Dutar

(Persian dotar, from do, two, and tar, string), a plucked stringed instrument. It is widespread in various forms in many countries of the East. In the USSR it is found among the Tadzhiks (dutor), Turkmens, and Uzbeks. It consists of a pear-shaped body, from which extends a long neck with a fingerboard of from 13 to 20 frets made of animal tendons fastened to it. The instrument has two strings (silk or gut), tuned in fourths or, less frequently, fifths. In Uzbekistan the folk dutar has served as the basis for the construction of a family of orchestral dutars (first, alto, bass, and double bass), which have become part of the Uzbek orchestra of folk instruments.