Khushtar

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Khushtar, also hushtar or hustar, is a bowed lute from the Uyghur region of western China. It has four strings in four courses and is tuned G, D, A, E; sometimes it has sympathetic strings. It is common among Uyghur people in Xinjiang, especially in Urumqi. The body is built from wood slats like a lute or oud, usually mulberry or apricot wood, with a pine soundboard. A bird carving often sits on the headstock, and the pegs are typically walnut wood. It is played upright on the knee, with the curved end resting on the knee.