The Qanun
Like the ud ,the qanun ,a plucked zither,is still of great importance for classical music in arab countries,It, too is now being revived by the culture,that is,used in orchestras of native music and taught in the Conservatory of national music. The qanun is slightly larger than the santur and three of its sides are perpendicular . The strings are usually of gut or nylon,not wire. The chief difference between the two instruments is that the qanun is plucked rather than struck. A player uses small bone quills attached to his fingers by means of metal rings. One advantage the qanun has compared to the santur is its tuning. Whereas on the santur the pitch of each string is fixed for the length of a single composition,on the qanun the pitch can easily be raised or lowered by means of levers while playing
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