Dotar instrument Dotar is one of the cordopone- percussion instruments which is mostly prevalent in the music of North Khorasan. It is like a pear- shaped bowl with a relatively long handle and two strings. It is played with picking the strings with nail. In some ancient books it was called Tanboure or Tambour. Today, it is mostly played in the northern and eastern regions of Khorasan, the Turkmen-inhabited and Katul regions of Golestan province, and in all the northeastern regions of Iran. History: The origin of Dotar dates back several thousand years ago. Many musicians consider this instrument to be the mother of the Tanboure and Setar. In the music dictionary named "Grave", the history of Dotar is considered to be five to six thousand years old and according to the relics left in Susa and the hills of Bani Younes in the Mosul, Iraq, the origin of Dotar is estimated to be 1,500 to 2,000 BC. Dotar has been a used for storytelling and the narration, which the story of Shah Ismail, Zohreh and Taher, Asli and Karam, Kuraoglu, Gharib and Shah Sanam, Lily and Majnoon, Gol Afrooz and Doust Mahmoud Cited are the example of stories. This instrument can be seen in different areas with a slight change in the shape and method of playing; based on this and the geographical area, the Dotar is divided into the north and east of Khorasan, the Turkmen Dotar and the Mazandarani dotar. The Dotar is mostly prevalent in of Torbat-e Jam and Taybad in eastern Khorasan, and the center of Dotar in northern Khorasan is Quchan. One of the obvious differences between Dotar in the different regions is the number of frets in handle of instrument, which in the East Khorasan region has eight fret and in the northern part is about eleven. The Dotar is also played in some Central Asia and northeastern China regions. Today, the area of playing the dotar are:  North Khorasan: in the cities of Bojnourd, Esfarayen, Shirvan, Dargaz and Quchan,  South and East Khorasan: In the cities of Birjand, Qaenat, Torbat-e Jam, Kashmar, Bakhrez, Khaf and Sarakhs  Turkmen-inhabited areas: including northeastern Iran, including Golestan province and Aliabad Katoul district, Some areas of Mazandaran province.

Instrumentology: Dotar is one of the string- percussion instruments with two strings (tar). Playing the Dotar is by fingernails. Dotar has a long handle with 17-20 fret or finger board, but some local Dotar in the southern part of Iran do not have any fret. The abdominal surface is made of one-piece wood of blackberry tree and the neck part is made of walnut or apricot wood. In the past, they hallowed the wood in order to gain a better sound. Haj Hossein Ideal believed that silky strings made an attractive sound in Dotar; also, he prescribes the alto string as a Havva and the soprano string as an Adam. Dotar structure: In different parts of Iran, Dotar has some different in structure, while maintaining their original shape and characteristics. But overall, the Dotar is made of an almost pear-shaped integrated resonator bowl that is covered with a wooden plate at the opening part of the bowl. The handle is about one meter long, on which the freds are tied around it. The number of freds varies in different types of Dotar. It has two earphones and two cords. Tailpiece, vaulted and pallet are other members of the Dotar structure. Materials, playing rules, administration, fingerboard rules, and tune-up of Dutar according to regions: East Khorasan: Resonance bowl and its platform: from mulberry wood handle: Apricot, jujube earphones: Apricot sticks, walnuts pallet: ram's horn, bone, wood and metal Vault: Bone cords: Steel wires The freds are made of string or nylon thread. In ancient times, the Dotar had 9 freds and the main mode of music were played with these 9 freds. Today, some musicians use 13- to 17 freds performance technique: The mallet is placed individually in the right hand and is plunked left and right. It also has fast repetition, alto sound with uniform and rhythmic-metric sequence similar to that of screw claw, motion screw, fine motion and ... The left hand has longitudinal and transverse vibration, digging, leaning and gliding. The thumb is not used for playing and fingerprinting. Administration: It is played as a solo and is rarely accompanied by a tambourine. In some friendly gatherings, celebrations, recitation of Naqshbandi Mujaddidi, and a number of officials are dedicated exclusively to the recitation Dotar is played. 