Tanbūr

Tanbūr (Pers., Turk.) [Sum. *pandur], long-necked lute of the Near East, with small piriform body, fretted neck without pegbox, and pegs for a variable number of thin metal strings inserted in the neck from both front and side. In appearance the tanbūr is similar to the lutes of ancient Babylon and Egypt. It has been a pop. instr. ever since med. times and is found today from the Balkans to the Middle East. Cf. tunbur (170). Sachs, Curt. The History of Musical Instruments. New York, 1940.