| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

saz

Page history last edited by Andrew Alder 14 years, 11 months ago

The saz is a long-necked subfamily of the lute, popular in Turkey, normally with three courses..

 

In traditional, acoustic form it has from ten to nineteen movable frets, and six or seven strings. Saz is Turkish (and Persian) for musical instrument. The traditional fret positions include several quartertone positions. The frets can be moved to accomodate different intonations.

 

Caution: Strings and courses are here numbered according to our Standards and Conventions. Many saz players number them in the reverse direction.

 

 

Traditional (acoustic) saz 

On the seven-string saz, the top (first) course is triple, the other two double. The smallest saz, the cura, has half the scale of a full-size baglama, and commonly has six strings in three double courses; Any other acoustic saz will normally have seven strings.

 

The tuning is unusual. The first course is regarded as the highest, and the third the lowest. And certainly, the first course contains the highest string or strings, and the third the lowest. But there's a catch.

 

The first one or two strings of the first course are the primary strings of that course, and the highest of the instrument, and are plain. The remaining string of this course is wound, and tuned an octave lower. The second course has two plain strings, tuned to unison. The third course is again double, but the primary string is the second of this course, and is the lowest on the instrument, and a wound string. The first string of the third course is plain and tuned an octave above its primary.

 

In western thinking, this would probably be called a reentrant tuning, but it is not regarded as such by saz players.

 

 

Baglama Saz

Commonly known as the baglama (Westerners are probably best pronouncing that balama, and Turkish speakers please forgive the lack of the vital accent on the g) or just as the saz, this is mid-sized, and the most common saz, and supplies the melody to both traditional and modern Turkish pop music. Think of how western music would be if the violin and the guitar were the same instrument, and you get the idea. It commonly has a scale of 26" - 36", with 35.6" typical of a long-neck in A tuning and 27.4" typical for a short-neck in D tuning.

 

A professional saz is made to order, and the scale is set to whatever the musician requires, according to the intended tuning of the first (highest) course which is in turn matched to the performer's vocal range. Often this means a shorter neck, but the music is still written as if the top string were tuned to A, and such a saz is therefore a transposing instrument.

 

Standard long-neck A tuning:

  • G g - d d  - A a a

 

Common variations (also A tunings):

  • E e - d d  - A a a
  • F# f # - d d  - A a a

 

Short-neck D tunings:

  • c c'  -  g g  - d d' d'
  • A a  -  g g  - d d' d'
  • B b  -  g g  - d d' d'

 

String gauges

 

Avarez AS-900 string set: a .007, a .007, A .015w, d .012, d .012, g .007, G .023w (packed with a spare .007, made in Turkey)

La Bella BA1 string set: a .007, a .007, A .018w, d .011, d .011, g .007, G .024w

 

 

Cura saz

 

A piccolo version of the baglama, the cura has a scale of about 18", and often lacks the second high string on the first course. String gauges as for the baglama.

 

Standard A tuning:

  • g g' - d' d'  - a a'

 

Variant A tunings:

  • e e' - d' d'  - a a'
  • f # f # ' - d' d'  - a a'

 

 

Divan saz, meydan saz and oniktelli saz

 

Divan saz and meydan saz are two names for the bass member of the saz family. The oniktelli saz is a rarer bass saz variant with eight strings in four double courses.

 

Divan saz tuning is one octave lower than the baglama, standard A tuning:

 

  • G' G - D D  - A' A A

 

This lower tuning is achieved mainly by use of heavier strings, but a longer scale length is also used.

 

Electric saz

 

The modern electric saz is based on the baglama saz but often has five strings, in two double courses and one single, and fixed frets which include some quartertone frets.

 

  • G  - d d  - A a 

 

However again there are many variations.

 

 

External links

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.