How to Choose a Qanun: Turkish vs Arabic Systems, Mandals, and What Your Budget Actually Buys
A qanun (also spelled kanun) is a trapezoidal plucked zither with roughly 26 courses of three strings each — about 78 strings total — played flat on the lap or a stand, plucked with metal picks worn on the fingers. The single most important buying decision isn’t wood or finish, it’s which regional system the instrument is built around: Turkish or Arabic. The two use different tuning theory, different mandal (lever) density, and slightly different proportions, and that choice matters more to how the instrument actually plays than any cosmetic feature.
At the professional level, a qanun is also one of the most expensive instruments in most ethnic string catalogues — our own handmade model runs close to €2,000 — because every course needs its own set of precisely calibrated mandals, and getting that calibration right is real luthier work, not a factory stamping process. Below: what actually separates the two systems, how the mandal mechanism works, and what that price point is paying for.
What Is a Qanun?
The body is a flat trapezoidal soundbox, with strings running across skin-covered bridges at the wide end and tuning pegs at the narrow end. Unlike a guitar or oud, a qanun player doesn’t fret or stop the strings by hand for pitch changes — they use the mandal system instead (more on that below), plucking with a plectrum ring on each index finger. That combination gives the qanun its distinctive fast, cascading, almost harp-like texture, capable of rapid arpeggios and tremolo effects that few other instruments in the region can match.
Turkish vs Arabic Kanun: What’s Actually Different
| Feature | Turkish Kanun | Arabic Qanun |
|---|---|---|
| Tuning theory | Turkish makam system (fine microtonal steps) | Egyptian/Syrian maqam system (quarter-tone based) |
| Mandals per course | More, for finer pitch control | Fewer, quarter-tone increments |
| Body size | Slightly smaller | Larger by several centimetres |
| Bridge pillars | Typically 4 | Typically 5 |
The practical difference: a Turkish kanun’s denser mandal set gives a player finer microtonal control suited to Turkish makam repertoire, while an Arabic qanun’s simpler quarter-tone mandal layout is built around Egyptian and Syrian maqam practice. Neither is an upgrade over the other — they’re built for different regional systems, and a serious student typically chooses based on which classical tradition they’re actually studying, not on which one looks more elaborate.
How the Mandal System Actually Works
Mandals are the small brass levers mounted at the tuning-peg end of each course. Flipping one raises that course’s pitch by a small, fixed interval — a quarter tone on a typical Arabic qanun, a finer step on a Turkish kanun with its denser mandal set. A player flips mandals mid-performance to shift a whole passage into a different maqam or makam without retuning a single string, which is what makes the qanun so central to Middle Eastern and Turkish classical ensembles: it can follow modal shifts that a fixed-fret instrument simply can’t follow in real time.
For a buyer, mandal quality is the single best predictor of how the instrument will hold up. Loose or poorly calibrated mandals buzz, drift, or fail to seat cleanly against the string — and because there are dozens of them, a badly built set is a permanent daily annoyance, not a one-time fix.
What Your Budget Actually Buys
Our Professional Qanun, handmade by Özgür Gürbüz, sits at just under €2,000 — a price point that reflects real luthier hours, not a markup on a factory instrument. At this level, you’re paying for: careful tonewood selection for the soundboard (which drives resonance and sustain far more than the strings themselves), a mandal set dense and precise enough to handle both Turkish and Arabic repertoire, and skin-covered bridges hand-fitted rather than machine-stamped. Built to order, each instrument is finished individually rather than pulled from a production run.
Below that price tier, expect trade-offs in mandal precision and soundboard material first — the two things that are hardest to fake and most expensive to get right.
What to Look For When Buying
Decide your system first. Turkish or Arabic isn’t a preference you can easily change later — it determines your mandal layout and tuning approach from day one. Base the decision on the repertoire and teacher tradition you’re actually studying.
Check mandal action, not just count. More mandals only help if each one seats cleanly and holds its position. A dense but poorly calibrated set is worse than a simpler, well-made one.
Soundboard wood matters more than decoration. Ornamentation is cosmetic; the tonewood under the strings is where sustain and resonance actually come from.
Built to order means built for you. A handmade instrument finished on commission, like ours, allows the luthier to check every mandal individually before it ships — something a factory run at scale can’t guarantee.
For the qanun’s cultural and historical background — its place in classical Arabic and Turkish ensembles, its emotional register in performance — see our companion piece, The Qanun: Voice of the Soul in Middle Eastern Music.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a Turkish kanun and an Arabic qanun?
They use different tuning systems: Turkish kanuns are built around the Turkish makam system with a denser mandal set for finer microtonal control, while Arabic qanuns use a quarter-tone-based system tied to Egyptian and Syrian maqam practice, with fewer mandals per course. Arabic instruments also tend to be slightly larger.
What does a mandal actually do?
A mandal is a small brass lever at the tuning-peg end of each course. Flipping it raises that course’s pitch by a small fixed interval, letting a player shift into a different maqam or makam mid-performance without retuning any strings.
Why is a handmade qanun so expensive?
Most of the cost is precision labour, not materials: every course needs its own correctly calibrated mandal, the soundboard tonewood has to be selected for resonance, and the skin-covered bridges are hand-fitted. A built-to-order instrument gets each of these checked individually rather than mass-produced.
How many strings does a qanun have?
A standard qanun has roughly 26 courses of three strings each, for about 78 strings in total, tuned and adjusted course by course rather than string by string.
Should a beginner start with a Turkish or Arabic system?
Base it on the repertoire and teacher tradition you plan to study, not on general difficulty — switching systems later means relearning your mandal layout and retuning approach from scratch, so it’s worth deciding up front.