Salman Salek

Swing is a jazz style centered on a buoyant, danceable groove created by a walking bass, four-to-the-bar rhythm guitar, a backbeat emphasis on 2 and 4, and a lilted “swung” eighth-note feel. Typically performed by big bands (saxes, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section) as well as small combos, it balances written arrangements with improvised solos. Hallmarks include call-and-response between horn sections, riff-based melodies, shout choruses that build intensity near the end of an arrangement, and rich sectional voicings grounded in blues language and ii–V–I harmonic motion. Tempos range from medium to brisk, serving social dances like the Lindy Hop and Jitterbug. Swing’s expressive phrasing, dance-floor focus, and sophisticated arranging made it the dominant popular music of the late 1930s and early 1940s.

The Tar is a long-necked, waisted lute that serves as the primary instrument of Persian classical music. It is distinguished by its double-bowl body carved from mulberry wood and covered with a thin membrane of lambskin, which gives it a unique, resonant, and slightly nasal timbre. It typically has six strings (arranged in three courses) and movable gut frets that allow for the microtonal intervals essential to the Dastgah system. The instrument is held against the upper chest and plucked with a small brass plectrum held in a ball of wax, allowing for intricate ornamentation and rapid tremolos.