Kamancheh

The kamancheh, sometimes spelled kemancheh or kamancha, is a bowed, spike fiddle of the Middle East and Caucasus. It is a principal melodic instrument in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Turkish music traditions, and it appears in both folk ensembles and classical repertoires.

Construction and form: The instrument has a long, slender neck and a small round or slightly oval wooden body, usually carved from mulberry or maple and covered with a skin membrane on the front. The neck ends in a pegbox with four tuning pegs. A short spike attached to the base supports the instrument, allowing it to be played upright on the performer’s knee. It is strung with four metal or gut strings, typically tuned in fourths, and bowed with a curved bow of horsehair.

Playing technique and sound: Players hold the kamancheh vertically and draw the bow across the strings near the middle of the fingerboard. The left hand presses the strings to produce pitch; the instrument has no frets, and microtonal intonation is common in its repertoires. The sound is bright and penetrating, characterized by expressive vibrato and slides.

Regional use and repertoire: In Iran, the kamancheh is foundational to classical radif performance and improvisation; in Azerbaijan it features prominently in mugham ensembles; in Armenia and parts of Turkey it appears in regional folk and classical genres. Regional variants include differences in size, skin type, and tuning practices, reflecting diverse musical systems.

History and classification: Historians trace the kamancheh to medieval Iran and neighboring regions, with references dating to late medieval and early modern periods. It is classified as a bowed spike fiddle and has many national and regional forms that influenced related bowed instruments in other cultures.