measurements in the table were based on an instrument with a scale length of 66 centimeters, measured from the nut at the top to the bridge at the bottom.

The table includes the names and examples of notes for a string set tuned to C.

The instrument can play microtones, which are not found in Western music. In Western music, the scale is made of tones and half-tones. In Persian music, there are also quarter tones, called Koron and Sori. Koron is a pitch that is one-quarter step lower than a note, and Sori is a pitch that is one-quarter step higher.

For example, in the photo, there is an E4, an E4 flat, and a Koron between them. Between F4 and F4 sharp is a Sori.

The setar in recorded media

The setar was first recorded for the Gramophone Company in the winter of 1888-1889 (1306 AH) by Arthur James Twain. During this recording, singer Batool Rezaei, who was also known as Banoo Machol Parvaneh and is the mother of Khatereh Parvaneh, played the setar. She was accompanied by Habibollah Samaei on the santur, Ghavam Al-Sultan on the tar, and Agha Mehdi Navai on the ney. Later, Joey Walker, a member of the Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, played the setar in several songs, especially on the 2016 album Nonagon Infinity.

Notable setarists

List of Names:
• Mirza Abdollah
• Hossein Alizadeh
• Ahmad Ebadi
• Sa'id Hormozi
• Kayhan Kalhor
• Mohammad-Reza Lotfi
• Hamid Motebassem
• Abolhasan Saba
• Dariush Safvat
• Dariush Talai
• Jalal Zolfonun
• Keivan Saket