Saer
One string sings; a dozen more add the colour
Related
Across the eleven bowed strings written so far, the names mostly match the things. This one does not: the "setar" in the Qing court documents is not the saer of today.
「《清史稿》所载『塞他尔』……⭐ 主奏弦为两根丝弦，且"以手冒拨指，或木拨弹丝弦、应钢弦取声"，属拨弹类乐器。可见其与当代萨塔尔为『同名异实』的两种乐器。」
⭐⭐ Main line 59: same name, different thing — the Qing "setar" was a plucked instrument; today's saer is bowed.
| Class | Assignment |
|---|---|
| HS class | Chordophone · bowed (friction with a bow) · with definite pitch |
| Sub-type | bowed (130 to 148 cm long — longer than a matouqin · mulberry · ⭐ long gourd-shaped box carved from one block · thin board face · ⭐ crescent-shaped sound holes · half-cylindrical neck inlaid with bone · ⭐ 18 fingerboard frets (silk-wrapped) + 5 high frets on the soundboard (twelve-tone) · ⭐ 9 to 17 T-shaped pegs · one metal melody string + 9 to 13 metal resonance strings（never stopped; they add resonance and colour only）· ⭐ the bridge is raised so the string stands off the fingerboard) · the bow plays outside the strings and touches only the melody string |
| Family | China · bowed strings (Uyghur · listed in the Qing court's 回部乐 as「塞他尔」· said to reach Kashgar by the 14th–15th centuries · ⭐ 弹布尔 and 塞依吐尔 are transliterations of the same word → 【same name, different thing】· three forms: und-fretted · classical · improved) |
| Bayin | silk (melody and resonance strings are silk or metal wound) |
Same name. Entirely two different objects.
⭐⭐ One string sings; a dozen more add the colour
How it makes sound comes first, because here is what is unusual:
「上拴一根金属主奏弦和九至十三根金属共鸣弦……⭐ 马尾弓置于弦外拉奏，只拉主奏弦，不拉共鸣弦，共鸣弦只起加强共鸣和美化音色作用。」
⭐⭐ The bow plays exactly one string. The other dozen or so are never touched; they only make the sound prettier. And how those resonance strings are tuned is the crucial technical point on this page:
| Saer | Aijieke | |
|---|---|---|
| What the bow plays | ⭐ the melody string alone | the melody strings |
| Resonance strings do | ⭐ add resonance and colour only | ⭐ each has its own pitch — they can sing the melody |
| They are tuned to | ⭐ the harmonic series of the melody string's own key（c¹ → c¹·d¹·f¹·g¹·b¹·c²·d²·g²·a²·b²·c³·d³） | g · c¹ · d¹ · e¹ · g¹ · a¹ · b¹ · d² |
| Bow position | ⭐ outside the strings | outside |
⭐⭐ This is the second time in the whole site a row of un-stopped strings appears — but the two instruments divide the work in opposite ways. The aijieke's resonance strings are players: each has a pitch and can carry a line. The saer's are engineers: they tune the colour. ⭐ Both come out of the same 回部乐 tradition, so neither is the first to invent the idea.
⭐⭐ Eighteen frets plus five high ones — a fingerboard designed for modulation
The most practical passage on this page:
「指板上以丝弦缠就 18 个品位，⭐ 面板上另粘有 5 个高音木质品位……⭐ 按十二平均律排列，能演奏各调乐曲。」
⭐⭐ There is one melody string and its pitch is fixed（often between B and d, commonly c）， yet the fingerboard carries a full set of frets laid out in twelve-tone temperament. ⭐⭐ So the saer moves between keys without moving the bridge and without restringing. The others achieve this by having more strings（the sihu has four; the matouqin has five registers）. The saer takes the other road: few strings, complete fingerboard. And the frets are not all on the neck: ⭐ five more sit on the soundboard itself — ⭐ the neck covers the middle and low, the soundboard supplies the top. Rare among Chinese bowed strings.
⭐⭐ The form — several very large numbers
| Part | How it is made |
|---|---|
| Length | ⭐ 130 to 148 cm — ⭐ longer than a matouqin |
| Wood | mulberry throughout |
| Box | ⭐ long gourd-shaped, carved from a single block of mulberry |
| Face | thin board |
| ⭐ Sound holes | ⭐ crescent-shaped holes in the upper soundboard — the sources' word is literally "eyebrow" |
| Neck | ⭐ very long,半-cylindrical, often inlaid with bone patterns |
| Frets | ⭐ 18 on the fingerboard（wrapped in silk thread）＋ 5 high frets on the soundboard |
| Pegs | ⭐ 9 to 17 T-shaped pegs, on the head's front and left side |
| ⭐ Bridge | ⭐ its right side is raised so the melody string stands off the fingerboard |
| Bow | wooden stick, horsehair |
⭐⭐ "the bridge's right side is raised so the string stands away from the fingerboard" is the key one: ⭐ the left hand stops frets while the string itself is not choked — that is what keeps the tone clear rather than muffled.
