Uyghur Tembor

The Uyghur Tembor is the longest of the Uyghur lute family. At 140cm (4'7"), or longer, it is capable of producing some of the deepest and strongest tones in the Uyghur repertoire. It is a plucked instrument, with 5 strinThe Uyghur Tembor is the longest of the Uyghur lute family. At 140cm (4'7"), or longer, it is capable of producing some of the deepest and strongest tones in the Uyghur repertoire. It is a plucked instrument, with 5 strings, tuned A A D G G. The strings are meant to compliment each other, creating sympathetic sounds and giving the instrument a full, sonorous timbre.
It is one of the formost intruments used in Uyghur music, mostly used in the muqam or for accompanying a folksong. It enjoys a position close to the satar in importance within the sacred Twelve Muqams. The tembor is often found in the middle of a group of people, creating the stunning melody over which a story is being sung, or providing the rythmic beats for the dancers to step to.
Our tembor is 140cm, with five steel strings, and is crafted with wood from the mulberry tree. It has 30 frets along the neck, chromatically placed to help you find the notes. Many colorful decorations adorn the front, back and neck. These patterns and colors are rich in meaning with the Uyghur. The neck is held in the left hand, and the bowl rests at your feet. You pluck the upper melodic strings, and the others reverberate automatically. If you are familiar with lute playing, the tembor should not have a high learning curve.
The Uyghur historian Mojizi credits the people of the Dolan region of Xinjiang with creating the first lutes 6000 years ago. Through the centuries, the current tembor seems to have evolved from the ancient berbab instrument, another five stringed lute. The tembor, or berbab, even appears in the Buddhist cave paintings at Dunhuang, which date back to the 4th century CE. The tembor is a common name for a lute within the Persian world, but the Uyghur tembor is unique with its five strings and special decoration. gs, tuned A A D G G. The strings are meant to compliment each other, creating sympathetic sounds and giving the instrument a full, sonorous timbre.
It is one of the formost intruments used in Uyghur music, mostly used in the muqam or for accompanying a folksong. It enjoys a position close to the satar in importance within the sacred Twelve Muqams. The tembor is often found in the middle of a group of people, creating the stunning melody over which a story is being sung, or providing the rythmic beats for the dancers to step to.
Our tembor is 140cm, with five steel strings, and is crafted with wood from the mulberry tree. It has 30 frets along the neck, chromatically placed to help you find the notes. Many colorful decorations adorn the front, back and neck. These patterns and colors are rich in meaning with the Uyghur. The neck is held in the left hand, and the bowl rests at your feet. You pluck the upper melodic strings, and the others reverberate automatically. If you are familiar with lute playing, the tembor should not have a high learning curve.
The Uyghur historian Mojizi credits the people of the Dolan region of Xinjiang with creating the first lutes 6000 years ago. Through the centuries, the current tembor seems to have evolved from the ancient berbab instrument, another five stringed lute. The tembor, or berbab, even appears in the Buddhist cave paintings at Dunhuang, which date back to the 4th century CE. The tembor is a common name for a lute within the Persian world, but the Uyghur tembor is unique with its five strings and special decoration.