Armenian traditional music performed on the Armenian musical instrument, Tar (Թառ).

- I started off with a Armenian dance written in the Bayati Shiraz traditional regional music scale, then transitioned to a lengthy improvisation (which can go on for hours) in the same scale, then played a dance/melody in the same scale, then ended that segment with more improvisations (all performed in Bayati Shiraz), I ended the overall performance by playing Uzundara, a well known Armenian traditional song.

- Armenian Ashugh’s (troubadours) we’re very well known for their expertise and ability to play music and improvise on all of the regional music scales (Bayati Shiraz, Segah, Chargah, Mahur, Shahnaz, etc. for hours on end.

- Although all these scales have Persian names now (due to Persian influence/rule in the region), their existence in Armenian traditional music predates the Azeri’s and Persians. Armenians have utilized these ancient microtonal scales since the Urartu era and even earlier.

- The Armenian Tar is a 11 stringed lute-like instrument held against the chest while playing and utilizes the use of a plectrum. The tar has it's origins in the Urartu/Hittite era (8th century B.C.) and was modified by Sadikjan Asaduryan of Shushi in 1890. Sadikjan raised the number of strings from 6 to 11 and modified the sound chamber. The tremolo technique is usually utilized while playing the tar and the shaking of the instrument to produce some vibrato.

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