⭐⭐ Three registers, three characters
Most instruments in this section say only "the tone is bright". The saer's registers are written out:
「⭐ 高音区音色尖锐，略带金属声；中音区音色明亮优美；低音区音色浑厚，略带沙哑声，声音富有层次。」
⭐⭐ "close to the human voice" is the key to this instrument. It was not built as background — it was designed to take the place of a voice inside the song. That is why the left hand carries so many vocal techniques（揉 · 滑 · 颤 · 带）: ⭐ however a voice makes its breath, the string must make its breath. And this explains its standing: ⭐⭐ the lead instrument of the muqam ensemble（not an accompaniment）— specifically, 「十二木卡姆演奏中『琼乃额曼』的『木凯迪满』部分往往由萨塔尔琴来演奏」, found in 「喀什 · 和田 · 莎车 · 库车」.
⭐ The family of a name: one word, three instruments
Back to that "same name, different thing" — it points at a larger family:
⭐ 「考『塞依吐尔』『塞他尔』『萨塔尔』当为同一名词的不同音译。」
⭐⭐ All three are different transliterations of one word — and they belong to two different families:
| Name | People | Class |
|---|---|---|
| 萨塔尔 / saer | Uyghur | ⭐ bowed（today's instrument） |
| 弹布尔 | Uyghur · Uzbek | ⭐ plucked |
| 塞依吐尔 | Tajik | ⭐ plucked（⭐「虽有五根弦，却被组合成了三组」） |
⭐⭐ The Qing court's "setar"（plucked） and today's "satar"（bowed） are two things wearing one name. That is why the sources say 「其形制近似弹布尔」— ⭐ of course they resemble each other: same source, one of them was later turned into a bowed instrument. ⚠️ Both documents place it among the plucked in the Qing（「以手冒拨指…应钢弦取声」）, so this page treats it as evidence of a homonym, not a problem to reconcile. ⭐ And a legend explains the instrument's standing:
「相传远古时候，安拉用泥巴捏成人，让灵魂进入人体时，灵魂不愿进入黑暗的人体，安拉便制作了一把萨塔尔置于人体……灵魂听到这动听的音乐，便情不自禁地跳着萨玛舞，进入了人体。」
⭐⭐ In this legend the instrument has exactly one job: to call the soul in. History: said to have circulated in Kashgar by the 14th–15th centuries, later spreading north and east; listed in the Qing court's 回部乐; ⭐ the《律吕正义后编》records「司二弦一人，回名塞他尔」; ⚠️ another account says its first documentary appearance is in the Qianlong-era《钦定四库全书》; it reached Yining in the 1950s. Playing: the body is held upright on the left thigh, the right hand bows outside the strings, the left stops frets; ⭐ the left hand leads with the index finger, joined by the middle, ring and little; the right uses 长弓 · 短弓 · 连弓 · 顿弓 · 颤弓; ⭐「右手持弓方法与艾捷克相同」.
Recap in one table
| Q | A |
|---|---|
| ⭐ The key point | ⭐⭐ same name, different thing — the Qing「塞他尔」is plucked（"played with the fingers or a wooden plectrum"）, today's saer is bowed;「塞依吐尔 / 塞他尔 / 萨塔尔」are transliterations of one word |
| ⭐⭐ How it sounds | ⭐⭐ one melody string + 9–13 resonance strings; ⭐ the bow plays only the melody string, the rest only add resonance and colour, tuned to the harmonic series of its own key → the opposite division of labour from the aijieke, whose resonance strings carry the melody |
| ⭐⭐ Modulation design | ⭐⭐ 18 fingerboard frets + 5 high frets on the soundboard, in twelve-tone temperament → one fixed string can play in many keys |
| ⭐ One key detail | ⭐ the bridge is raised on the right so the melody string stands off the fingerboard |
| Form | 130–148 cm long（longer than a matouqin）· mulberry · ⭐ long gourd box carved from one block · crescent sound holes · inlaid neck · ⭐ 9–17 T-shaped pegs |
| ⭐ Tone | ⭐⭐ high: sharp with a metallic edge · middle: bright and beautiful · low: full with a touch of roughness; ⭐⭐ and crucially「close to the human voice」 |
| Standing | ⭐⭐ the lead instrument of the muqam ensemble, not an accompaniment |
| Kinds | 无品萨塔尔（oldest, brass strings）· 古典萨塔尔（now steel）· 改良 / 中音萨它尔 |
| Same family | ⭐⭐ 弹布尔 and 塞依吐尔 — plucked, same name |
| Bayin | silk |
The previous page showed the aijieke's resonance strings each carrying a pitch of their own; this page shows the saer's resonance strings doing the same job for the opposite purpose — ⭐⭐ one technique, two divisions of labour. Both come from the same ensemble tradition, share the idea, but one makes it sing and the other makes it beautiful.
