How the tovshuur makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the tovshuur 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.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
The tovshuur, also known as topshur or topshuur (Mongolian Cyrillic: товшуур; Mongolian: ᠲᠣᠪᠰᠢᠭᠤᠷ, romanized: tobshiğur; Mandarin Chinese: 托布秀尔 Tuō bù xiù ěr) is a two- or three-stringed lute played by the Western Mongolian (Oirats) tribes called the Altai Urianghais, the Altais, Tuvans, and Khalkha peoples.
The topshur is closely tied to the folklore of Western Mongolian people and accompanied the performances of storytellers, singing, and dancing.
Other lutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a tovshuur 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 tovshuur?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.321).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q4460933 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Tovshuur – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Andrew Russeth from New York, New York – CC BY-SA 2.0