How the barbat makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the barbat belongs to the lutes: strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck – the family of the guitar, violin, sitar and oud.
More broadly it is one of the chordophones (string instruments), where sound comes from vibrating strings, amplified by a resonating body.
Players shape its sound through technique and materials; the resonating body filters the raw vibration, boosting some harmonics and damping others.
From Wikipedia
The barbat (Persian: بربت) or barbud is a lute of Greater Iranian or Persian origin, and widespread across Central Asia, especially since the Sasanian Empire. Barbat is characterized as carved from a single piece of wood, including the neck and a wooden sound board. Possibly a skin-topped instrument for part of its history, it is ancestral to the wood-topped oud and biwa and the skin-topped Yemeni qanbus.
Although the original barbat disappeared, modern Iranian luthiers have invented a new instrument, inspired by the Barbat. The modern re-created instrument (Iranian Barbat) resembles the oud, although differences include a smaller body, longer neck, a slightly raised fingerboard, and a sound that is distinct from that of the oud.
Other lutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a barbat sound like?
As one of the lutes, its sound comes from the way strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck.
What type of instrument is the barbat?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.321-6).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q807780 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Barbat (lute) – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Galassi at English Wikipedia – CC BY-SA 3.0