萨它尔属拉弦弦鸣乐器（弓擦 · 弓毛在弦外擦奏 · 只拉一根主奏弦）。主奏弦定弦常在 B~d，常定为 c；共鸣弦 9~13 根设在主奏弦左侧，系金属弦，不被按，只起加强共鸣与美化音色的作用。本图按主奏弦 c¹ 取 G4–G6 示意。记谱即实音。
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Sources
- ⭐⭐ 本批第 59 条主线：同名异实 —— ⚠️ 本条目最要紧的一条：「《清史稿」所载『塞他尔』形制虽然与当代萨塔尔相近，⭐ 但主奏弦为两根丝弦，且『以手冒拨指，或木拨弹丝弦、应钢弦取声』，属拨弹类乐器。可见其与当代萨塔尔为『同名异实』的两种乐器」；⭐ 另考「塞依吐尔」「塞他尔」「萨塔尔」当为同一名词的不同音译」—— ⭐⭐ 清代宫廷里那个「塞他尔」是拨弦乐器，今天这个萨它尔是弓弦乐器：名字一样，东西完全是两件 —— 这是本段拉弦里唯一一件「名与实对不上」的乐器
- ⭐⭐ 一根主奏弦 + 9~13 根共鸣弦（与艾捷克的同一脉络，分工相反）：「上拴一根金属主奏弦和九至十三根金属共鸣弦」（一说 9~17 根）· ⭐⭐「马尾弓置于弦外拉奏，只拉主奏弦，不拉共鸣弦，共鸣弦只起加强共鸣和美化音色作用」；⭐ 共鸣弦定主奏弦本调的泛音列（古典萨塔尔：演奏一弦 c¹，共鸣十二弦 c¹·d¹·f¹·g¹·b¹·c²·d²·g²·a²·b²·c³·d³）→ ⭐⭐ 这是全站第二次出现「一排不被按的弦」，但分工与艾捷克完全相反：艾捷克的共鸣弦各自定不同音、本身有旋律性（乐手）；萨它尔的共鸣弦只调颜色（音响师）。⭐ 两件都出自「回部乐」，都不是这个创意的首发明者
- ⭐⭐ 形制（几个数字都很大）：通体木制，通常采用桑木，通长 130 厘米至 148 厘米（一说 1380~1400 毫米）· ⭐ 共鸣箱呈长瓢形，由整块桑木挖凿而成 · 上蒙薄木板 · ⭐ 面板上部开新月眉状音孔 · 琴杆硕长，呈半圆形柱状体，常镶嵌骨质花纹 · ⭐ 指板上以丝弦缠就 18 个品位，面板上另粘有 5 个高音木质品位 · ⭐ 9~17 个 T 形弦钮分置琴头正面和左侧 · ⭐ 码右侧上翘，致使主奏弦远离指板 · 琴弓木制弓杆、张马尾
- ⭐⭐ 18 品 + 5 个高音品 = 一套按十二平均律的指板（本页最实用的一段）：「除指板上缠有 18 个丝弦品位外，面板上还粘有竹制高音品位，⭐ 按十二平均律排列，能演奏各调乐曲」→ ⭐⭐ 这是一件为「转调」设计的乐器：主奏弦只有一根、音高固定（常在 B~d，常定为 c），不靠移动琴马、不靠改弦，就能在各调之间走 —— ⭐ 另一条路（对比四胡靠「弦多能换」、马头琴靠「五档弦」，萨它尔是「弦少但指板全」）。而品位不全在指板上：面板上还粘着 5 个高音木质品位（一说竹制）→ ⭐ 指板负责中低音区，面板补最高的那几个音 —— 这是中国拉弦乐器里少见的做法
- ⭐⭐ 音色（三个音区分开写，这在本段很少见）：「⭐ 高音区音色尖锐，略带金属声；中音区音色明亮优美；低音区音色浑厚，略带沙哖声，声音富有层次」；另记「音色圆润，接近人声」「音色明亮」→ ⭐⭐ 「接近人声」是理解萨它尔的钥匙 —— 它不是背景音，被设计成能替代人声进入唱腔——所以它左手有那么多揉弦技法（揉 · 滑 · 颤 · 带），因为人声是怎么出气的，弦就得怎么出气。而这一段也解释了它的地位：十二木卡姆乐队的主奏乐器（不是伴奏），具体到段落——「十二木卡姆演奏中『琳乃额曼」的『木凯迪满」部分往往由萨塔尔琴来演奏」；分布「喀什 · 和田 · 莎车 · 库车」等地。依方志类资料
