- For other uses, see Tanbur (disambiguation).
The
Tambur (spelled in keeping with
TDK conventions) is a fretted string instrument of
Turkey and the former lands of the
Ottoman Empire. Like the
ney, the armudi (lit. pear-shaped)
kemençe and the
kudüm, it constitutes one of the four instruments of the basic quartet of
Turkish classical music aka
Türk Sanat Müzigi (lit. Turkish Artistic Music). Of the two variants, one is played with a plectrum (
mizrapli tambur) and the other with a bow (
yayli tambur). The player is called a
tamburî.