Middle Eastern Instruments

Qanun (also spelled "kanun", "kanoon", "qanoon") - A member of the zither family of instruments, the qanun is plucked with 2 rectangular picks which are attached to the index fingers with metal rings. It has 76 strings in courses of 3, and is widely used in Arabic, Turkish & Greek music.  The qanun has small levers to alter the pitch for each note, that are similar to the sharping levers on a harp, but while Western music has up to 3 variants for a note (sharp, flat and natural), Middle Eastern music has considerably more - quarter tones or microtones.  On a Turkish qanun, there are up to 11 levers for changing the pitch of each note.

Oud - A fretless lute used throughout the Middle East. It originated in ancient Persia, and became popular with the Arabs, who took it with them to Spain during the time of Moorish Andalucia. From there it was adopted by musicians of the west, who called it the lute, a name derived from the Arabic name “Al 'Ud”.

The oud is actually the grandfather of the modern day guitar.

Ney (nai, nay) - An end-blown bamboo flute with a beautiful breathy sound.

The ney is used in Turkish, Persian & Arabic music. The ney being played in the photograph is an Arabic neys. Turkish neys are characterised by a UFO-shaped mouthpiece, known as the "bushparde".  The Persian style of ney playing is slightly different - the ney is wedged between the players front teeth, with a resulting sound that is more breathy than the other styles.

The ney is one of the worlds most ancient instruments, and is portrayed in Ancient Egyptian art.  Although the design is simple, professional quality neys are hard to find, as it requires a lot of skill and bamboo to get correctly pitched ney.  As a consequence, neys made from PVC have become a common site, although the natural kind are preferred.

Riq is the Arabic tambourine, traditionally made with fish skin, but now commonly made with mylar or other kinds of synthetic heads.  The riq is a difficult instrument to master, and is the primary percussion instrument in classical Arabic music.  There are different styles in riq playing, including the cabaret style, which is louder and flashier, and the classical style, which is more subtle and reserved.

Darbuka - Also known as the Egyptian tabla, doumbek, and a host of other names,  this goblet shaped drum is ubiquitous in Middle Eastern music.

Traditionally the darbuka was made of clay and fish or goat skin, but currently the most common materials are cast aluminum, with a mylar (plastic) head.  Turkish darabukas are often made from printed copper or aluminum.  The Persian equivalent of darbuka is called the zarb, and is made of wood and animal hide.

The darbuka has an exciting sound that gives a lot of liveliness to the music.