Play Santur online
The hammered string instrument of Persian music; courses of four strings, a long and bright sound.
Dizi
On a keyboard, the keys A S D F G H J K play the eight pitches of the scale.
We welcome your ideas.
Turn your phone sideways or switch to full screen to see the instrument larger.
Keyboard keys
Add it to your home screen as a separate app: opens with one tap and works offline too. Free.
Keyboard: the up and down arrows select a course, Space or Enter plays it, plus and minus move the selected course's mandal by one comma.
Tap or swipe on the right side; tap the labels on the left to select a course. No sound on iPhone? Turn off silent mode.
Mandals
Lower or raise each pitch one comma at a time with the mandal levers. The setting applies to every course that has no setting of its own.
Course mandal
Tune a single course separately from the pitch setting. Courses you don't adjust follow the pitch setting.
About the Santur
In brief
- Family: Struck string instrument; trapezoidal box zither played with hammers
- Origin: Middle East and Iran; name from the Persian sentûr, mentioned in Ottoman sources since the 16th century
- Body and materials: Isosceles trapezoid wooden box; today's Iranian santur is mostly walnut
- Strings and bridges: Courses of 3–5 strings rest on bridges; bass strings bronze, treble strings steel
- Tuning: Movable bridges are shifted to suit the makam; the Iranian santur has 18 courses, 27 distinct notes
- Playing: Wooden hammers held with three fingers of each hand; Turkish hammers heavy, Iranian mezrab light
- Related instruments: Kanun (its plucked relative), Greek santouri, Indian santoor, Hungarian cimbalom, Chinese yangqin
- 16th–17th centuries: Evliya Çelebi names the santur in the Seyahatname but does not describe what kind of instrument it was[1, 2]
Getting started: types, sizes, tuning
History
Played in Iran for centuries, the santur is one of the main instruments of Persian classical music (dastgah). Instruments of the same family live on in Iraq, India (santoor) and Eastern Europe (cimbalom).
Construction
A trapezoid-shaped wooden case holds courses of four strings resting on movable bridges; the classical Persian santur has two rows of bridges and about 72 strings. In-between pitches are tuned by sliding the bridges; on this virtual santur they are set with mandal buttons.
How it's played
The strings are struck with light wooden mallets held in both hands. The mallet tips can be covered with felt for a softer sound.
Useful while you practice
Project notes
- Pitch system: Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek pitches are shown on a scale dividing the octave into 53 equal parts (the Holder comma, ≈22.6 cents), a close approximation of the theory's Pythagorean-ratio pitches. Each pitch is computed as its letter position plus the mandal shift; reference A4 = 440 Hz.
- Interval abbreviations: B = bakiye (4), S = küçük mücenneb (5), K = büyük mücenneb (8), T = tanini (9), A = augmented second (12–13 commas).
- Mandals: per-pitch tuning is the default; any course can also be tuned separately. Makam presets are per pitch.
- Known limitations: pitch names are referenced to Rast (G); makam presets are awaiting expert review.
Frequently asked questions about the Santur
In what kinds of music is the santur played?
It is common above all in Persian classical music (dastgah) and also in Iraqi music; instruments of the same family are used in India (santoor) and Eastern Europe (cimbalom).
How do I play the virtual santur?
Sweep the strings with your finger or mouse, or tap them one by one. When you choose a makam, the in-between pitches are set automatically; you can listen to the makam's scale in the scale panel.
Is the santur sound a real recording?
Not yet: for now the santur sound is synthesized. When real santur recordings are added, this instrument will play with recorded sound too.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi
- ozanyarman.com