Rubab
Encyclopedia
Rubab or robab is a lute
-like musical instrument originally from Afghanistan
, but is also played in the neighbouring countries. It derives its name from the Arab rebab
which means "played with a bow
" but the Central Asian instrument is plucked, and is distinctly different in construction. The rubab is mainly used by Pashtun
, Tajik, Kashmiri
and Iran
ian Kurdish
classical musicians.
The rubab is a short-necked lute
whose body is carved out of a single piece of wood, with a membrane, covering the hollow bowl of the sound-chamber, upon which the bridge is positioned. It has three melody strings tuned in fourths
, three drone strings and 11 or 12 sympathetic strings. The instrument is made from the trunk of a mulberry
tree, the head from an animal skin such as a goat skin, and the strings either gut (from the intestines of young goats, brought to the size of thread) or nylon
.
The rubab is known as "the lion of instruments", and is one of the two national instruments of Afghanistan (together with the Zerbaghali). Classical Afghan music often features this instrument as a key component. Elsewhere it is known as the Kabuli rebab. It is the ancestor of the South Asian sarod
though - unlike the sarod - it is a fret
ted instrument. When the Muslim musician Mardana
became the first disciple of Guru Nanak the plucked rabab became an essential component of Panjabi
hymns though, once again, though it derived its name from the rubab the Punjabi instrument adopts a different method of construction.
The rubab is attested from the 7th century CE. It is mentioned in old Persian
books, and many Sufi poets mention it in their poems. It is the traditional instrument of Khorasan
and today it is widely used in countries, such as Afghanistan
, Pakistan
, Iran
, India
, Tajikistan
, and Uzbekistan
.
The rubab holds as the first instrument used by Sikhism
, it was used by Bhai Mardana
the companion of Guru Nanak whenever a shabad was revealed to Guru Nanak he would sing it and Bhai Mardana would play it on his rubab he was known as a rubabi. The rubab playing tradition is still carried on by some sikhs such as Namdharis is understood as Sikh music
.
In Tajikistan a similar but somewhat distinct rubab-i-pamir (Pamiri rubab
) is played, having a shallower body and neck. The rubab of the Pamir
area has six gut strings, one of which, rather than running from the head to the bridge, is attached partway down the neck, similar to the fifth string of the American banjo
.
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
-like musical instrument originally from Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, but is also played in the neighbouring countries. It derives its name from the Arab rebab
Rebab
The rebab , also rebap, rabab, rebeb, rababah, or al-rababa) is a type of string instrument so named no later than the 8th century and spread via Islamic trading routes over much of North Africa, the Middle East, parts of Europe, and the Far East...
which means "played with a bow
Bow (music)
In music, a bow is moved across some part of a musical instrument, causing vibration which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones....
" but the Central Asian instrument is plucked, and is distinctly different in construction. The rubab is mainly used by Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
, Tajik, Kashmiri
Kashmiri people
The Kashmiri people are a Dardic linguistic group living in Kashmir Valley in Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and parts of the Pakistani territory of Azad Kashmir who speak the Kashmiri language...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
classical musicians.
The rubab is a short-necked lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
whose body is carved out of a single piece of wood, with a membrane, covering the hollow bowl of the sound-chamber, upon which the bridge is positioned. It has three melody strings tuned in fourths
Perfect fourth
In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there...
, three drone strings and 11 or 12 sympathetic strings. The instrument is made from the trunk of a mulberry
Mulberry
Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
tree, the head from an animal skin such as a goat skin, and the strings either gut (from the intestines of young goats, brought to the size of thread) or nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
.
The rubab is known as "the lion of instruments", and is one of the two national instruments of Afghanistan (together with the Zerbaghali). Classical Afghan music often features this instrument as a key component. Elsewhere it is known as the Kabuli rebab. It is the ancestor of the South Asian sarod
Sarod
The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...
though - unlike the sarod - it is a fret
Fret
A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck. On most modern western instruments, frets are metal strips inserted into the fingerboard...
ted instrument. When the Muslim musician Mardana
Mardana
Mardana can refer to* Bhai Mardana, the companion of the founder of Sikhism* the outer part of a South Asian house, as opposed to the Zenana...
became the first disciple of Guru Nanak the plucked rabab became an essential component of Panjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
hymns though, once again, though it derived its name from the rubab the Punjabi instrument adopts a different method of construction.
