Editing Tar (string instrument) (section)

{{Short description|String Instrument}}
{{for|another instrument|Tar (Azerbaijani instrument)}}
{{Redirect|Taar|other uses|Trace amine-associated receptor|and|Taar (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox instrument
| name       = Tar
| image      = iranian tar.jpg
| background = string
| classification = Plucked
| related    = [[Guitar]], [[Oud]], [[Tanbur]], [[Rebab]], [[Setar]]
| developed  =
| range      = [[File:Tar Range.svg|130px|center]]<div align="center">(Shoor tuning)</div>
}}

The '''tar''' ({{langx|fa|تار {{IPA|fa|t̪ʰɒːɹ|}}|lit=[[String (music)|string]]}}) is a long-necked, waisted instrument in the [[lute]] family, used by many cultures and countries in the [[Middle East]] and the [[Caucasus]], including [[Iran]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Armenia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Tajikistan]], and [[Turkey]].<ref name="britannica1">[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/583250/tar tar (musical instrument)]. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved on 1 January 2013.</ref><ref name="iranchamber1">{{cite web |url=http://www.iranchamber.com/music/articles/iranian_music_instruments.php |title=Iran Chamber Society: Music of Iran: Iranian Traditional Music Instruments |publisher= Iranchamber.com |access-date= 2013-01-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.farhangsara.com/musichist.htm |title=History of Iranian Music |publisher=Farhangsara.com |access-date=2013-01-01 |archive-date=28 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128014743/http://www.farhangsara.com/musichist.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

It was originally known as the ''chahartar'' ({{lang|fa|چهارتار}}) or ''chartar'' ({{lang|fa|چارتار}}), which translates into [[Persian language|Persian]] as 'four-stringed'. This is in accordance with a practice common in Persian-speaking areas of distinguishing lutes on the basis of the number of strings originally employed. 

Beside the ''chartar'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cahartar-lit |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=iranicaonline.org |language=en-US}}</ref> these include the ''[[dutar]]'' ({{lang|fa|دوتار}}; 'two-stringed'), ''[[setar]]'' ({{lang|fa|سه‌تار}}; 'three-stringed'), ''panjtar'' ({{lang|fa|پنج‌تار}}; 'five-stringed'), and the ''[[shashtar]]'' ({{lang|fa|شش‌تار}}; 'six-stringed').

It was revised into its current sound range in the 18th century<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orientalinstruments.com/instrupedia/tar|title=Oriental Instruments – Tar|website=Orientalinstruments.com|access-date=20 April 2021}}</ref> and has since remained one of the most important musical instruments in Iran and the Caucasus, particularly in [[Persian traditional music|Persian music]], while [[Azerbaijani folk music|Azerbaijani music]] uses the [[Tar (Azerbaijani instrument)|Azerbaijani tar]]. It's the favoured instrument for [[radif (music)|radifs]] and [[mugham]]s.