The dotar (literally meaning "two strings''),  comes from a family of long-necked lutes. Two types of wood are used in the fabrication of the dotar. The pear-shaped body is carved out of a single block of mulberry wood. Its neck is made  of  either the  wood  of

the apricot or the walnut tree. It has two steel strings, which in the past were made of silk or  animal  entrails. The dotar is tuned in fourth or fifth intervals. The technique for playing the dotar consists of plucking the strings without a plectrum, following a descending and an ascending movement which involves the index and often several other fingers. The music is ornamented by the rapid repetition of notes (tremolo). Often, in order to fortify the fingers, they are soaked in henna.