Virtual Instrument Museum

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	Kemenche Image 1 1000 x 612 780 x 472
	Kemenche Image 2 1000 x 612 780 x 472

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Name: Kemenche

Geographic Region: West Asia

Country of origin: Turkey

Subregion: Black Sea Coast

Classification: Chordophone

Material:

• Wood
• Steel
• Horsehair

SvH No.: 321.322

Related Instruments:

• Baglama

Genres:

• Turkish folk music

Author: Dave Fossum
           

Physical description | Tuning and technique | Context | References

Physical description

The kemençe ("kemenche" in English orthography) is a three-stringed Turkish bowed lute. In Turkey, there are two main types of kemençe: a pear-shaped fiddle of classical music called the fasıl kemençesi, and the more elongated, box-shaped Karadeniz kemençesi used in folk music performances along the Black Sea coast (Picken 1975: 296-7). The example shown here is of the latter variety. The soundboard is made out of spruce, with two long, narrow soundholes. The body is carved out of a single piece of wood (see Picken 1975: 295-6).

Tuning and technique

The kemençe has three strings, which are usually tuned in fourths. Some feature fretless fingerboards which are removable; many performers play the instrument without a fingerboard (Picken 1975: 297). The example pictured here lacks a fingerboard. The instrument is held upright, and may be played seated or standing, or even while leading a form of chain-dance called horon (Picken 1975: 301). Melodies bowed on a higher string are accompanied by a drone or by parallel fourths played on a lower string, and in some cases, all three strings may be bowed together. The kemençe player typically plays exclusively in first position.

Context

The kemençe is played to accompany folk dance or singing, and frequently for solo instrumental performance. Melodies are short and repetitive, but good kemençe players know a number of variations of each melody that they perform over the course of numerous repetitions. The music performed on kemençe is noteworthy for its rhythmic complexity and extremely fast tempo.

Melodic range of kemençe tunes is characteristically very limited, often less than a fifth (Picken 1975: 302). Within the Black Sea region, there are several local variations in style. Generally speaking, further east, it is common to play parallel fourths, or even bow all three strings together. Moving west, style becomes plainer and approaches the pure monophony of most other Anatolian folk music (Reinhard 1984: 85-6).

Similar instruments to the Black Sea kemençe can be found as far west as Greece and northeast into the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia and Armenia (Reinhard 1984: 84).

References

Picken, Laurence. 1975. Folk Musical Instruments of Turkey. London: Oxford University Press.

Reinhard, Kurt and Ursula. 1984. Musik der Türkei: Band 2: Die Volksmusik. Wilhelmshaven: Heinrichshofen.

Last Modified: 09-Feb-2009