Rubab, robab or rabab: Afghanistan musical instrument

Rubab, robab or rabab whose name was derived from Arab language rebab  which means “played with a bow” is a lute like musical instrument originally made from central Afghanistan and Pakistan. The central Asian musical instrument was taken away quickly and was distinctively constructed in a different way. This musical instrument is a national musical instrument and is mostly used by the Pashtun, Tajik, Kashmiri and the Iranian Kurdish classical musicians.

The rubab is a brief-necked lute, the body is carved out of a single piece of wood, a strong membrane covers the hollow bowl of the sound chamber on which the bridge is been positioned. It has 11 or 12 sympathetic strings and has three melody strings that are tuned in fourths and three drone strings. This musical instrument is produced from trunk of a mulberry tree, the head is manufactured from animal skin such as goats and sheep and the strings are made from nylons or guts.

The rubab also known or referred to as “the lion of instruments” is one of the national instruments of Afghanistan and it is featured as a key component in most of Afghanistan classical music. Elsewhere in the South Asia sarod it is known as the Kabuli rebab manufactured by the ancestors as a fretted instrument. When the Muslim musician Mardana became the first follower of Guru Nanak, he adopted rubab and made it an essential component of Panjabi hymns which adopted a different method of construction.

The rubab was confirmed to be in existence as a musical instrument from the 7^th century CE. It is being mentioned in the Persian old books; also many poets mentioned it in their lines of poems. Whenever a song is revealed to Guru Nanak, he sings it while Mardana will play it on his rubab. It is a traditional music instrument of Khorasan and today it is widely used in many countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Kashmir, Tajikistan, India and Uzbekistan