Editing Tar (string instrument) (section)

== Music and Healing ==
The [[Melody|melodies]] performed on tar were considered useful for headache, insomnia and melancholy, as well as for eliminating nervous and muscle spasms. Listening to this instrument was believed to induce a quiet and philosophical mood, compelling the listener to reflect upon life. Its solemn melodies were thought to cause a person to relax and fall asleep.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

The author of ''[[Qabusnameh]]'' (11th century) recommends that when selecting [[musical tone]]s (''pardeh''), to take into account the temperament of the listener (see [[Four temperaments]]). He suggested that lower pitched tones (''bam'') were effective for persons of sanguine and phlegmatic temperaments, while higher pitched tones (''zeer'') were helpful for those who were identified with a choleric temperament or melancholic temperament.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nettl |first1=Bruno |author-link1=Bruno Nettl |last2=Russell |first2=Melinda |author-link2=Melinda Russell |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |date=1998 |title=In the Course of Performance: Studies in the World of Musical Improvisation |page=30 |isbn=978-0-226-57410-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74IIU85CKmAC&q=qabus&pg=PA30}}</ref>