Dutar

Dutar is a plucked stringed musical instrument, typically around 90 cm in total length. Unlike the Uzbek and Tajik dutars, the Turkmen dutar is smaller in size, with a carved-out body and a relatively short neck.

Dutar is a national folk musical instrument of the Turkmen people, traditionally used by folk bards known as bakhshis. It is played to accompany singing, as well as to perform various instrumental pieces and compositions written specifically for the dutar. Bakhshis use the instrument to perform dastans — long narrative performances that alternate between prose and poetry and may last for several hours.

In the 1940s, bass dutars were introduced to the Turkmen State Folk Instruments Orchestra. These instruments were played with a firm leather plectrum and adapted for orchestral use.