2- North Khorasan: Structure: resonance bowl and platform: made of mulberry wood handles: Apricot and jujube sticks Earphones: Apricot or metal wood Pallet: From the bone, the horn of the jujube tree and the apricot tree cords: bone, horn or wood Vault: Deer antler, apricot and jujube stick Waters: Of steel wire Frets: It is made of string, metal wire or nylon thread and its number is 12-11 Playing technique: Left and right mallets have rapid repetition with a single sound and sequence of similar and significant rhythmic-metric forms. When plunking with the left hand, the thumb rests on the soprano wire, which makes a difference in sound, compared to the eastern dotar. Administration: A person who played the Dotar named Bakhshi who can be a musician, a singer, a storyteller and a poet. The most important instrument along with singing is considered in the music of North Khorasan, which is not accompanied by any instrument. It is mostly used in weddings and dinners parties, and generally tells stories in the form of quotes or songs. 3- Turkmen region: Structure: resonance bowl and platform: made of mulberry wood handle: Mulberry and apricot sticks Earphone: Made of wood or brass metal Pallet: From bone, ram's horn Tailpiece: bone, ram's horn Vault: Wood cords: Of steel wire Fred: They are made of sring, metal wire with the number is 13 Playing technique: Playing Dotar is more complicated and organized than in other areas. Techniques for performing with the right hand: Shelpe, Chetrim (multi-stage), Ghero (different types with different stages), el-Sag, and some alto types. Left hand technique: including vibrating and plunking. The thumb of the left hand plays a complex and important role in playing the dotar. Administration: It is the most important instrument accompanied by singing and Kamancheh in the music of the Turkmen region. It is mostly used in wedding and night parties, which are played by Baghshi (Bakhshi). It is used in music therapy sessions as a reading or remembrance ritual to relieve measles in children, but mostly narrates stories in the form of quotations or songs. 4- Katoul area (Golestan): Structure : resonance bowl and platform: Mulberry wood, which is also made of walnut wood. Handles and earphones: made of hard wood such as maple Pallet: made of wood, horn or wood Tailpiece: bone Vault: mulberry and walnut wood Waters: Of steel wire cords: Made of gutter, metal wire, nylon thread or string copper wire with the number is 11 Playing technique: The playing technique is influenced by the Turkmen Dotar, but at the same time it is simpler than the Turkmen type. administration: Dotar is the most important instrument in the Katoul region, which is played along with the sinning and does not accompany by any instrument. At weddings, gathering and ceremonies are mostly administered. 5- Mazandarani Dotar: Structure: Resonance bowl: made of mulberry wood Platform, handles and earphones: from berry and walnut woods Pallet: made of wood Wiring: bone, ram's horn, metal nails and wood Khark: free wood, boxwood and mulberry cords: Of steel wire Freds: Made of string copper wire, wire or metal wire and its number is 8 Playing technique: The technique of playing is a combination of North Khorasan and Turkmen Dotar administration:  Dotar us account as a main instrument that is played along with the song, which does not accompany by any instrument. At weddings, it is sometimes matched with a fiddle, a tambourine, or a Tombak, and is mostly used for gathering, weddings, celebrations, and potlach

Tune-up: In the north of Khorasan, the fourth and fifth ratios are tuned In the east of Khorasan, there are two tuning, the lyric and the couplet tune-up with fourth distance Ashtarkhojoo, the Ahoo is played at the distance of the fifth tune musicians: Haj Ghorban Soleimani, (Dotar, North Khorasan) Abbas Gholi Ranjbar Nazari Mahjoubi Mohammad Hossein Yeganeh (North Khorasan Province) Elia Gholi Yeganeh (Doktar Turkmani)   Current musicians   Dr. Majid Tekeh   Alireza Soleimani   Osman Mohammadparast Abdullah Sarvar Ahmadi (Dotar Khorasani) Gholam Ali Pourataei (Dotar Khorasani) Mohammad Soleimani (East Khorasan Province) Noor Mohammad Durpour (East Khorasan Province) Mohammad Reza Ishaqi (Mazandaran) builders: Hossein Ali Ghamkhar Ahmadi Lavender Esfandiar Abdullah and Saeed Sarvar Ahmadi Ghulam Hassan Haddad Zolfaghar Asgaripour