Forming a New Era of the Tar

The tar is a keystone string instrument, particularly in Iranian classical music, with roots to early versions of string instruments that were played across the Middle East thousands of years ago. To achieve a melodic, layered sound, the tar has 6 strings (like their descendants — guitars) that are plucked by musicians. Their double-bowl body and extended neck have remained in the same proportion over the last 250 years. The tar, as it is known today, was developed in Persia in the 18th century, and since then the process of crafting the tar has remained unchanged until very recently when luthier Mohammad Taheri set to work on innovating the tar’s technical structure. 

Traditionally, the soundbox of a tar is carved from one large block of wood. At best, a single tree can yield only one or two soundboxes using this method. The soundbox what is seen as the ‘body’ of a string instrument; the open chamber which amplifies the vibrations of the strings. Mohammad Taheri, a woodworker who was born in Tehran, Iran, and currently works from his studio in Toronto, Canada, has developed a new approach to creating the soundbox of the classic tar and setar instruments. Similar to the tar, a setar is a 4-string instrument that is also played by being plucked but has a softer sound than the tar due to having a smaller soundbox in the form of a single bowl.

Using bentwood strips over a carved form, Taheri now creates the structure of the soundbox entirely out of long grain wood, with zero end grain. This is compared to the original carved instrument body— previously almost entirely end grain — which absorbed sound instead of projecting it. Taheri’s new technique in forming the body of the instrument from bentwood can create between 80 and 120 soundboxes from the same amount of wood that would traditionally produce only two. 

Taheri is a woodworker with a professional practice of over 30 years. He has a specific interest in musical instruments within his artistic practice, which spans the creation of original sculpture, historical art replicas, restoration, and architectural carved wood. He approached innovating the tar and setar with respect to the original form, focusing on improving the instruments technically. Taheri says this was the greatest challenge of his years-long endeavour of a new way of crafting a tar, “Musical instrument making is a form of functional art and an intricate blend of woodworking, woodcarving, sculpting, as well as mathematical, acoustic and geometric knowledge. The challenge becomes even greater when you are not simply copying an existing instrument. It demands vision.”

Creating superior acoustics and finding a resource-conscious physical structure was not a simple task. Taheri was informed by his experience in past projects — building guitars, classic tars, and setars— that creating a musical instrument from mainly end-grain wood produced almost no vibration, and did not encourage the acoustics of the tar and setar. From there he began experimenting with the bentwood typically used on the outer body of acoustic guitars, and figured out how to form the shape of the intersecting double-bowl of the tar. Having the many bentwood pieces replicate the singular carved piece of wood was integral to making an instrument that sounded like a classical tar. All of the instruments Taheri makes depend on several key factors of sound: clarity, warmth, character, sustain, responsiveness, and the balance between the high and low registers. His latest tar and setar instruments possess all of these qualities, and he shares, “They have something almost divine—an intangible presence. A few friends who have heard my instruments even described the sound as having a healing quality, which was both unexpected and deeply meaningful to hear.” 

Now that the new era tar and setar are completed by Taheri, he plans to invite professional musicians from all over the world to experience them firsthand. The initial feedback from tar players in Toronto has been overwhelmingly positive, especially regarding the appearance and hand of the instrument. Taheri believes that these instruments mark the beginning of an entirely new era for Iranian music in quality and expression, as they have the proven potential to transform the craft of instrument making.