Saz: An Introduction
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video, we explore the history and features of the Saz/Baglama, one of the most prominent instruments in Anatolia.
Sources/Recomended Reading:
de Zeeuw, Hans (2019). "Tanbur: Long-Necked Lutes along the silk-road and beyond". Archaeopress.
de Zeeuw, Hans (2020). "The Turkish Long-Necked Lute: Saz or Baglama". Archaeopress.
de Zeeuw, Hans (2022). "The Ottoman Tanbur: The Long-Necked Lute of Ottoman Art Music". Archaeopress.
Hammarlund, Anders, Tord Olsson & Elizabeth Özdalga (1997). "Sufism, Music and Society in Turkey and the Middle East". Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul.
Jenkins, Jean & Paul Rovsing Olsen (1976). "Music and Musical Instruments in the World of Islam". World of Islam Festival Publishing Company Ltd.
Wright, Owen (2018). "Music Theory in the Safavid Era: The taqsīm al-naġamāt". Routledge; 1st edition.
#saz #bağlama #music
I lived on the Black Sea coast in Samsun, Turkiyi. I saw a man carrying a baglama. I asked him where he got it. He led me to the shop. A master craftsman made a baglama for me for $15. I played it in folk coffee houses in the 60’s in New England. I appreciate the spiritual quality of this instrument. Your talent as a teacher in many fields is deeply respected.
❤️❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Hey men ! I am from Samsun
wow imagine you are turkish and walk into a random coffee house in new england there is a guy playing baglama :D
Hey man would you help me buy a baglama as you have mentioned
I couldn't believe seeing my best youtuber (who talks religion) playing Saz when I searched Saz music. Even my wife said is he not your friend?!!! you are very talented Mashallah!
Surprise!
This man is a source of surprises and talent... MashAllah
I adore this instrument and the music of Anatolia. Thank you for this.
You and me both!
After watching the beautiful and fascinating documentary by Petra Machtnanova I bought myself one of these last year. It’s very hard to find learning material in English. I’m thinking of learning Turkish.
That is a lovely documentary! And she plays really well!
Oh i love Petra, the roots revival concert is just amazing ✨✨
@@FilipHolm Brother please don't use the human image as an image of God in your "Let's talk religion channel". You can use the image of light instead. Your channels are great!
@@FilipHolm can you please do a few videos teaching saz
@@arditaavdija6614 Just watched it after seeing this introduction to the SAZ. This led me to her travels in Anatolia and then the Roots Revival. Tanbur is also the name of a ceremony in Yoruba, All this morning. Thank you to this creator.
Thoroughly enjoyed this, particularly the history part. I first heard the baglama when I visited Konya, Turkey back in 2017 and I was immediately entranced by the sound, When I saw a shop selling them I decided to try a long neck one out. I play bass guitar as my main instrument, and with a little experimentation I was soon able to make satisfying sounds. I ended up buying that instrument and bringing it back to London. I probably enjoy playing it more than anything else.
That’s so cool I’d love to hear what you play as primarily a bassist!
🤔👍🏼
Woow, I'm a big fan of let's talk religion.
But I've never thought you were such a talented musician 😍, how many talents you've got there 🔥🌸
Unbelievable
This is fantastic! Saz is one of my favourite instruments. I have always wanted to learn (among other middle eastern instruments) but Saz teachers seem to be few and far between.
if you live in western countries you can go to alevi association, there's always a teahcer of saz
@@celalboi2836 🙏 Thank you ❤️
Lovely playing...and loved the explanations.
I didn't hear it mentioned here, but a few modern players don't strike the strings with a wooden stick (I forget what its called) but fingerpick the strings instead. Multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, who passed away 3/3/23, played Saz and Oud fingerstyle, sometimes played Saz or Tambur with a violin bow, and had an electric Saz/Bouzouki he built from a Vox teardrop-shaped Bass Guitar body and a Bouzouki neck, as well as a custom-made electric Oud built by a guy named Najarian in California. Lindley's earliest musical interests were bluegrass banjo and violin, but he also studied Saz, Oud, Flamenco and Classical guitar, and he often played old English and American folk songs on Saz or Oud.
