Iranian Music The Flights of emotions     Iranian music has a colorful and spiritual melody. Music in Iran is contemporary with literature and poetry of great poets. It absorbs the listener emotionally steering him, as if on a flight of stairs, to an elevation approaching divinity. The romantic and mystical lyrics of ancient poets are placed at the disposal of singers who, with the magic and boundless power of their voices, breathe new life and enchantment into them. Iranian musicians combine the inner melody in these lyrics with their own emotions and the result of this liaison flows out through one of the traditional musical instruments.   The music is generally non-rhythmic and in case a rhythmic music accompanies a verse; it only enters a section of the melody and remains detached in other instances. In addition to the tradition oriented music, Iran has also inherited one of the richest arts of folk music. Country songs have been conveyed, mouth to mouth, from those very ancient ages to today. Some of the lyrics reflect signs of hardship and suffering that have been inflicted upon the people. Today ethnomusicology is one of the branches of research pursued by musical experts of the country. Folk music, depending upon its needs, calls for the use of special musical instruments such as Kamancheh and Ghichak, Daf, Tambur, Tar and Se tar.   The followings are a few of the traditional Iranian musical instrument: Santoor This is a large horizontal sounding box over which are stretched numerous strings. It is played with plectrum and sometimes with fingers. It is much like the zither both in shape and in tonality. Tar and Se Tar This is the most popular musical instrument of Iran, which in Persian means string. It is a string instrument with a pear-shaped body and six strings. Then there is the Se Tar, a three-stringed instrument of the same general shape that is plucked by the fingers. Nay This is the first musical instrument that was used thousands of years ago in Iran. Made from the stem of a reed, it is a simple tube with several perforations. It was played mostly by shepherds and is famous as “the music of the Prophets”.   Tonbak With a very melodious sound, this is a percussion instrument and is also the main component of the present day traditional Iranian music. The mixing of the sounds of Tonbak and Daf generates the most exhilarating melodies for the songs of Dervishes and spirituals. The most famous Iranian singer having a special mastery over Iranian music, Mohammad Reza Shajarian has performed musical concerts all over the world. In Iran, Abol Hassan Saba is considered to be the father of classical Iranian music. Besides the tradition oriented Iranian music, Iranian youths are also interested in western rhythmic music and Iranian pop music. Traditional Iranian orchestral music too, has a large number of fans in Iran. Non Iranians, too, have enjoyed this music. Among the many famous Iranian orchestral musicians the names of Kambiz Rowshan Rawan, Parviz Meshkatian, Mahmood Alizadeh, Ferreidun Naseri, Rouhollah Khaleghi and the Kamkar group are more outstanding than others.