Two instruments present in many Siberian songs are the Svirel and Kugikly which are pictured below.

Bottom: Kugikly – Panpipes that have 1-8 pipes most often played by groups of women.

Well known masters of Tuvan throat singing and traditional Tuvan instruments, Alash, believe that traditional music must constantly evolve.  They subtly infuse  songs with western elements creating a new style while staying true to their heritage.

Here is an example of Alash and their Tuvan throat singing.  Note how the singer in the center is able to produce multiple sounds at the same time.  Can you hear the low, vibrating tones?  How about the wavering whistle? 

More commonly known as the “Horse Head Fiddle”, it is a square fiddle with a long, straight handle that is curved at the tip and topped with a carving of a horse’s head. The twelve-year cycle of the lunar calendar is represented by twelve animals carved on the neck. The fiddle has two strings and a bow made from the hair of a horse’s tail. The camel, cow, sheep, and goat - which represent wealth and plenty - are also found at the top of the neck.

Below: Morin Khuur or "Horse Head Fiddle"

This video shows traditional Mongolian music being performed using the Morin Khuur.

Uzbek classical “art music” is derived from the maqam and shashmaquam.  The maqam is a set of pitches, melodic elements, and traditional patterns of these used to form a system for the tonal and melodic construction of performances.  Shashmaqam is a suite of six maqamat.  While maqam originated in Islamic music, shashmaqam is a part of Central Asian music.

The rich variety of Uzbek instruments reflect the diversity of musical styles performed on them.  Small ensembles of mixed instruments are at the heart of the classical maqam tradition. Instruments include long-necked fretted lutes, spike fiddle, side-blown flute, struck zither, frame drum, and a small clarinet-like instrument made from reed.

The dombra (pictured below) is a long-necked lute-type instrument with two strings and seven to nine frets.  It is tear-shaped and is played with one, two or five fingers.  While the dombra has crossed over into other genres of music, it is still the focal instrument of Kazakhstan folk music.

Large saz ensembles dominate Turkish radio and television stations. The zuma and davul (the shawm and drum duo) are used create the rural Turkish ceremonial music. Outside large cities, these instruments can be heard an almost any celebration. 

The best known Turkish regional music is associated with aşık.  Aşık sing songs of mystical quest interspersed with invocations to the Alevi sings and to Mohammed’s brother-in-law, Ali.  Urban Turkish music is dived into three genres:  religious, art music, and nightclub.  These styles have an overlap of instruments and repertoires and share the musical system based on makam. The makam are musical modes or scales in which the musicians compose their songs and instrumental pieces. More importantly, they weave their improvisations which are essential to the classical music performance.

Traditionally, this music is performed while seated on finely decorated cushions and rugs and sometimes candles are lit.

There are two examples of Iranian classical music above and below.  Notice in the bottom video that, once the vocalist begins singing, the music becomes secondary while in the beginning the music was the primary focus.

In conclusion, we hope you have enjoyed the journey through Central and Western Asia as much as we did!