Utterly delightful. And I love how you let us stumble upon this by complete happenstance, as I just did, after following your incomparable religion talks for years. Indeed this felicity could be straight out of Gurdjieff's Meetings With Remarkable Men, as that is what brought me to TH-cam for the past few days, sprinkled with sufi music. And then your saz appeared. Rather perfect really. Thank you.
I feel like I owe you money now, amazing job explaining the history of this instrument thank you🙏🏽
To my knowledge (research) saz was used for a very long time for the instrument as it's general name. The name baglama was assigned to the way of playing the saz. More like a guitar vertical and horizontal on the fretboard. Baglama, to connect (the 3 string groups in melody as in chords). The long version was played more or even exclusively linear (over a single string), which was called karaduzen. Freely translated to freestyle. The baglama style was mainly developed by Alawi masters who did play a 3 string small dede saz.
❤️🦋 Of course we knew how talented he is, not just in religion and philosophy, but music.
Thank you 💖
Incredible instrument, and very nice video overview. I am a musician and multi-instrumentalist playing a lot of "world instruments", and the Saz is definitely on my "to do list" for learning. 😊
you play the saz extremely well , kudos mate
I have a bağlama saz...a fascinating otherworldly instrument - do a Greek bouzouki someday! I have a bouzouki as well...love it!
I never knew you played this! In fact for the past two weeks I've been listening to this type of music, and wondering what this instrument is called! And now, one of my top channels is covering it! Nice
Yes, this family of instruments is great, is it? What a pitty the Ottomans didn't own Zoom recording devices yet.... Would be great having original records. Oops, impossable.
I know your point here is not bad, but I would like to add something. The Sassanid Tambur is not the only ancestor of the modern saz. The origin of the modern saz goes back to both the Sassanid Tambur and the Central Asian "kopuz". It seems that the saz differed significantly from the tambur after the Turks came to Anatolia. The issue here is entirely the cultural mixing that started with Turkish migrations.
Thank you very much for this beautiful video!
Thank you Philip for this wonderful and interesting show on the baglama
I think saying that "baglama derived from tanbur" is very controversial. There's modern tanbur and it's different. We gotta talk about Central Asian instrument "Kopuz - Komuz" . There's an instrument called "dutar" which is common in and around Iran. And the dutar is very similar to baglama and to the kopuz. I personally think that baglama derived from an instrument like kopuz. And it was a simpler version of the dutar. It turned into something like dutar and then turned into the modern baglama.
I've got one of these bad boys, love it.
It's awesome!
@@FilipHolm The only thing that drives me nuts about it is that it doesn't have a soundhole and so my long right hand guitar fingernails are always hitting the wood and making a sound when I do fingerpicking... Not really the instrument's fault, just a problem I face and need to work hard to correct.
@@TheModernHermeticist Yeah the strings are pretty close to the wood so that happens easily!
The thanpura or thambira in India is only used for pitch perfection,as a background for vocalists.
Nice presentation! That's one of my favorite instruments.
I've always wondered about string gauges for this, the one I own is a long neck lol
Beatiful insight. I'm wondering, is Saz totally different from Buzuk or is it just another name from a different language
The Buzuq is a very closely related instrument, but somewhat different!
So the Saz has no opening in front and three (3) strings, also looks like frets are on top as well. Sounds quite nice too, so this and the other one you show with shorter neck are or were used in Sufi music. And in Iran, Turkey, and other mid-east regions. Sufism religion used Saz, very nice. Have a great interest in Sufi Muslim groups, also ones up in the hills of Chechnya region. Thanks for all your info and playing.
Wait are those six strings three pairs of strings?
It has three courses of strings. Usually two double-courses and a triple-course.
@@FilipHolm Thank You for info & for sharing, on the three pages I sub too. Much interest TY.
great to know you r a musician too... you should have a Rabab... my favourite string instrument.
Love the Rabab!
Thank you for this video. I’m looking to buy a quality Saz online. Can you recommend reputable fabricators/music instrument shop?
