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Bağlama

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Bağlama
Different sizes of bağlama: Cura (left, smallest) and Çöğür bağlaması/Tambura Bağlaması (right, middle sized)
String instrument
Other namesSaz
Classification
Hornbostel–Sachs classification321.321-6
(Necked bowl lute, sounded with a plectrum)
DevelopedAnatolia, Turkey
Related instruments
Sound sample
Saz sound

The bağlama, saz, tambura or bozuk is a long-necked fretted lute used in the folk music of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia and neighbouring regions of the Balkans, and inWest Asia. It belongs to the wider family of long-necked lutes known as Tanburs, a group of instruments historically distributed from Iran and Mesopotamia across Central Asia and Anatolia.[1]

Musicologists classify the saz as part of the tanbur family of long-necked lutes.[2]

Within this broader organological tradition, the modern saz developed in Anatolia as the principal folk lute of Turkish folk music and became closely associated with the repertoire of itinerant poet-musicians known as âşıks.[3]

Name

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According to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "the terms 'bağlama' and 'saz' are used somewhat interchangeably in Turkey. 'Saz' is generally used interchangeably with 'enstrüman' (instrument) and it is used to refer single or group of musical instruments like 'üflemeli sazlar' (wind instruments).[4]

Historically, the name bağlama referred to smaller-sized saz instruments, now generally identified with the üçtelli cura. In some Alevi musical traditions, however, this instrument increased in size and became known as the dede sazı. The name bağlama itself has been hypothesized to derive from the tradition of deste bağlama."Bağlama Kelimesinin Kökeni Ve Tarihsel Süreçteki Gelişimi".

Larger saz instruments were known by other names such as: bozuk, tambura, and, in certain historical contexts, çöğür. The latter appears in Ottoman paintings alongside the classical tanbur. Depictions show the çöğür sharing a similar form with the classical tanbur, but utilizing a different string arrangement. The instrument is documented in having five or six strings with historical descriptions noting that the outer courses used thin steel strings while the middle course used brass strings."ÇÖĞÜR".

The tuning named çöğür is documented with a three-course tuning of A3 · (A3–D3) · G3. The pitch difference within the middle course suggests that the second string added to this course was a thinner higher-pitched string a feature also observed in modern traditional saz tuning systems.

Bağlama scale

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The musical scale of the saz differs from that of many western instruments — such as the guitar — in that it features ratios that are close to quarter tones. The traditional ratios for saz frets are listed by Yalçın Tura:[5]

However, as confirmed by Okan Öztürk,[6] instrument makers now often set frets on the saz with the aid of fret calculators[7] and tuners based on the 24-tone equal temperament. The frets include the 12 tones within 12-tone equal temperament, along with 5 more. This means that 12 tone songs can be played on the saz.

Tunings

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The Turkish saz has a variety of tunings (düzen), associated with different regional traditions. The list below presents some of the most common tunings and their commonly used names. String order is given as Bottom, Middle, Top.

Tunings are defined relative to a reference system in which the bottom string is presumed to be A and then the other notes are derived accordingly. The instrument then may be transposed to a different absolute pitch level.[8][9][10]

Notable performers

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Asik Veysel was a bağlama virtuoso, and the prominent representative of the Anatolian ashik tradition in the 20th century.
Erdinç Ecevit Yıldız from the band Altın Gün performs with an electric bağlama.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ During, Jean. The Spirit of Sounds: The Unique Art of Ostad Elahi. Associated University Press. The tanbur is an ancient long-necked lute of Iranian origin whose descendants spread widely across the Middle East and Central Asia.
  2. ↑ History of lute-family instruments. The tanbur family includes bağlama (saz) and related long-necked lutes.
  3. ↑ Music in Turkey: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. Oxford University Press. The bağlama or saz is the central instrument of Turkish folk music and the traditional accompaniment of the âşık poets.
  4. ↑ Scheherezade Qassim Hassan; Morris, R. Conway; Baily, John; During, Jean (2001). "Tanbūr". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol. xxv (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. pp. 61–62. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.
  5. ↑ Yalçın Tura, "Türk Musikisinin Mes'eleleri". İstanbul, Pan Yayıncılık, 1988, ISBN 975-7652-02-4. See page 159.
  6. ↑ Zhudki, Aleh. "O. ÖZTÜRK: FROM SEVENTEEN TO TWENTY-FOUR: INSTRUMENTS OF BAĞLAMA FAMILY AND TRADITIONAL TONE SYSTEM". academia.edu. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Bağlamada Perde Ayarları". www.turkuler.com. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "Bağlama tunings".
  9. ↑ "Bağlama tunings".
  10. ↑ "Azerbaijiani saz tunings".
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