Panduri

Also known as Chonguri

The panduri is a long-necked three-string lute of Georgia in the Caucasus, with a pear-shaped body and wooden frets. It often accompanies a singer, and its strings are tuned close together so that tunes and rippling accompaniments sit under the fingers.

Play the preview About this tradition

Panduri: photograph by Masha Afan (Flickr) — Photo: Masha Afan (Flickr), CC BY-SA 2.0, source on Wikimedia Commons

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How to play

Nine lanes stand for the three strings, three notes each: amber is the low string, brown the middle string, green the high string.
Notes fall toward the line; pluck each lane as its note reaches it.
Choose among a six-eight dance, a five-eight dance and a slow song accompaniment.
Everything repeats twice, so the second time through is your chance to tidy up.

Rules at a glance

Three strings carry three fretted notes each, tuned about G, A and C and used in a seven-note scale.
A stroke within a fraction of a beat is perfect; a close one is good; an extra stroke costs points.
Three stars need nearly every note on time.

About the tradition

The panduri has long accompanied songs and dances in the mountain and valley regions of Georgia, where it is played by singers and by dance bands. Similar lutes with two or three strings belong to several Caucasus communities.

Origins

Usually placed in the era of Crossroads and Golden Ages (about 500 to 1500), although its exact origins are uncertain, within the cultural world of Persia, Caucasus and Central Asia.

Credits

Instrument and tunes: Georgian folk tradition, simplified patterns written for this game
Photo: Masha Afan (Flickr), CC BY-SA 2.0, source on Wikimedia Commons
Text: CC BY-SA 4.0, World Heritage Games.

Sources

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Panduri_(9).jpg

Get the app

Panduri is one of 11 instruments in the String Music of the World app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Live on Google Play. Submitted to the App Store; in review, and the store link appears here the day it goes live. One app, many traditions, no account needed.

See all 11 instruments in the app

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