Rubab
The rubab is the short-necked plucked lute of Afghanistan, carved from a single block of mulberry wood with a belly of animal skin and three main melody strings played with a wooden plectrum. Two or three drone strings and up to a dozen sympathetic strings lie under the playing strings, giving the instrument its deep, ringing sound, and Afghan musicians call it the lion of instruments. It is the lead instrument of the classical music of Kabul and is also played in Pashto folk song and in the Sufi music of the region, and its repertoire runs from court compositions to the songs of the valleys.