The dutar (also called dotar) is a traditional two-stringed lute from Iran and Central Asia. Its name comes from the Persian word for "two strings." In Afghanistan, a type of dutar called the Herati dutar has fourteen strings instead of two.
The dutar is widely played in Tajikistan and the Khorasan province of Iran. Uyghur musicians in western China usually pluck the strings, while Tajik, Turkmen, and Uzbek musicians often strum and pluck them. A similar instrument is the Kazakh dombra. The dutar is also important to the tork people of Khorasan, where Haj Ghorban Soleimani of Quchan was a famous skilled musician. In tork, a dutar player is called a bakci (or 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 first made as a simple instrument for shepherds, with strings made from gut. Later, during the Silk Road trade, strings made from twisted silk from China replaced gut. Today, some dutars still use silk strings, while others use nylon or steel strings.
The dutar has a soft, pleasant sound. It is pear-shaped and usually measures between one and two meters in length. It is typically tuned to the notes La Re or A D, though the exact tuning may vary depending on the region.
Turkmen dutar specifications
Music expert Viktor Belyayev wrote about the dutar in the 1920s:
The neck of the dutar is usually made from apricot wood. Today, the strings are more commonly made of steel instead of silk or gut. Traditionally, the instrument has thirteen frets, which match a musical scale that includes an octave and an additional interval. It is tuned to intervals called fourths.
In recent years, the dutar has changed from being used only as a solo instrument to accompany singers into also being played in groups and for music without singing.
The Smithsonian Institution describes the Turkmen dutar as a "two-stringed, fretted lute with strings spaced a fourth apart." It is made from apricot, mulberry, and walnut wood, and its frets, strings, and tuning pegs are made of steel.
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–)