Yatga
Mongolian yatug-a
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The yatug (Mongolian: ᠶᠠᠲᠤᠭᠠ yatug-a, Khalkha dialect: ятга yatga; pronounced [ˈjɑtəq]; Chinese: 雅托葛) is a traditional Mongolian plucked zither, related to the Chinese guzheng.
Yatga may vary widely in size, tuning, and number of bridges and strings; The body is a long wooden box, one end of which is angled downward. The performer plucks the strings with the fingernails of the right hand; the left hand is used to put pressure on the strings, varying the note. The left hand can also be used to play the bass strings without plectrums (picks). Depending on style the higher strings are picked by fingers or by picks.
Similar instruments include the Korean gayageum, the Vietnamese Dan Tranh, the Japanese koto, and the Kazakh jetigen.
The most common type of yatga in contemporary use is the twenty one-stringed version. This type of yatga is also called "Master Yatga." The length of a full-size instrument is 1.62m or 63 inches. Shorter versions are pitched higher. A 13-stringed version is called "Gariin Yatga" (Hand Yatga).
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