The rubab is attested from the 7th century CE. It is mentioned in old Persian
Persian literature
Persian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
books, and many Sufi poets mention it in their poems. It is the traditional instrument of Khorasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
and today it is widely used in countries, such as Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
, and Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
.
The rubab holds as the first instrument used by Sikhism
Sikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
, it was used by Bhai Mardana
Bhai Mardana
Bhai Mardana was the first follower and longtime companion of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism. He was with Nanak in all of his journeys across India and Asia...
the companion of Guru Nanak whenever a shabad was revealed to Guru Nanak he would sing it and Bhai Mardana would play it on his rubab he was known as a rubabi. The rubab playing tradition is still carried on by some sikhs such as Namdharis is understood as Sikh music
Sikh music
See also KirtanSikh music began in the 16th century as the musical expression of mystical poetry conceived by the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak. Following him, all the Sikh gurus sang in the then-prevalent classical and folk music styles, accompanied by stringed and percussion instruments...
.
In Tajikistan a similar but somewhat distinct rubab-i-pamir (Pamiri rubab
Pamiri rubab
The Pamiri rubab is a fretless six-strung lute, carved from a single piece of wood with a skin head. It is played in the Badakhshan region of Tajikistan, as part of the Pamiri musical tradition....
) is played, having a shallower body and neck. The rubab of the Pamir
Great Pamir
The Great Pamir or Big Pamir is a broad U-shaped grassy valley or pamir in the eastern part of the Wakhan in north-eastern Afghanistan and the adjacent part of Tajikistan, in the Pamir Mountains...
area has six gut strings, one of which, rather than running from the head to the bridge, is attached partway down the neck, similar to the fifth string of the American banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
.
Notable players
- Aziz HerawiAziz HerawiAziz Herawi is a noted musician from Afghanistan. He specializes in the dutar and rubab, both plucked string instruments. Afghan musician Aziz Herawi was seven years of age the first time he heard the strings of the dutar being plucked. He talked one of the family servants, who hid it in a...
(born 1952) Afghan born, now residing in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... - Ustad Mohammad OmarUstad Mohammad Omar-Early life and career:Mohammad Omar began music lessons under his father, Ustad Ibrahim, who taught him singing, sarod, rubab and dutar. In the mid-20th century, he was Director of the National Orchestra of Radio Afghanistan, which brought together folk musicians from the different regions and...
(1905—1980), the most famous Rubab virtuoso from AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world... - Homayun Sakhi, an Afghan Rubab player and a student of Ustad Mohammad Omar,
- Bijan Kamkar, an IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian KurdishKurdish peopleThe Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
player
See also
- RebabRebabThe rebab , also rebap, rabab, rebeb, rababah, or al-rababa) is a type of string instrument so named no later than the 8th century and spread via Islamic trading routes over much of North Africa, the Middle East, parts of Europe, and the Far East...
- RebecRebecThe rebecha is a bowed string musical instrument. In its most common form, it has a narrow boat-shaped body and 1-5 strings and is played on the arm or under the chin, like a violin.- Origins :The rebec dates back to the Middle Ages and was particularly popular in the 15th and 16th centuries...
- Music of AfghanistanMusic of AfghanistanThe music of Afghanistan has existed for a long time, but since the late 1970s the country has been involved in constant wars and people were less concerned about music...
- Music of PakistanMusic of PakistanThe music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic and modern day Western popular music influences...
- Music of Kurdistan
- Music of IranMusic of IranThe music of Iran has thousands of years of history, as seen in the archeological documents of Elam, one of the earliest world cultures,which was located in southwestern Iran...
- Music of Central AsiaMusic of Central AsiaCentral Asian music encompasses numerous different musical styles originating from a large number of Asian cultures. Central Asian music most often uses the pentatonic scale....