History

• Persian’s musical culture dates from earlier than 700 B.C., with much of the core classical repertoire coming into its own during the 13th and 14th Centuries A.D., according to National Geographic Music.
  
  

Music Theory

• Traditional Persian music centers around a canon of ancient melodies called the radif. Each melody in this series contains twelve different melodic modes known as dastgahs, with each dastagh presenting a different atmosphere and mood.
  
  

Performance

• Persian classical performers rely on their knowledge of the radif and its twelve dastgahs as a basis for performing sophisticated, elaborate improvisations.
  
  

Instruments

• A variety of instruments accompany vocalists in traditional Persian music. Stringed instruments include the lute-like setar and tar, the bowed kemancheh, percussion instruments such as the santur and tombak, and a type of flute called a ney.
  
  

Modern Music

• While classical Persian music continues to receive performances internationally by leading artists, homegrown pop music has also won a huge following both in the region and in Iranian communities abroad.