Persian dotar tuner online
The dotar (دوتار, “two strings”) is the long-necked, fretted lute of north-eastern Iran: North Khorasan around Quchan, East Khorasan around Torbat-e Jam, Khaf and Taybad, the Turkmen Sahra, Katul and eastern Mazandaran, with relatives across Central Asia. Its two strings are steel today and were silk or gut in the past. The melody runs on the zir, the lower string nearest the floor; the bam, the upper string, plays a parallel line or rings open as a drone.
Open-string notes and frequencies
Persian dotar in Iranian notation: the zir (melody string) and the bam in both tunings. Equal-tempered frequencies at A4 = 440 Hz; players often move both strings to fit the voice.
| String | Note | Frequency (Hz) |
|---|---|---|
| Zir · lower string, melody | C4 | 261.63 |
| Bam · fourth tuning | G3 | 196.00 |
| Bam · fifth tuning | F3 | 174.61 |
How to use it
- Tap Turn on microphone and pick the fourth or the fifth tuning for the piece you want to play.
- Tune the zir first, the lower string that carries the melody, to C4 or to whatever pitch suits your voice.
- Mute the zir with your hand and tune the bam: G3 for the fourth, F3 for the fifth. Open strings ring in sympathy, so play one at a time.
- Check by ear: the bam, stopped at the fourth (or fifth) above its open note, should match the open zir in unison.
Help and explanations
In Iranian notation the open zir is written as do, C4, and the bam sits a fourth below (G3) or a fifth below (F3). This tuner listens through your microphone and shows note, octave and cents for each open string. Both tunings get equal weight here: the fourth is listed for every dotar region of Iran, and the fifth is widely used in Khorasan.
C4 is a notation convention
The Iranian music site Setare says it plainly: to write dotar tunings down, the open first string is assumed to be do. Players put the zir where their voice needs it and keep the interval. If you sing lower or higher, move both strings together, keeping the fourth or the fifth, or change the A4 reference in Settings. What matters is the interval between the strings, not the absolute pitch.
The fourth (do–sol) is used in the Turkmen Sahra, Katul, eastern Mazandaran and in North and East Khorasan; Mohammadreza Barzegar describes the Katuli dotar as “lower string do, upper string sol”. The fifth (do–fa) belongs to East and North Khorasan and is also found in Kermanshah. In East Khorasan, ghazals and dobeitis usually go in fourths, while pieces such as Oshtorkhojo and Ahu go in fifths; Persian songs of North Khorasan are played in fifths. Local names such as kook-e navaei for the fourth are not universal.
Turkmen dutar, Central Asia and frets
The Turkmen dutar is also tuned in fourths. According to Fossum’s study of Turkmen performance, players use no absolute pitch and even raise the tuning during a performance; by local convention the open strings are transcribed as A and E. That is the same fourth at a different written pitch, so use the fourth preset and move both strings. The Uzbek dutor is tuned in fourths, fifths or unison, but sources disagree on its octave, and the modern 14-string Herati dutar of Afghanistan is a different instrument.
Frets are tied and movable, and their number changes from master to master: the East Khorasani dotar has eight frets plus a half-fret, while Belyaev counts 13 on the Turkmen dutar. Use the tuner for open strings and place fretted notes by ear or as your teacher shows. For other long-necked lutes, try the setar tuner or the saz tuner.
Tips
- Keep the bam below the zir: putting C on the low string with G or F above turns the fourth into a fifth and vice versa.
- Watch the octave: the bam belongs at G3 or F3, not G2 or F4.
- Thin steel strings snap easily; bring each note up from below and turn the peg slowly.
Frequently asked questions
What are the notes of a dotar?
In Iranian notation the zir (melody string) is C4 and the bam is G3 in the fourth tuning or F3 in the fifth tuning: 261.63, 196.00 and 174.61 Hz at A4 = 440 Hz.
Which dotar string carries the melody?
The zir, the lower string closest to the floor. The upper string, nearer your face, is the bam.
Should I tune my dotar in fourths or fifths?
It depends on the region and the piece. Fourths: Turkmen and Katuli dotar, and East Khorasani ghazals and dobeitis. Fifths: much of Khorasan, including the Persian songs of North Khorasan. Ask your teacher about a specific repertoire.
Is the Turkmen dutar tuned in fifths?
No. Academic sources give a fourth. Turkmen players also use no fixed absolute pitch, so set the pitch by ear and keep the fourth.