Chang: Iran musical instrument

The chang is an Iranian harp. The harp is very famous and used commonly during the times of the ancient Persia, specifically during the Sassanid Dynasty where the instrument was usually played in the shahs’ court.

The musical instrument has appeared in paintings and wall art in Persia since being introduced in about 4000 B.C. in these paintings and mosaics, the musical instrument went from the original arched harp to an angular harp in the early parts of the 1900s having vertical and horizontal boxes. At the starting of the Common Era, the musical instrument had changed shape to be less of a handheld musical instrument and more of a large, Hellenistic, standing harp instrument. Sassanian courts were captivated with the more Hellenistic chang and improved the popularity of the musical instrument, but by the end of the Sassanian era, the musical instrument had been reviewed and renovated to be as light as it can be. Becoming more elegant, the musical instrument lost much inflexibility and structural soundness, but gained a lightness that made the instrument the main harp for what would soon become Iran. The version of the musical instrument that is used today is analogous to the last documented transformation.

The musical instrument is essentially an Iranian harp instrument, but unlike an eastern harp, the strings of this musical instrument are manufactured of sheep guts and twisted goats hairs and sometimes nylon is used, this feauture gives the musical instrument a distinctive sound in which it does not have the resonance of many traditional metal strings in some other harp instruments.

In the medieval Azerbaijan, this musical instrument had 18 to 24 strings but differs based on how far the instrument dates back. In the design of some older versions of this musical instrument, the skin of sheep of goat was used to amplify the sound, causing the instrument to sound closer to an eastern version of the harp, though the unique sound of the musical instrument is desirable and preserved typically. The musical instrument is played by plucking the strings of the instrument with the right hand finger nail or the finger picks and using the left hand to smear pressure on the string to perform glissandos, vibrato and other embellishments and infrequently, plucking styles. In the contemporary days, the musical instrument is produced out of special string or the horse tail. The past structure of the musical instrument was typically goat or sheep skin. The skin of the animal that is used on the musical instrument also gives it a separate sound.

Women were the main players of this musical instrument in the ancient times. Meawhile, the instrument being revived and has now began to make its way back to the field of the modern day Persian music. There are records from as early as 4000 B.C. that portray pictures of the musical instrument being played, together with some other Persian musical instruments; it is a hard musical instrument to pick up, play and perfect on. Because of this, the number of players of the instrument is less. There are few players of the musical instrument in the modern day and few of them could include; Mrs. Parvin Ruhi together with her two daughters Zaynab Baqeri Nejad and Masome Baqeri Nejad. Presently, the musical instrument is played in small ensembles like the religious celebrations and parties. In the recent times, the Iranian students and musical instrument producers have been trying to revive the ancient instrument back to its original glory.