It was a wooden three-stringed instrument with a small soundbox and a long neck with frets for the production of different notes from each string (by the fluctuation of its palpitating length). It is the direct predecessor of the contemporary instruments in the lute family. It has survived until today with the name “tambouras”. The frets were possibly divided by movable leather cords so that the instrument would be used to produce the different genera of the ancient Greek music.
The player (usually a woman) held the pandoura horizontally with the neck of the instrument to the left, the left hand fingers pressed the strings on the frets and the right hand plucked the strings or struck them with the “plectrum”.