Kemenche ( tr, kemençe) or Lyra is a name used for various types of stringed bowed musical instruments originating in the

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, particularly in

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Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

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, and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. and regions adjacent to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

. These instruments are

folk instrument A folk instrument is a musical instrument that developed among common people and usually does not have a known inventor. It can be made from wood, metal or other material. Such an instrument is played in performances of folk music. Overview The ...

s, generally having three strings and played held upright with their tail on the knee of the musician. The name ''Kemenche'' derives from the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Kamancheh The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) ( fa, کمانچه, az, kamança, hy, Քամանչա, ku, کەمانچە ,kemançe) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Turkmen, a ...

, meaning merely a "small bow".

Variations

The

Kemençe of the Black Sea The Kemençe of the Black Sea ( tr, Karadeniz kemençesi, el, Ποντιακή λύρα ''Pontiakí lýra'' or ''Pontic lyre'', lzz, Çilili (ჭილილი), hy, քամանի ''Qamani'') is a Greek and Turkish traditional musical instr ...

( tr, Karadeniz kemençesi, italic=y), also known as ''Pontic kemenche'' or ''Pontic lyra'' ( el, Ποντιακή λύρα), is a box-shaped lute ( ), while the

classical kemençe The classical ''kemenche'' ( tr, Klasik kemençe), ('pear-shaped kemenche') or ( el, πολίτικη λύρα, 'Constantinopolitan lyre') is a pear-shaped bowed instrument that derived from the medieval Greek byzantine lyre. It was mainly u ...

( tr, Klasik kemençe, italic=y or ''Armudî kemençe'', el, Πολίτικη Λύρα) is a bowl-shaped lute ( ). Other bowed instruments have names sharing the same Persian etymology include the

kamancheh The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) ( fa, کمانچه, az, kamança, hy, Քամանչա, ku, کەمانچە ,kemançe) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Turkmen, a ...

(or ''Kabak kemane'' in Turkish), a

spike lute Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...

( ), and the Cappadocian kemane, an instrument closely related to the kemenche of the Black Sea with added

sympathetic string Sympathetic strings or resonance strings are auxiliary strings found on many Indian musical instruments, as well as some Western Baroque instruments and a variety of folk instruments. They are typically not played directly by the performer (excep ...

s. Though, Circassians of Caucasus also have the same instrument in their own language named as Shikepshine which basically means horse tail violin.

References

External links

Kemence, from Folk Tours Middle Eastern Dance & Music
{{Authority control Lyres Bowed instruments Laz musical instruments

Variations

See also

References

External links