The Yaybahar is an acoustic

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

invented by the Turkish musician Gorkem Sen (Turkish: ''Görkem Şen''), who describes it as a "real-time acoustic string

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

Etymology

The name ''yaybahar (pronounced /jajba'har/)'' has Turkish origin. It is a composite of two words: ''yay'' means a "string" or a "coiled string" and ''bahar'' means the season "

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

." According to Gorkem Sen, the name is derived from the idea of a new life or a new beginning.

Structure and function

The Yaybahar was inspired by several different instruments, including the Turkish

ney The ''ney'' ( fa, Ney/نی, ar, Al-Nāy/الناي), is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian music and Arabic music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played continually ...

, African thunder drum and Australian

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

. It represents both Western and Eastern influences in its design and sound. In developing it, Sen invented a new system of bridges between the strings and the resonance body. Composer Ian Honeyman described the Yaybahar as "a

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

like instrument that uses springs and drums for

resonance Resonance describes the phenomenon of increased amplitude that occurs when the frequency of an applied periodic force (or a Fourier component of it) is equal or close to a natural frequency of the system on which it acts. When an oscillatin ...

rather than a wood body". The instrument is played similarly to orchestral string instruments by hitting or sliding a wooden bow along the two long strings suspended in the center of two drum heads, by hitting the drums, or by sliding the bow at the top of the instrument, similarly to a standup bass. In its online review, Classic FM described a variety of sounds that the Yaybahar can produce, such as by dragging a mallet across the springs, tapping the ends, and using a bow. The sound produced by the Yaybahar has been compared to

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

movie sound effects by multiple publications.

Manufacturing

The Yaybahar isn't manufactured commercially. * Irish musician Billy Mag Fhloinn built and plays his own Yaybahar.

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

describes Mag Fhloinn's Yaybahar as a "haunting instrument of his own making." * Film music composer Ian Honeyman uses a self-made Yaybahar for some of his soundtracks.

Notable uses

In 2018

Max Richter Max Richter (; ; born 22 March 1966) is a German-born British composer and pianist. He works within postminimalist and contemporary classical styles. Richter is classically trained, having graduated in composition from the University of Edinbur ...

composed music featuring the Yaybahar for the film '' Hostiles'' by Scott Cooper. The album "Thar Toinn/Seaborne" (2020) by Irish singer

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (born 1978) is a musician and singer from County Kerry, Ireland. Until 2016, she was the lead singer for the traditional music group Danú, and from that year on she has been half of the electronica duo Aeons. Biography ...

features a Yaybahar played by her husband, musician Billy Mag Fhloinn, on its final track, "Port na bPucaí".

Journal of Music ''Journal of Music'' (formerly ''Journal of Music in Ireland'', or ''JMI'') is an Irish music magazine founded in 2000. It "has been a critical voice in Traditional and Contemporary musics since 2000". In 2009 it was relaunched as the ''Journal of ...

described the sound of the Yaybahar in the song as "droning" and "swooping", comparing it to

whale song Whales use a variety of sounds for animal communication, communication and sensation. The mechanisms used to produce sound vary from one family of cetaceans to another. Marine mammals, including whales, dolphins, and porpoises, are much more d ...

. The composition "Into Darkness" by Ian Honeyman uses the sound of a Yaybahar. Gary Numan's 2021 album, Intruder, features contributions from Görkhem Sen playing the Yaybahar.

References

{{reflist

External links

Yaybahar by Görkem Şen.
- Gorkem Sen introduces yaybahar, 2014 official video.
Yaybahar by Görkem Şen II.
- Gorkem Sen's yaybahar performance, 2014 official video.
Nohlab at TEDxReset 2014
- Audiovisual performance by Nohlab at TEDx featuring Gorkem Sen playing yaybahar.
Port na bPúcaí - Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh & Billy Mag Fhloinn
Billy Mag Fhloinn playing self-made yaybahar in

's music video.
Ian Honeyman's Yaybahar
Film music composer describes the process of building his own yaybahar. Turkish musical instruments String instruments