Quick Answer
The Uyghur dutar (都塔尔, dūtǎ’ěr) is a plucked lute with two strings and a long fretted neck. It can carry a tune, give it a rhythmic pulse and accompany a singer. In Hotan, fieldwork documents the dutar in solo storytelling. In a Muqam ensemble, its plucked sound is one part of a larger musical texture.[1][2][5][6]
- What to look for: Two strings run from the tuning pegs down a long neck to a pear-shaped wooden body.[1][6]
- What to listen for: A player can sound single notes and sweep across the strings in a strum.[6]
- Where it is made: China documents Uyghur instrument-making traditions in Shufu and Xinhe.[3][4]
Tuning, fret count and materials can vary. Compare the instrument’s overall form and playing technique.[1][6]
Two strings can be enough to carry both a melody and a pulse. One note can stand out, then a quick sweep across the strings can fill the space between sung phrases. The size of the ensemble changes how easily the listener can pick out those sounds.[2][5][6]
How to Recognise the Uyghur Dutar
Follow the strings from the tuning pegs along the neck to the bridge. A long row of frets divides the neck, and the strings cross a wide wooden soundboard. The Wende Museum describes the Uyghur dutar as roughly 130 centimetres long and identifies mulberry as a common wood. The measurement gives a sense of scale.[1][6]
Several regional lutes have long necks. The two strings and fretted neck together are more useful for identification than the shape of the body alone. The Kyrgyz komuz in China is a neighbouring comparison, with three strings and a fretless neck.
What the Two Strings Do
A player can pick out a line on one string or strum across both. That change lets the sound move from clearly separated pitches to rhythmic accents. In a recording with a vocalist, listen just after a phrase ends. There may be more room to hear the short strokes that are harder to separate from the voice during the line.[5][6]
The Wende Museum presents two tuning examples for the pair of strings and provides an audio sample. The examples give intervals of a fourth or a fifth, depending on the tuning. The sound comes from more than the interval. Finger movement, the timing of each stroke and the way a note rings into the next one all help shape a performance.[1][6]
Where the Dutar Is Heard
A fieldwork account from Hotan describes a solo narrator who tells and sings stories with the accompaniment of his own playing. During spoken transitions the narrative can take precedence, then the instrument can give the sung passage a clearer musical setting. The article on Uyghur dastan storytelling explains the shift between prose and verse.[5]
In an ensemble performance of Muqam, several timbres may overlap. A bowed instrument can sustain a note while the dutar’s pluck has a more distinct onset. Percussion can reinforce a pulse. Listen for the repeated attacks around the singing, and check the recording credit to see which instruments are present. The lineup can differ between regional styles and recordings.[2][6]
How Makers Pass On the Craft
China’s national inventory entry for Uyghur instrument making identifies Shufu County as the submitting area for the 2008 entry. It also describes the work in Xinhe, including the use of selected mulberry wood. The listing covers the making of several instruments.[3]
The accompanying record for a representative maker in Shufu describes a family with a history of making and playing instruments. He began learning from his father at the age of six and made instruments including the dutar and rawap. A musician’s recording can show the result in sound. A maker’s record can show how wood choice, assembly and ornament entered the craft.[4]
FAQs About the Uyghur Dutar
Is the Dutar the Same as the Satar?
They are distinct instruments. A musician plucks or strums the dutar’s two strings. The satar is bowed and can have a bank of sympathetic strings that resonate beneath the main strings.[6]
Are All Central Asian Dutars Identical?
The name applies to instruments in several Central Asian traditions. Identify a particular example by its origin, materials, tuning and the way musicians use it. The Wende Museum’s description refers to a Uyghur example and its musical context.[1]
資料來源
[1] Wende Museum. Traditional Central Asian musical instruments
[2] Rachel Harris. The Making of a Musical Canon in Chinese Central Asia
[3] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. Uyghur musical instrument making
[4] 中國非物質文化遺產網. Representative instrument maker from Shufu
[5] Central Asian Survey. From Sufism to communism: incarnations of the Uyghur song Imam Hüsäynim
[6] Max Planck digital repository. Uyghur Muqam and its instruments