Bağlama

The bağlama or saz is a family of plucked string instruments and long-necked lutes used in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkey. It is commonly used by ashiks.

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' (instrument) and it is used to refer single or group of musical instruments like 'üflemeli sazlar' (wind instruments).

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:

Fret 1: 18/17
Fret 2: 12/11
Fret 3: 9/8
Fret 4: 81/68
Fret 5: 27/22
Fret 6: 81/64
Fret 7: 4/3
Fret 8: 24/17
Fret 9: 16/11
Fret 10: 3/2
Fret 11: 27/17
Fret 12: 18/11
Fret 13: 27/16
Fret 14: 16/9
Fret 15: 32/17
Fret 16: 64/33
Fret 17: 2/1

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.