The Chardha (also Charda, Chardah or Hunza Rubab) is a stringed instrument from Pakistan and Afghanistan, from and mainly played in the Hunza valley and Gilgit-Baltistan province. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] It has 4 or 5 main playing strings made of gut or nylon, and many metal resonance strings. [7]
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, including standing or sitting and in orchestras or concerts. Its most common form is triangular in shape and made of wood. Some have multiple rows of strings and pedal attachments.
A steel guitar is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar in that it does not use frets; conceptually, it is somewhat akin to playing a guitar with one finger. Known for its portamento capabilities, gliding smoothly over every pitch between notes, the instrument can produce a sinuous crying sound and deep vibrato emulating the human singing voice. Typically, the strings are plucked by the fingers of the dominant hand, while the steel tone bar is pressed lightly against the strings and moved by the opposite hand.
The oud is a short-neck lute-type, pear-shaped, fretless stringed instrument, usually with 11 strings grouped in 6 courses, but some models have 5 or 7 courses, with 10 or 13 strings respectively.
The dombra, also known as dombyra is a long-necked Kazakh and Bashkir lute and a musical string instrument. The dombyra shares certain characteristics with the komuz and dutar, such as its long, thin neck and oblong body shape. It is a popular instrument among Turkic communities in Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia.
The Karakoram is a mountain range spanning the borders of China, India, and Pakistan, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan; its highest 15 mountains are all based in Pakistan. It begins in the Wakhan Corridor (Afghanistan) in the west, encompasses the majority of Gilgit-Baltistan, and extends into Ladakh and Aksai Chin. It is the second highest mountain range in the world and part of the complex of ranges including the Pamir Mountains, the Hindu Kush and the Himalayan Mountains. The Karakoram has eighteen summits over 7,500 m (24,600 ft) height, with four of them exceeding 8,000 m (26,000 ft): K2, the second highest peak in the world at 8,611 m (28,251 ft), Gasherbrum I, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum II.
Gilgit is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and Hunza River, and is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a hub for trekking and mountaineering expeditions in the Karakoram mountain range.
The pungi, also known as the been, or the murli, is a wind instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a reservoir into which air is blown and then channelled into two reed pipes. It is played with no pauses, as the player employs circular breathing. In street performances, the pungi is used for snake charming.
The Karakoram Highway is a 1,300 km (810 mi) national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in the Punjab province of Pakistan to the Khunjerab Pass in Gilgit-Baltistan, where it crosses into China and becomes China National Highway 314. The highway connects the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa plus Gilgit-Baltistan with China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The highway is a popular tourist attraction and is one of the highest paved roads in the world, passing through the Karakoram mountain range, at 36°51′00″N75°25′40″E at maximum elevation of 4,714 m (15,466 ft) near Khunjerab Pass. Due to its high elevation and the difficult conditions in which it was constructed, it is often referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The highway is also a part of the Asian Highway AH4.
Alghoza is a paired woodwind instrument. It is traditionally used by Baloch, Saraiki, Sindhi and Punjabi folk musicians. It is also used by Kutchi and Rajasthani people. It consists of two joined beak flutes, one for melody, the second for drone. The flutes are either tied together or may be held together loosely with the hands. A continuous flow of air is necessary as the player blows into the two flutes simultaneously. The quick recapturing of breath on each beat creates a bouncing, swinging rhythm. The wooden instrument initially comprised two flute pipes of the same length but over time, one of them was shortened for sound purposes. In the world of Alghoza playing, the two flute pipes are a couple — the longer one is the male and the shorter one the female instrument. With the use of beeswax, the instrument can be scaled to any tune.
Hunza is a mountainous valley in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. Hunza is situated in the northern part of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, bordering with Ishkoman to the northwest, Shigar to the southeast, Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor to north, and the Xinjiang region of China to the northeast.
Rubab, robab or rabab is a lute-like musical instrument originating from Afghanistan. The rubab is one of the national musical instruments of Afghanistan and other areas inhabited by the Pashtun, Baloch and also played by Sindhi people in Sindh and by Kashmiri people in Kashmir. It proliferated throughout West, Central, South and Southeast Asia. It derives its name from Arabic rebab 'played with a bow'; in Central Asia, however, the instrument is plucked and is distinctly different in construction.
The Sato is a bowed tanbur, or long-necked lute, played by performers of Central Asian classical and folk music, mainly in Uzbekistan. It has five strings. When plucked, the top string is pressed to the neck to produce a melody; the other four strings are drone strings. Frets on the neck are made of tied string. The soundboard has holes drilled in it for sound holes. It is made from mulberry wood.
The mugni (archlute) is a Persian stringed musical instrument which resembles a tar except that the two globes are connected and not separated like the tar's.
The Pamiri rubab is a fretless six-strung lute, carved from a single piece of wood with a skin head. It is played in the Badakhshan region of Tajikistan, as part of the Pamiri musical tradition.
The dutar is a traditional long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and Central Asia. Its name comes from the Persian word for "two strings", دوتار do tār, although the Herati dutar of Afghanistan has fourteen strings. When played, the strings are usually plucked by the Uyghurs of Western China and strummed and plucked by the Tajiks, Turkmen, Uzbeks. Related instruments include the Kazakh dombra. The Dutar is also an important instrument among the Kurds of Khorasan amongst whom Haj Ghorban Soleimani of Quchan was a noted virtuoso. In Kurdish one who plays the dutar is known as a bakci (bakhshi), while in Azeri the term is ashiq. Khorasan bakhshi music is recognized on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Gilgit Baltistan is an administrative territory of Pakistan, disputed by India that borders the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, Azad Kashmir to the southwest, Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the northwest, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China to the north, and the Indian administrated region of Jammu and Kashmir to the south and southeast.
Shahid Akhtar Qalandar, commonly known by his stage name Qalandari, or Shahid Qalandar, is a Pakistani singer-songwriter born and raised in Hunza Valley, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan.
The rawap is a fretted plucked long-necked stringed instrument used in folk music by residents of the Uyghur autonomous region of Xinjiang, Western China. The history of the instrument dates back to the 14th century in southern Xinjiang. It is an instrument of the Uyghurs and Uzbeks. It's particularly associated with Uyghur music and culture.
The Shashtar, Sheshtar or Shashtay is a stringed musical instrument of the lute family. It was mentioned historically by Evliya Çelebi and Abd al-Qadir Maraghi. It is or was played in Iran/Persia, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and elsewhere. It may have been developed during the Safavid Dynasty from the tambur. Like the tambur, it has a floating bridge and a wooden soundboard. The 6 gut strings were in 3 double courses, and thus it may be a forerunner of the Tar.
Indus Blues is a 2018 Pakistani documentary film produced and directed by filmmaker Jawad Sharif about the dying folk and classical musical instruments of cultures in Pakistan and the struggle of musicians and craftsmen. The film was premiered in August 2018 at Regina International Film Festival in Canada and nominated for the Best International Documentary Film Award. The official trailer has been released in October 2018 in Pakistan.