Music played on a selection of Central Asian long-necked lutes with occasional percussion.

• Kashgari Rewap.
A snakeskin fronted banjo-like instrument from the oasis town of Kashgar in the Taklamakan desert of Western China. It has two melody strings and five sympathetic drone strings, which give it its etherial haunting sound.

• Setar.
A four stringed lute from Iran, a fautorite instrument of Iranian Sufi mystics.

• Tanbur.
A lute from Iran. The Kurdish people considered it a sacred instrument. It has one drone string and two melody strings which are both tuned the same, and played at the same time.

• Lavta.
A lute from Turkey, with seven strings in four courses. it is played with a plectrum.

• Chitrali Setar.
An lute from Chitrali in Northern Pakistan,
close to the Afghan and Iranian borders. It has five strings, in three courses, the melody is played on the top course of two strings and
the other three strings act as a drone.

• Dombra
A two string lute from Kazakhstan. Unlike all
the other lutes - which have metal strings -
this lute has nylon strings. It is has ancient connections to the shamanism of the region, and to Kazakh horse culture.

• Baglama Saz.
A lute from Turkey, found in many sizes from quite small - Cura Saz - to large - Meydan Saz.
The Baglama is one of the larger forms of Saz and the most popular. It has seven or eight
strings, divided into three courses, the lower courses act as drones.

• Bendir.
A frame drum with a string tied tightly across the skin, to produce a snare. This string vibrates when the drum is played to produce a buzzing quality to the sound.

• Darabuka.
A goblet drum, with a metal body, that has
a stretched skin across the top, and an open
end at the bottom.

• Riq.
An Arabic tamborine with metal jingles. They are often attractively inlaid with marquetry to create patterned decoration.




Don’t worry about saving these songs.
And if one of the instruments breaks,
it doesn’t matter.
We have fallen into the place
where everything is music.

The strumming notes
and sound of the drum
rise into the air,
and even if all the lutes in the world
should burn up, there will still be
hidden instruments playing.

Stop the words now.
Open the window in the centre of your chest,
and let the spirits fly in and out.

Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (1207 – 1273)