Bağlama


The bağlama or saz is a family of plucked string instruments and long-necked lutes used in Asia, Central-Asia, Caucasus, Anatolia, Levant, Thrace, Balkans and Europe. It is commonly used in Iranian, Armenian, Azerbaijani and Turkish Folk Music. It is a common instrument among Turkic people and a notable instrument of traditional folk artists like ashiks and ozans. It is both used as a solo instrument to play songs and to accompany türkü, traditional folk songs.

Name

According to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "the terms 'bağlama' and 'saz' are used somewhat interchangeably in Turkey. 'Saz' is generally used interchangeably with 'enstrüman' and it is used to refer single or group of musical instruments like 'üflemeli sazlar'.

Bağlama scale

The musical scale of the bağlama differs from that of many western instruments – such as the guitar – in that it features ratios that are close to quarter tones. The traditional ratios for bağlama frets are listed by Yalçın Tura:
However, as confirmed by Okan Öztürk, instrument makers now often set frets on the bağlama with the aid of fret calculators and tuners based on the 24-tone equal temperament. The frets include the 12 tones within 12-tone equal temperament, along with 5 more. This means that 12 tone songs can be played on the Bağlama.

Notable performers