My name is Dave, and my musical background is in flamenco guitar and Western musical notation.

I bought a short-neck baglama saz because I wanted to learn more about the instrument. In flamenco music, I am drawn to toques with a Moorish sound, and the baglama saz appears to me to have the same tone.

The first stumbling block for me was the microtonal qualities. Turkish music has steps in between the half steps of sharps and flats I am used to.

I needed help, so I looked to YouTube and soon discovered there's a lack of information for English-speaking students going from Western musical notation to Turkish music. My next stop was Amazon, and I bought a book about the baglama saz. The book promised to teach me how to play and how to maintain the instrument. An AI obviously wrote the book, which disappointed me. There were no illustrations or photos; all the information was incorrect.

So, to help others avoid my pitfalls, I am building this website. It is not a definitive work about the baglama saz, but it will give you a solid place to start your studies.

I believe in a hands-on approach, and if you want to play any instrument, play it and forget about the theory.

It is so easy to get bogged down with theory, so, my advice is to free yourself from what is stopping you and just play.