The dutar (also called dotar) is a traditional Iranian instrument with a long neck and two strings. It is played in Iran and parts of Central Asia. The name "dutar" comes from the Persian words for "two strings." However, the Herati dutar from Afghanistan has fourteen strings.
The dutar is widely played in Tajikistan and the Khorasan province of Iran. The Uyghurs of Western China usually pluck its strings, while the Tajiks, Turkmen, and Uzbeks often strum and pluck it. Similar instruments include the Kazakh dombra. The dutar is also important to the tork people of Khorasan, who honor Haj Ghorban Soleimani of Quchan as a skilled musician. In tork, someone who plays the dutar is called a bakci (bakhshi), similar to the Turkmen bagşy. In Azeri, the term is ashiq. Music played by Khorasan bakhshi is listed as an important cultural tradition by the United Nations.
In the 15th century, the dutar was a simple instrument used by shepherds, with strings made from gut. Later, the Silk Road trade brought twisted silk strings from China, replacing gut. Today, some dutars still use silk strings, while others use nylon or steel.
The dutar has a soft, pleasant sound. Its pear-shaped body is usually between one and two meters long. It is typically tuned to La Re or A D, though the exact tuning may vary by region.
Turkmen dutar specifications
In the 1920s, music expert Viktor Belyayev described the dutar as follows:
The dutar’s neck is ideally made from apricot wood. Today, its strings are usually made of steel, rather than silk or gut. Traditionally, the instrument has thirteen frets that help play notes in a specific musical scale, and it is tuned so that each pair of strings is spaced a fourth apart.
Over time, the dutar has changed from being used mainly to accompany singers when played alone to also being used in groups and for playing music without singing.
The Smithsonian Institution describes the Turkmen dutar as a "two-stringed, fretted lute with strings spaced a fourth apart," made from apricot, mulberry, and walnut wood. It has steel frets, strings, and tuners.
Notable players
- Turgun Alimatov (1922–2008)
- Abdurahim Hamidov (1952–2013)
- Abdurehim Heyit (Uyghur) (1962–)
- Alireza Soleimani (Aliabad, Khorasan)
- Haj Ghorban Soleimani (1920–2008)
- Sanubar Tursun (1971–) /