What other tunings are common for the short version? Thank you for a wonderful channel
Beautiful music, thanks! 😀
Do you know where i can get the long necked bağlama? I have always loved these instruments but never really know where to buy them.
Would this have any connections to the bouzouki? (greek/irish)
It is related to Greek bouzouki
In Turkish, Saz means musical instrument that includes Baglama. Baglama is the particular musical instrument you are holding. If you were a player of the instrument, you would say I am playing Baglama. That is more correct.
Magnifique. J'adore cet instrument je viens de l'acheter. Je ne peux trouver un(e) professeur pour l'apprendre. Malgré tout.
J'habite à Chambéry france.
Saz lute and oud sound similar??
Really interesting instrument, but fewer strings seems to be more difficult to play than the oud.
Oud was much harder to play for me, saz I got quite used to pretty fast actually. The strings feel much easier to play than the Oud as well.
You just mislead a lot of information about saz. It comes from the Turkistan area originally, that is central asia where home land of Turks. Tanbur is a totally different instrument.
Hi, wich model of Balama and string in this video? Im searching for this sound, i have a composite long neck Balama and Volume string but not this sound. Also, wich tuning? Thank you very much
whats the name of the yunus emre song?
Saz' meaning is closer to "stringed instrument" in modern urban use. Bağlama is the correct term. They are interchangable, sort of, but in general use they are not. Saz also means "reed" in Turkish, actually its the first meaning to the word. I think at first Saz meant "musical instrument made from reed/saz" but then it took a more general meaning and was used to refer to Bağlama as well. The names are confusing because the language is fluid and generally local. When you observe communities and traditions out of city life you lose standardization in language.
I have the smallest size of this, called "Cura" (spelled similar to "Jurah", although I've never played it. Listening to this guy made me buy it, I think you could call him an Bektashi Aşık? Idk. Though you might like it. He is playing Jurah. th-cam.com/video/sSKbRHkEpOw/w-d-xo.html
Edit: Oh you already mentioned Cura, was too quick to comment...
Please do Setar (Persian instrument) next! 💚🤍❤️🦁
Bravvoo..!! Thanks..!!
Fantastisk presentation av ett udda instrument. Hittade en på blocket i Falun där jag bor och ska åka och köpa den nu, så frågan är när du kör nästa kurs? :)
MVH Thomas
Haha ja bra fråga! Kanske kan lägga upp några fler videor!
Please can you play the intro music more or give a link to it! Big fan of yours
The intro music to this video?
Yes it's fantastic. Captivating
@@amjadirfan2622 Thank you! It's just me improvising, so not a song per se 🙂
@@FilipHolm wow just wow. Such an amazing man you are. I never intend to write comments on any platform but I guess real quality and art can attract comments and praise from any one. I wish you could give out at least a 5 minute clip of that music. ❤️👌
@@amjadirfan2622 Here you go: th-cam.com/video/2RXABjO1RSg/w-d-xo.html
🙂
Beautiful 😍
The Ancestor of the "SAZ" is not Tambur, but DOMBRA. These insturments came from the central Asia. It is very common in all the Turkish tribes, not only in the middle east, but in all over the Asia, even in Japan (shamisen). They are all very similar. You should learn more. You don''t know what you are talking about.
OC'lari herseyimizi calmaya merakli...
dest xosh :)
Too bad there aren't more ways to give a thumbs up. Oh wait, here it is...well done.
I like the Short Neck ,İt is so good
Last comment for today, I once did not buy a secondhand electric saz at the recycle shop in my home town. That is the Netherlands. Do you see how popular the electric saz is? Maybe some musician bought a better one, and gave his old instrument away. There are lots of people with Turkish or other eastern origin. Go to northern Irak or Iran, and I bet you will hear the saz. So, they came to Europe, and I can buy a cheap electric saz! Said no, but you see how normal a saz is? Buy one, 300-ish dollar and you get a pretty good saz. Why not? It is like a 12 string, only narrower, and you can move the frets, making it our ET-tuning. No, equal temp, not that alien. See? It is fun, shift the frets and play country, why not? For real, I dare you. It is eastern, but we can adapt it. Oh yeah. Steel strings, since 16th century! Please dear Yanks, give this thing a chance. You really can MOVE these rope frets.
