Dr. Peyman Nasehpour
Introduction
Tonbak does not have a standard size. Some people play on a large Tonbak and some on a small tonbak. Some like Tonbaks with convex-formed body and some don't. The different forms of tonbak is not the subject of this article. Here only the five parts of tonbak will be discussed.
Structure of Tonbak
Tonbak has five parts: Skin, Body, Throat, Small Opening and Large Opening.
Skin: Skin of Tonbak is glued on the head of Tonbak. Goatskin is most popular.
Body: Body of Tonbak is wooden. This is in fact the sound box of Tonbak. Sometimes many furrows are carved on its wood.
Throat: Throat is almost cylindrical and it is connected from top to the body.
Small Opening: Tonbak is in the form of goblet, which is open from the top and bottom. Small opening is in the bottom. It is similar to the mouth of trumpet. In fact throat and small opening together are in the form of a trumpet.
Large Opening: Large opening is in the top and the skin is covered on it.
Acknowledgement: The author wishes to thank Hormoz Dilmaghani for his
graphic work.