The Turkish Long-Necked Lute Saz or Bağlama

The saz or baglama, a generic name for long-necked lutes in Turkey, plays an important role in Turkish musical culture. This volume focusses on the instrument’s cultural-historical background while briefly discussing various saz or baglama types and their construction, tuning, and playing techniques.

The saz or baglama, a generic name for long-necked lutes in Turkey, plays an important role in the Turkish musical culture. It forms the core of all folk musical ensembles and orchestras and is a popular instrument in the arabesque, entertainment, and pop music. It is the instrument par excellence in Turkish music education and in the religious rituals of the Alevi and Bektasi. The saz or baglama can also be heard as a solo instrument on international concert stages. Acknowledging the instrument’s unique place in Turkey, The Turkish Long-Necked Lute Saz or Baglama, an updated and revised edition of the Dutch book Turkse Langhalsluit of baglama, mainly focusses on its cultural and historical background while briefly discussing various saz or baglama types and their construction, tuning, and playing techniques.

"Preface and Acknowledgements ; General Introduction ; Chapter-1 Historical BackgroundTanbur, Saz, BaglamaThe Spike Lute ; The Necked Lute ; The Sasanian Tunbur ; The Umayyad and Abbasid TanbursThe Anatolian Long-Necked LutesCourt and City ; The Saz in the Work of European Artists and Travellers ; The Saz in Anatolian Folk Music ; The Saz in the Asik, Alevi, and Bektasi Tradition ; The Diffusion of the SazThe Saz and the Establishment of a National Musical Culture ; The Development of the Contemporary Baglama ; Towards a New Generation of Baglamas ; Trends in Baglama PerformanceChapter-2 Variation versus StandardizationThe Cura ; The Baglama ; The Tambura ; The Divan Sazi ; The Meydan SaziChapter-3 ConstructionThe Choice of Wood ; The Drying of WoodBowl ; Soundboard ; Frets, Bridge, and Strings ; OrnamentationChapter-4 TuningCountryside ; CityChapter-5 Playing TechniqueHorizontal Techniques ; Vertical TechniquesGlossary of Musical Instruments and Terms ; Discography ; Bibliography ; Illustration Credits ; A Note on Turkish ; Index ", Preface and Acknowledgements ;
General Introduction ;
Chapter-1 Historical Background Tanbûr, Saz, Bağlama Early and Late Antiquity ;
The Spike Lute ;
The Necked Lute ;
The Sâsânian Tunbûr ;
The Umayyad and Abbâsid Tanbûrs The Rum-Seljuks ;
The Anatolian Long-Necked Lutes The Ottoman Empire ;
Court and City ;
The Saz in the Work of European Artists and Travellers ;
The Saz in Anatolian Folk Music ;
The Saz in the Âşık, Alevî, and Bektaşî Tradition ;
The Diffusion of the Saz The Republic of Turkey ;
The Saz and the Establishment of a National Musical Culture ;
The Development of the Contemporary Bağlama ;
Towards a New Generation of Bağlamas ;
Trends in Bağlama Performance Migration and the Bağlama in Western Europe ;
The Bağlama in the 21st Century ;
Chapter-2 Variation versus Standardization The Bağlama Family ;
The Cura ;
The Bağlama ;
The Tambura ;
The Divan Sazı ;
The Meydan Sazı Variation versus Standardization ;
Chapter-3 Construction The Choice of Wood ;
The Drying of Wood Construction Process ;
Bowl ;
Soundboard ;
Frets, Bridge, and Strings ;
Ornamentation Chapter-4 Tuning String Tuning ;
Fret Tuning ;
Countryside ;
City Chapter-5 Playing Technique Playing Position ;
Finger Positions ;
Plectrum Techniques ;
Finger Techniques ;
Execution Melody ;
Horizontal Techniques ;
Vertical Techniques Glossary of Musical Instruments and Terms ;
Discography ;
Bibliography ;
Illustration Credits ;
A Note on Turkish ;
Index