3:55 you meant it became popular in the western regions of Iran** not eastern. Its still like that
I love this!!!!
Love your other channel & found out you are a musician from one of the q&a videos
I was totally surprised! Immediately looked for your music, just awesome, good job 👏
Thank you so much!
Allah var çok güzel çalıyorsun abi
For an orchestral string instrument, that exploitation of the wood grain is called flaming.
cool
Do you have a name for the first and second part that you played?
No, it's just improvisation 😊
@@FilipHolm ok thats a wonderful improvisation 👌
@@kalsevol4335 Thank you!
Ok the pronunciation is Baglama not Balama so the letter G is softly pronounced.
Like a prolonged "A" sound in the middle. "Baalama" Ğ sound is not really a softened G, more like a sound coming from throat like a vibration.
Tebrikler
Dinlemek isteyenlere Türkiye'den birkaç professionnelerin ismini yazmak istiyorum, yardımcı olması açısından.Özlem Taner, Erdal Erzincan, Mikail Aslan, Ahmet Aslan ve Dilan Top çok iyi çalıyorlar. Sevgi ve Aşk ile kalın.😊🎉
"SAZU SHAMA DUTAĞUN Kİ, BİHAMA ÇİÇİ,
AMMA DUTSAQ, AYA DUTAĞUN Kİ, BEHAMA ÇİÇİ."
BIDA HAMMADANI - 3200 year ago - Azerbaijani Poetess in city of Hamadan- South Azerbaijan.
LET TO PLAY ON SAZ ON THE LAİGTH OF CANDLE, OH, SO NİCE,
HOWEVER, IF PLAY, LET TO PLAY ON THE LIGHT OF MOON, OH SO BEATIFUL!
When you talking about the origin of the SAZ, please, remaind this information, which comes from clay tablet engraved cuneiform in Turkic.
How do you see, SAZ is TURKIC term, and as a word it belonged to TURKIC language but no to PERSIAN.
Persians came to Iran ~ 2600 years ago, when thousand years before them Azerbaijani Lady-Poet played on it. At least remaind it.
Thank you Filip so much for you love to our ancient instrument SAZ.
Ehm, are there fretless saz-s too? Then you are free to play ANY tone, not just half and some quarter tones. Do they exist? Just like a fretless bass, it adds freedom, and you don't hear those annoying frets anymore, you hear wood. You do! Did the saz builders understand that? I do hope they went fretless, too.
Барн то что поле семьей пшеницей
It is unbelievable the scale of racism and fascism, why can’t you just accept the fact that Tembur and Saz from Kurdistan, made and nurtured by Kurds and they are related obviously Tembur came first followed by Saz.and even the presenter tried to squeeze in and suggested that the ward Saz is Persian?!? If someone is familiar with Farsi (Persian ) music, know for sure that they hardly use Saz and why would they name an instrument that they don’t use much?!?
It someone knows Kurdish language, they immediately would recognize that the word Saz must be Kurdish.
Saz Is Persian Instrumental From Iran 🇮🇷 not Turkey 🦃
All Instruments in Turkey 🦃 are Orgins From Iran only Tulum Is Laz 🇬🇪 and Lyra or Black sea Kamanche is Greek in Orgins 🇬🇷
is it time.... for the fight >:(
we can just listen to the cool music :)
Saz is central asian origin and it is belong to Western turks(Turkey,Azerbaijan,Qashqais,Tatars,Turkmens,Kumuks,Karacais and etc. ...) . Iran has not anything own. Iranian culture is Turko islamic culture. If iran looks like Middle eastern and central asia,if iran does not look like northern european cousions it is your problem not ours.
@@Tengristshaman
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Iranian Culture is Turku Islamic?😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂Saz Is Persian Musical Instrument With Orgins In Iran and is Part of Lut Family 😂😂😂
Go Learn Something Poor Dreamer
@@Tengristshaman
you are spewing some deep bs ngl .
