The Tembor (; ) is a long-necked
lute
A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted.
More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...
used in the
music of Xinjiang, a diverse region of
western China
Western China (, or rarely ) is the west of China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers one municipality (Chongqing), six provinces (Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively r ...
. Specifically, it is used by the
Uyghur ethnic group.
It has five strings in three courses and is tuned A A, D, G G. The strings are made of steel and the instrument is roughly 1.5 m (59 in) long from the top of the headstock to the horn string plate at the other end.
[ The player attaches a metal wire pick under the fingernail of the right index finger with thread.][ The instrument features a guard for the playing hand in the shape of a fish, and the whole instrument is, as is common with most Uyghur instruments, covered in fine ]marquetry
Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case furn ...
in geometric designs. One of the most challenging Uyghur instruments, it is known as "the father of music".[ It is an important instrument in the ]Ili Valley
The Ili ( ug, ئىلى دەرياسى, Ili deryasi, Ili dəryasi, 6=Или Дәряси; kk, Ile, ; russian: Или; zh, c=伊犁河, p=Yīlí Hé, dng, Йили хә, Xiao'erjing: اِلِ حْ; mn, Ил, literally "Bareness") is a river sit ...
, where it is used alongside the dutar
The ''dutar'' (also ''Dotara, dotar''; fa, دوتار, dutâr; russian: Дутар; tg, дутор; ug, دۇتار, ucy=Дутар, Dutar; uz, dutor; ; dng, Дутар) is a traditional Iranian long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and ...
and accompanies vocal performances.
See also
* Sataer
The ''satar'' ( ug, ساتار, ucy=сатар; zh, 萨它尔) is a traditional Uyghur long-necked bowed lute. It is used by Uyghur people in Xinjiang, western China, and is an important instrument to play maqams.
Characteristics
The instru ...
References
{{reflist
The Stringed Instrument Database
ATLAS of Plucked Instruments
External links
Video. Uyghur musician playing a western pop song his Tembor.
String instruments
Chinese musical instruments
Uyghur musical instruments