Santur 9 Bridges Sadeghi Goldar

This Santur is being made by ancient methods, which pass from father to son. The santurs are being made by master Sadeghi, a son of a Santur-making family. Master Sadeghi makes santurs of various qualities, and Goldar is his flagship 9-bridge instrument. It is made of high-quality walnut. The decorations on the santur are made in a technique called Munabat Kari – a style of mosaic.

The Santur

The santur, an ancient instrument from the percussion family, was very common in old kingdoms. The common woods in use were aged walnut or black rosewood, depending on the desired sound. Before arriving in the region, the instrument was common in ‘Ashur,’ which is today around northern Syria. During its spread, the santur became a recognized instrument in this area.

As with many other instruments, the santur traveled to many other countries, acquiring a special and unique shape for every different region. Today, one can see the differences between the Armenian, Romanian, Turkish, and Indian versions. In the Middle Ages, the santur started to appear in the West. It is now common to see it in American folk music, where it’s named “Hammered Dulcimer”. The santur also made its way to Israel, where it is mentioned in the book of “Daniel” as ‘Psanterin’, an instrument used for sacred chanting. It is believed that the king of Babylon fell in love with the rich sounds and adopted the instrument into his court. But it was only in the glory days of a notable leader that it spread literally all over Asia. The source of the name ‘santur’ is from a term meaning “100 strings” or “many strings”.

The santur is tuned by turning metal pegs on the side wooden board of the instrument. It is usually tuned to the scale (Dastgah) of the song being played. If one song uses more than one scale, the player will have to retune the santur. This can be done either by changing the location of the small bridges or by tuning from the peg box.

Santur players are renowned for recognizing notes with extreme precision, as the tuning of the instrument is done solely by ear. To produce sound, the player strikes the strings with two wooden sticks. These sticks, hand-carved from olive wood, are wrapped at the edge with cotton or felt to soften the sound, a detail that can vary according to the style.