Hossein Tehrani
Encyclopedia
Hossein Tehrāni , was an Iranian musician and tonbak
Tonbak
The tonbak or zarb is a goblet drum from Persia . It is considered the principal percussion instrument of Persian music...

 player. He is regarded as the father of the modern tonbak.

Early life

He was born in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...

, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

. At an early age he was going to Zurkhaneh
Zurkhaneh
Zurkhaneh, Zorkhana or Zourkhaneh is a traditional gymnasium of urban Persia and adjacent lands, including Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan etc....

 -زورخانه (an Iranian gymnasium) and was impressed by the big clay vase covered on open bottom with skin called Zarb- ضربZurkhaneh. At age if 13 Hossein found a similar type of Zarb Zurkhaneh in a smaller size which was called tonbak
Tonbak
The tonbak or zarb is a goblet drum from Persia . It is considered the principal percussion instrument of Persian music...

تنبك and began practicing by himself.

Musical education

In 1928 Hossein Tehrani became interested in studying music professionally, and took private lessons from music master and kamancheh
Kamancheh
The kamānche or kamāncha is a Persian bowed string instrument related to the bowed rebab, the historical ancestor of the kamancheh and also to the bowed lira of the Byzantine Empire, ancestor of the European violin family. The strings are played with a variable-tension bow: the word "kamancheh"...

كمانچه player Hossein Khan Esmail-Zadeh. Hossein was keen to observe different tonbak playing styles so he attended the music classes of master tonbak players such as Reza Ravanbakhsh and Kangarlo. He wanted to learn more about Iranian traditional music, and therefore formed a relationship with the great music master and multi-instrumentalist Abolhasan Saba
Abolhasan Saba
Abol Hasan Sabā , was a renowned Iranian musician, composer, violinist, and setar player.-Biography:He was born in Tehran to Abul Qasim Khan Kamal ol-Saltaneh, son of Mohammad Jafar Khan Sadr ol-Hekma, son of Mahmud Khan Kashi Malak ol-Shoara Sadr ol-Shoara Saba ol-Shoara, son of Mohammad Hossain...

, from whom he learnt music theory and different aspects of Iranian traditional music.

Music career

In 1940 the first radio station was established in Tehran and Hossein Tehrani was an active tonbak player accompanying musicians while performing live music programmes. He was a permanent member of the National Music Ensemble and National Music association. Hossein Tehrani formed and organized a tonbak players ensemble with seven members and performed several pieces with his group for the first time at the Shiraz Arts Festival
Shiraz Arts Festival
The Shiraz Arts Festival was an arts festival held annually from 1967 to 1977 in the Iranian city Shiraz. Its creation was suggested by Farah Pahlavi and sponsored by National Iranian Radio & Television...

- (جشن هنر شیراز) the group performed several concerts in Talar Vahadat, formerly Talar Roudaki.

While playing the Tonbak Hossein could imitate the sound of a locomotive and a motorcycle to astonish his listeners.

Tutoring career

Hossein Tehrani was a tonbak instructor at the Madrese Aali Mosiqi- مدرسه عالی موسیقی (Music College) and National Music college of Tehran. Hossein innovated a rhythm technique, which involved the tonbak being played in harmony with the saying of Persian phrases such as 'Baleh vo Baleh, Baleh Digeh and Yek Sado bisto Panj.

Literary work

Hossein wrote a book titled Amouzesh Tonbak-ٱموزش تنبك about the style and practice of the tonbak.

Resting place

Hossein Tehrani is buried in the Zahir od-Dowleh cemetery, Darband
Darband
Darband may refer to:* Darband, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a Union Council of Mansehra District, Pakistan* Darband , a town or district in Tajikistan's Region of Republican Subordination* Darband , a village attached to Iran's capital Tehran...

, Shemiran
Shemiran
Shemiran is the capital of Shemiranat County, Tehran Province, Iran, but is actually located just north of the borders of Tehran County along Chamran Expressway and Sadr Expressway and it is the northernmost district of the city of Tehran....

, Tehran.

External links

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