gusle

The gusle is a traditional bowed string instrument of the South Slavic peoples, notably in Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It features a long neck connected to a hollow wooden soundbox, often carved from a single block of wood. The instrument is typically strung with one or two strings and played with a horsehair bow. It is held upright against the body or on the knee, and the performer uses the bow to produce sound while the left hand shapes pitch along the neck.

Performance and repertoire: The gusle is closely tied to the epic poetry tradition known as guslarstvo. A solo guslar accompanies recited heroic verses, often drawn from medieval history and legends, with the voice delivering the melody and the instrument providing a sustained musical backdrop. The Kosovo cycle is among its best-known themes. Performances occur at cultural events, ceremonies, and traditional gatherings, and the instrument has been an emblem of cultural memory for South Slavic communities.

Construction and regional variation: The body is typically carved from wood into a trough- or bowl-shaped soundbox, sometimes elaborately decorated. The neck is long and narrow, with tuning pegs at the end. The number of strings and their tuning vary by maker and region; some versions have one string, others have two. The bow is usually a short, flexible stick with horsehair.