- ⭐⭐ 三档定弦（分三种形制，各有一套）：无品萨塔尔（最古老，桑木无装饰无品，用铜丝弦，琴首正面演奏弦纽 1 + 共鸣弦纽 3、琴首与琴杆左侧另设共鸣弦纽 8）→ 定弦：演奏一弦 g，共鸣十一弦 g a b c¹ d¹ e¹ g¹ a¹ b¹ c² d²，音域 g～d²；古典萨塔尔（桑木整体，品相尚好者有精美骨角饰纹，初用铜丝弦今用钢丝弦）→ 音域 c¹～g³；改良萨它尔（jislah satar，又称中音萨它尔）依百科与方志类资料
- ⭐ 演奏法：演奏时竖置琴身于左腿之上，右手持马尾弓在弦外擦弦发声，左手按品位改变音高；⭐ 左手按弦以食指为主，兼用中指 · 无名指 · 小指，技法有揉 · 滑 · 颤 · 带等多种；右手常用连弓 · 分弓和顿弓，另有长弓 · 短弓 · 颤弓；⭐「右手持弓方法与艾捷克相同」；另有打音 · 擞音 · 泛音依百科与地方志类资料
- ⭐⭐ 历史：相传公元 14~15 世纪已流传在南疆喀什一带，后传至北疆和东疆；清代列入宫廷回部乐（汉文史籍称「塞他尔」）；⭐《律吕正义后编》：「司二弦一人，回名塞他尔」；⚠️ 另记「萨塔尔（塞他尔）第一次出现在文献中是在清代乾隆时期编纂的《钦定四库全书》之中」，20 世纪 50 年代流传到哈萨克族聚居的边城伊宁；⚠️ 年代按来源原样记录
- ⭐⭐ 与拨弦乐器「弹布尔」的关系（本条目必须写清）：⭐⭐ 《清史稿》那个塞他尔『却和当代维吾尔族 · 乌兹别克族拨弹乐器弹布尔及当代塔吉克族拨弦乐器塞依吐尔相近』；⭐ 另考「塞依吐尔」「塞他尔」「萨塔尔」当为同一名词的不同音译」；另记「其形制近似弹布尔」；⭐ 塔吉克族的塞依吐尔「虽有五根弦，却被组合成了三组（里弦二根一组，中弦单独一根，外弦二根一组），维吾尔族弹布尔亦然」→ ⭐⭐ 同一个词的家族里既有弓弦的（今天的萨它尔），也有拨弦的（弹布尔 / 塞依吐尔）
- ⭐⭐ 同一个词的三件乐器：萨塔尔 / 萨它尔（维吾尔族 · ⭐弓弦）｜弹布尔（维吾尔 · 乌兹别克族 · ⭐拨弦）｜塞依吐尔（塔吉克族 · ⭐拨弦，「虽有五根弦，却被组合成了三组」）→ ⭐⭐ 清代宫廷那个「塞他尔」（拨弦），和今天这个「萨塔尔」（弓弦），是同一个名字的两种东西。所以「其形制近似弹布尔」这句话现在就好懂了：它们本来就该像——同源，只是后来一个被改成了弓弦乐器
- ⭐⭐ 一个传说：相传远古时候安拉用泥巴捏成人，让灵魂进入人体时灵魂不愿进入黑暗的人体，安拉便制作了一把萨塔尔置于人体，奏出美妙动听的乐曲，灵魂听到这动听的音乐，便情不自禁地跳着萨玛舞，进入了人体」→ ⭐⭐ 这把乐器在传说里只有一个用途：请灵魂进来。依百科与地方志类资料
- ⚠️ 预登记曾写「中亚拉弦乐器，与苏谱中的那浮琴、帆族的兽头琴家族」「两根笑弦与结腔弦」等，⚠️ 来源均无此表述 → 已删除重写；「兽头琴」属他族乐器，与萨它尔无来源依据的关联，不并入本页
- 「萨它尔属八音中的丝」依通行资料
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.