Even the very word SAZ is purely Persian. Saakhtan has no meaning in any other language.
The tanbur cannot be considered purely in the history of the saz. The Turks in Anatolia originate from Central Asia. And they are a nomadic society that brought their music with them when they came from there. Although they were influenced by surrounding cultures, Turkmens continued their old traditions. I have a friend who reinterprets a modern folk song with an ancient instrument. This ancient instrument is called kopuz or dombra, the ancestor of the saz. Horse rhythm is widely used in Turkish folk songs from Central Asia to Turkey. If you listen carefully, you can notice this rhythm. th-cam.com/video/ew5GPlBYmUM/w-d-xo.html
Türkler tarafından anadoluya kopuz getirilidi burada çeşitli değişimler gösterek bugünkü bağlama halini aldı. Tambur çok farklı bir çalgı ve orta doğu ve mısıra ait.
Thank you for your video
Saaz or Saz also means rhythmic. Naasaaz (the antonym) means unrhythmic, inharmonious or discordant. This meaning is in Sadi's Gulistan.
Very interesting! I don't know the original meaning of nasaaz. In urdu (which got the word from Persian which it got from Arabic), naasaaz is like "out of sorts" or like "disagreeing" (for example we say your health is nasaaz you're sick).
Even the lamenting tones are wonderful to hear. The celeste element evokes mystery as well as warmth on happier songs. I love Balama. I suppose there are many many Balama fans.
thank you for sharing your art.
Please tell me, how do you study accurate texts from Sufism/Persian literature and the like in English? Most translations are, to say the least, very deviated from the original meaning. My husband is a farsi speaker and we are planning to translate some books that have yet to be translated in English, or that were poorly done so. Maybe you have a book you would like to read you haven't had the chance to yet, or some recommendations?:)
There are plenty of good traslations by competent scholars. You just need to know where to look. Are threre any poets you are thinking about?
I was introduced to such musical traditions by The rhythm divine on Radio National Australia. I am forever grateful having my life opened up to spiritual music fr m around the world. My favourite is Sufi fusion and Kieran music from India.
Thank you ! I'm surprised how much I enjoy these series really fascinating.
Would love it if you get a chance to do a piece on the Udulele one day!
Interesting idea! Thanks!
Great!!!! 🇹🇷
The turks in Türkiye love and play that instrument. Some famous singers of that instrument are Neşet Ertaş, Orhan Gencebay, Arif Sağ.
Hi, metalhead from Türkiye. I'm playing classical and elecric guitar and love heavy metal. But nowadays I'm also learning bağlama. Diversity in music is a woonderful thing, learning totally different techniques and scales is fun. Thanks for great video.
Hahahaha. I was thinking "This guy's amazing", but not so much for your saz playing skills but for your thoroughness and appreciation for real history. Oh, how I relish antiquity in all it's forms.
Youre video was interesting
As a oud and a saz player
I just need to point out that you forgot a few things
Even though this instrument was originated in iran and turkey
Its in some arab countries as well its called bozoq بزق or arabic bozoq which i think came from the greek word bozoki it has kind of a similar sound to the saz and similar techniques but it has a different tuning which is C G C i think mostly in syria and lebanon..
in iraq they play the same saz mostly northern iraq mosel kerkuk and kurdistan region
I am coming to Turkey for 2 weeks and all I want to do is to bring one of these (Baglama) home. I play the guitar and mandolin. Will be in Istanbul, Izmir, Cappadocia. Any suggestions on where to buy? It is my understanding it best to buy away from the Grand Bazaar.
Yes, definitely avoid the bazaars (when it comes to instruments). I know that Izmir has some excellent luthiers that make Saz/Baglama intruments. It depends on what your budget is. The best option is always to go directly to a luthier, but that is also pretty expensive.
A middle of the way option would be to find a dedicated music store in Istanbul or Izmir. I saw plenty of them in Istanbul when I was there. Try some instruments out, see which one you like, or ask someone at the store if they seem knowledgeable.
