Persian Setar | The Ultimate Guide For Beginners 2024

The Setar, a Persian stringed instrument (“seh” means three, “tar” means wire), has a small pear-shaped soundbox and four metal strings. Two single strings and a course consisting of two strings.

• Yellow String
• Drone String
• Bass String
• White String

There are 27 movable frets. People widely used Persian setar before the spread of Islam. Setar is divided into two parts based on the volume of the sound box.
Their voices are not the same, but they both produce beautiful sounds. Setar is also known as the instrument that captures the listener’s heart.

Structure of Iranian Setar

A Persian setar has two primary components: a sound box and an extended fingerboard. There are four strings and a Sarpanjeh at the end of the extended fingerboard with four pegs. These four pegs help you tune your Persian setar tune. When you look at the peg design in the Sarpanjeh, you will notice two different designs:

the old design and the Master Qanbari design. In the ancient form, each peg was vertical, while the Master Qanbari design had all the pegs on both sides of the Sarpanjeh.

According to your Sarpanjeh, your tuning style may differ slightly. Regarding frets, Setar offers 25 to 28 adjustable frets on the fingerboard for creating unique tones. Regarding sound boxes, the usual size ranges from 22 cm to 30 cm. The length of the fingerboard can be adjusted from 40 cm to 48 cm.

The fingerboard’s width ranges from 3 to 3.5 cm. The Kamaliyan and Hashemi models are two forms of Setar based on the size of the Persian Setar sound box.

For a small sound box, use Hashemi model with high sound. For a big sound box, use Kamaliyan model with bass sound. Here are some details regarding the structure of the Setar to help you before tuning your instrument. The following title will teach you how to tune your Setar’s strings.

Persian Setar Tuning

Tuning is an essential factor for musical instruments. Getting ready to play an instrument begins with tuning it. It prepares your instrument to receive instruction.

To achieve success in music, your instrument must be set up correctly. You can reach the perfect voice by tuning your instrument to the proper pitch, which is neither low nor high.

Of course, you should know how to play your instrument, but stringed instruments also require tuning. Setar is a stringed instrument from Iran. It consists of four strings and uses tuning strategies to achieve optimal setar performance. Before tuning the Setar, let’s look at its structure in detail.

In the Tar, the bottom pair of strings (known as white strings) are tuned in C. The middle pair of strings (yellow strings) are tuned in G, while the fifth and sixth strings from the bottom (Zang and Bam, respectively) are tuned in C.

This is the same as Setar, except the bottom and center strings are single. Moshtagh is the third string from the bottom of the Setar. With this tuning, the names of the frets on the lower (Bam) string are the same as those on the white string(s).

To tune the strings, turn the tuning pegs that hold them. The primary playing strings are fine-tuned by sliding a bead around each one.

Is It Difficult To Learn Persian Setar

Setar is one of the most authentic and recognizable instruments in Iranian traditional music.

Setar is also simple. It evolved and now has four strings with frets ranging from 22 to 28. Setar is played with the long index fingernail. Setar has a gentle tone but can be loud and powerful sometimes.

How To Play Setar Instrument

The Setar instrument may cause discomfort in the ears of the person playing the Setar. As a result, for practice, the first string is tuned to the La base note. Another reason to use LA is wire quality. As a result of this process, the wires’ durability increases.

At the same time, techniques like putting your fingers on the strings and pressing them are easier to use. Each Dastgah is typically given its melody. However, the player’s mood and song theme might differ based on the Dastgah method. You can do it all under one fret if you need to tune the first string to C and the second string to G.

Also, don’t twist your wrist when you hand over the bowl. Instead, put your hand on it like a half-open fist. Your little finger and thumb should be on each side of the strings. While turning, index finger cracks should be made in the second knuckle rather than the first.

Setar Lessons With Navasaz Academy

Learning to play the Setar takes time, patience, and attention. Understanding the instrument and its techniques will help you become a skilled setar player. Navasaz Academy‘s online Persian setar classes are a handy and practical approach to begin learning.

Practice and be patient to learn the details of this beautiful instrument and make your unique sound in Persian classical music. So, why not take the first step and start your Setar journey today?