Naghara

Naghara

I started learning naghara in 1991 while studying with Vahid Asadollahi in Iran. Naghara is used in Azeri classical, folk and dance music. You can hear naghara in Armenian, Georgian and Eastern Turkish music too. The body is wooden and both sides are covered with hard plastic skins (in the past, goatskins were used). The heads have 7-8 rings on each side connnected by a long cotton rope in a zigzag pattern which is for tuning. Generally for dance music, the strings need to be stretched tightly to make a very sharp sound. The reverse is true for songs. The tuning for instrumental music is somewhere between. The fingers of both hands are used to beat the drum. Of course, the style of playing changes depending on whether the rhythm is for a dance, song or instrumental piece.