@@FilipHolm I will be in Istanbul and Izmir. Not sure what to expect as far as budget. I dont want something cheap but not crazy expensive either. I figure I can probably secure one for about 300 USD
@@RedMcc ankara is good
Ended up getting a great one in Istanbul
Yeah yeh okay but it would be more interesting if you were for history of saz go back to earlier sources like mention from ancient people like Kûrds or Persian people. Turkish like America their present not that old compared with this two nations I mentioned above. Ok mate.
So yeah ok good. Kurds and Persian are among oldest people who they build it and play it till today. Yeah thanks for listening 👍
What about kopuz, cura, üçtelli?
Bağlama is derived from middle asia not iran. Oldest version of bağlama is dombra.
Saz is very popular in Azerbaijan.
Glad you finally mentioned "Kurdish People " . Not many people acknowledge us .
I agree, he even said “Kurdistan” 🙏🏽
I acknowledge you and your pain friends
@@shahapalani5820kurdistan does not exist
Gavura acıtasyon yapmayın.
kurdistan does not exist😅😢😂😂😂😂
Do Persian Setar.
Filip, I just wanted to say that you are an inspiration on so many levels. I have purchased Climbing and Desert Wanderings. I would do more but am myself on a fixed income. I would like to say that I have watched many of your episodes of Let’s talk Religion. The wonderful reading you did of the City of Brass inspired me to write a ghazal. Thanks for sharing so much of yourself with us. I look forward to much more incite and creative works from you! Best Wishes!
It is humbling to read your very kind words! Thank you! Would love to hear that ghazal at some point!
@@FilipHolm Not sure if you use Skype or not but it is pretty much the only way I communicate anymore. I can’t stand what social media has become. If you do, let me know when you would be up for hearing the reading. Thank you for the comment. I am located in Connecticut USA. Regards!
İ am turkish alevi what i know ancestor of saz is kopuz it touches my soul more than any other instrument
I’m new to learning this instrament, mine came in A#, F, C tuning, is this okay?
The saz discussed in the historical Dede Korkut epic is the Azerbaijani saz. The saz with the best quality sound is the Azerbaijani saz
Uzaktan yakindan ilgisi yok
@@Tengrinin_Kirbaci Biz Sazın (Bağlamanın) Şah Ismayılın sarayında Azərbaycanlı Qızılbaş Türkmen Ozanlar olan Aşıq Miskin Abdal ,Aşıq Dirili Qurbani ve başqaları terefinden Qopuzdan tekminleşdirildiyine inanırıq.
Man i come from your other channel (lets talk religion), all your content are amazing. Keep up the good work ❤️
Does the song you're playing from 0:50-1:50 have a name?
Filip, THANK YOU so much for this beautiful video.... and all the detailed explanation, about the history, and developments over the centuries... of this amazing instrument. WOW ! 🙂
Would love a tutorial on how to play this by you!
that would be nice.
Take a double neck guitar and remove the frets from the 12 string. Add flat wound strings for the lower gauge strings on the 12 string guitar instead of round wound. Now you have an electric instrument that is three instruments in one; a standard guitar and a combination of Oud and Saz with the ability to play quarter notes.
As an Alevi Kurd, it was so refreshing to hear how thorough and inclusive your research and considerations of the saz's history were presented! I play the violin, my dad plays the saz and we sing together in Turkish and Kurdish. It's always a joy to see our music and messages spread across cultural boundaries with respect and admiration. Thank you for this wonderful video.
Where are you from brother Alavi is our Shia people it's the same like 12 imams
Hey man... watching ur vdos from all ur channels... just love it wt u r doing ❤️
Just amazing work ❤️
Beautiful instrument, beautifully played and very interesting history. What is that pick you are using?
It's the standard saz pick!
@@FilipHolmthank you, I never knew they existed until watching your video.
So, why do they only put the quarter-tone extra frets only in certain places? Does this mean only some quarter tones are used and others are not? Does this also limit the instrument to a particular key or set of keys?
Wow! Du har både en underbar religionskanal och en faktiskt intressant musikkanal!
Tack! :)
kurdish kidding ? the instrumanet in the picture is kopuz and it is turkish